Hands & Feet

Hands:

Drawing hands can be difficult. It's best to see it as a shape and not be too involved with depicting all the fingers. Think of it as a mitten. Always illustrate the thumb and at least one finger.

Feet:

When drawing feet, think of them as hooves. A foot in a high heel is very similar in appearance to a calve's foot where the toe is the nail of the hoof and the heel of the shoe is the ankle joint of the hoof.

In drawing hands and feet, practice at least three different positions to memory and just repeat them over and over. There is no rule stating that you have to be a great hand and foot illustrator to make a beautiful full-body fashion illustration.

Fashion Illustration - Session 2

Faces:

The following is a demo for an idealized woman's face. This exercise will enable you to locate proper ideal anatomical placement for features on a front view and side view. For other races and/or stylized faces adjust accordingly while adhering the rules of anatomical placement (i.e. Ear size is the measurement from the tip of nose to brow line/ridge).

Step 1:

Draw a grid on your 9"x12" drawing pad in 1x1 squares.

Step 2:

Front View:

Based on a 4"x4", designate the center of the face at 2" from the side and 2" down from the top of the head. 2" down from top of the head place the eyes at the center line. Please note to leave a space equivalent to one eye's width between the eyes. The mouth lies 3" down from the top of the head on the center line. The jaw is lies 3" down from the top of the head and is 2" wide.

Side View:

Following the placement markers of the front view, place all the features in the first 1/4 of the profile head.

Step 3:

Front View:

The placement of the nose lies on the centerline between 2-3" down from the top of the head. It is up to the illustrator how long or wide the nose should be. On the generic face the nose would be the same distance designated between the eyes.

Side View:

Following the placement markers of the front view, place the nose 2-3" down from the top of the head. The jawline ends at the centerline 3" down from the top of the head.

Step 4:

Front View:

The placement of the nose lies on the centerline between 2-3" down from the top of the head. It is up to the illustrator how long or wide the nose should be. On the generic face the nose would be the same distance designated between the eyes. The height of the ear is the distance from the brow ridge to the tip of the nose. If you make a longer nose, it makes a larger ear; a smaller nose makes a smaller ear.

Side View:

Following the placement markers of the front view, place the nose 2-3" down from the top of the head. The jawline ends at the centerline 3" down from the top of the head. The ear is placed at the same location as the front view (height = distance from brow ridge to tip of the nose) joining the jawline. The ear width lies within the first 1/2 of the 3" cube.

Step 5:

Front View:

The neck is slightly thinner than the jawline.

Side View:

The nape of the neck's smallest point runs horizontal to the location of the lips. The underpart of the jaw runs horizontal 4" down from the top of the head and adam's apple os located at the halfway point of the 2" cube. The interior of the ear is lightly detailed, but unnecessary .

Fashion Illustration - Session 1

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the Blog. It was a pleasure meeting you this past Saturday. If you were late, absent or just need a refresher to Saturdays 1st session; I will post the demo here every week for your reference.

OK. The first demo was: basic fashion illustration and proportion - standing front and standing side.

Step 1 :

Take a 9x12 pad of paper and turn it horizontally to the side. With a ruler separate the page into 9 equal parts, making each segment 1" high. Number each segment 1 through 9. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1

Step 2:

Make a perpendicular center line from top to bottom 2" from the left side of the page. (Fig. 2)

Fig. 2

Step 3:

Start from the top of the page and draw the head. The head @ 1/2" wide and 1" high.

Step 4:

Mark the eye placement which is half of the head (1/2" down from the crown of head).

Step 5:

1 1/2" down from the crown, mark the location of the shoulder. The shoulder should be @ 1 1/2" wide.

Step 6:

2" down from the crown mark the location of the breast point. Each breast is @ the same width of the head (1/2" each).

Step 7:

3" down from the crown mark the location of the waist, which is the same location of the bottom of the elbow. You can make the waist as small as you like. I usually make it slight smaller than the chest (@ 3/4").

Step 8:

4" down from the crown, mark the location of the crotch, which is also the same level as the wrist. The hips should be at least the same width of the shoulder (@ 1 1/2") or larger (never smaller - that would a man's measurement).

Step 9:

5" down from the crown is the finger tip length (long slender hand looks more elegant).

Step 10:

6" down from the crown, mark the location of the bottom of the knees. They touch at the center line, and are @ 3/8" in width each.

Step 11:

7" down from crown is the shin. A good reference point for designing capris.

Step 12:

8" down from the crown, mark the location of the bottom of the ankle. They touch at the center line, and are @ 1/4" in width each.

Step 13:

9" down from the crown, mark the location of the toe.

Fig. 3

Step 14:

Connect all the reference points to create basic fashion illustration using the "9 heads high" principle.

Step 15:

Sid view is handled differently. The centerline has only 4-5 reference points touching; the nose/chin, the breast point, the waist, the knee (optional), and the toe. You can also illustrate a standing view with the leg straight from hip to toe, but I prefer the leg slightly bent with the knee touching the centerline for added stability. All the other reference points (eye, shoulder, elbow, wrist, crotch, finger tip, shin and ankle are the same location as the forward standing view.