FASHION SKETCHES OF THE DAY (DRAWING WITH AND WITHOUT A REFERENCE)

Today I'll share two new fashion sketches with you. The medium for both of them is (coloured) pencil on paper. They are more 'practice' fashion sketches, than proper drawings but I wanted to show you the process of drawing because I know some people find it interesting. I don't draw with a reference that often anymore, but sometimes I find it useful to challenge myself to draw new poses and then I will look up a reference. Sometimes I might make subtle changes in the outfit, just to keep things interesting. I used a magazine ads as reference for both of these fashion drawings, one ad was from S.Oliver, the other I'm not sure. With the Saint Oliver ad, I drew a couple and changed the clothes a bit. With the other ad I just drew one girl with a reference and added another girl from imagination (so that part was actually drawing without a reference). As I said before, I believe that drawing both with and without a reference can help us develop art skills. I would recommend both. I wrote about fashion illustrations a lot in the past, so if you're interested in this subject, you can read this post: 10 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR FASHION ILLUSTRATION SKILLS. 

 The tricky thing about art skills is that like with most skills- if you don't use it, you lose it. To be honest, I'm really struggling with finding time and energy to do art. My back injury set me back a bit, and ever since it's been hard to find the time to do art. I do love doing fashion illustration, I've been doing it forever and I'll probably continue so. However, lately I've been rethinking my art skills and wondering isn't it time to take a break from it. The more time and energy I put into developing my art skills, the better I get, but this also makes the expectation higher and the whole process stressful and expensive. Art can be quite an expensive hobby, and it's hard to afford it. I've definitely spend more money on art than I made with it. However, I suppose it's like with most things, if you really want it, you need to figure out a way to do it. I'm writing this because I know there are a lot of people who would like to do art but struggle with finding time, inspiration or even justification for it. The important thing to remember is: it is not you. It's hard because it's hard not because there is something wrong with you. Art isn't easy at best of times. It takes time, money and effort. Art can be draining and most of the time it requires constant work and effort. That's something worth remembering because if you really want to do art of any kind, you'll need to find strategies to deal with it. Naturally, art can also be very rewarding. It is nice being able to make someone happy with gifting your art and so on. There definitely are perks in learning and developing one's art skills, like seeing your skills develop and your personal progress, but there is also constant self-doubt and questioning. That's something that can't really be completely avoided. Again, you'll have to learn to deal with it.

Generally speaking, I would advise you to set aside time for art by scheduling it. If you're really short on time, you can start by allowing yourself five to ten minutes for daily sketches. When it comes to developing one's drawing & painting skills, I would recommend you to: 

-practice regularly, 

- practice as often as you can,

- carry a notebook or a sketchbook with yourself,

- look for inspiration,

- spend more time doing whatever makes you inspired and happy,

- draw both with and without a reference,

- experiment with different media,

- find good learning materials and resources,

- follow artist or art teachers that inspire you on social media, 

- try to find an art course,

- try to get involved in art communities.

How do you like these fashion sketches? I just realized they are both sketches of outfits with sneakers. I guess I'm feeling the sneakers trend. I might try to turn some of these sketches into something more ambitious, like a proper fashion illustrations. When I'm short on time and energy, I like to make some sketches because that sometimes helps me to work up motivation and inspiration that is needed for more ambitious art. It's like that saying that appetite comes with eating. You need to eat to get an appetite. If you don't eat regularly, you won't have much of an appetite. Sometimes art is the same way. You need to push yourselves a bit sometimes, but it's equally important to know when to take a break from it. That's what I've learned anyway. 

I'm actually planning a new giveaway, I know some of you have expressed your interest in getting another chance to win my art. Feel free to tell what kind of painting you would like to see in the next giveaway. My last giveaway was an original fashion aquarelle painting. I'm thinking of making another fashion illustration giveaway. So, do tell if there is a fashion illustration of mine that has captured your eyes in the past. 

MORE FASHION ILLUSTRATION IDEAS 

HOW TO COSTUMIZE A NOTEBOOK WITH A FASHION ILLUSTRATION?

INSPIRED BY JODIE'S TOUCH OF STYLE

ART LATELY

CREATIVE PROJECTS TO TRY

Thank you for visiting & reading!