Fashion Illustration 3(1+2)

Lesson 08: Fashion Figure proportions, Fashion Figure

Stylising the Figure

In fashion design the figure is often stylized and formal exaggeration is common among fashion designers and illustrators. In fact each designer will have their unique styles of stylizing the figure. In order to stylize one needs to elongate some parts of the body. It can be accomplished by

1. Making the head slightly smaller
2. Making the neck thinner and longer
3. Keeping the proportions of the torso the same as fashion figure
4. Making the legs longer

To increase the height of the figure, change the figures proportion to ten heads

Another way of stylizing the figure is to reduce the muscle mass. In this method, the figure is made to look slimmer without making it taller, leaving the basic proportions unaltered. It can be accomplished by

1. Narrowing the waist and hips
2. Elevating the level of the pubic bone
3. Making the legs and arms of the same length but a bit thinner
4. The neck is more slender
5. The head and feet unchanged in volume.

Current trends include exaggerating the size of the head (like a doll), enlarging the size of the eyes (as in manga animation) or giving the anatomy a tremendous flexibility (as if it were a rubber figurine).