How to Draw Fashion Sketches?

Candidates seeking admission to top design colleges need to have above-average sketching skills. Even after admission, good sketching skills is a sure recipe for success. So, here we bring you tips to improve your sketching skills.

Design as an academic discipline is growing by leaps and bounds. Just check out this report by The Hindu, wherein it claims there is a large shortage of designers. The shortage is due to a high demand for designers, so much so that many top colleges have now started offering B.Des courses. Now, if you also want to be a designer, the first step in that direction could be improving your sketching skills.

Most of the design entrance exams, including NIFT, NID DAT, and UCEED, have a drawing component. This means, if your drawing skills are weak, you might have a difficult time cracking any of these exams.

If you don’t yet have good drawing skills, don’t fret, because we are here to help you!

We have listed here a few easy but effective tips that you can incorporate into your preparation to improve your drawing skills. Tips include items you will need to make a fashion design sketch or fashion illustration sketch, the use of a croquis, and learning how to improve your fashion design drawing skills.

List of Fashion Sketching Essentials

Before you dive straight into sketching, you need to first make sure that you have the right materials for the job. It is because if you have the right materials, the job will be that much easier.

• Pencil, preferably H pencils. The lead of the pencil should be hard so that it makes light sketches and is easy to erase. If the pencil is good, it will also not indent the paper
• Keep colored markers, inks, and paints handy. You will need them to illustrate clothing designs.
• Markers - You can use the markers in tandem with the pencil, pens, and graphite. 
• Watercolors - If you are just starting, watercolors will help you have more control than, say, using oil color. 

Also Read:

• Sketching and Coloring Questions for Design Entrance Exams
• How to make a Design Portfolio: Structure, Layout, Sample and Steps

Croquis - What is it, and why use one?

In fashion, the term croquis means a sketch that is made quickly, like a first draft. So, the croquis can act as a template wherein you can add clothing and output to complete the sketch.

In fashion design, croquis refers to the practice of drawing a fashion figure or even live models. The drawings will be minimalistic so that you can use them to draw clothing and add other elements. If you are a beginner learner, it is advisable not to use drawing pens. The reason is, once you sketch with a pen, you can’t erase or edit it.

Here are some of the technical elements you can include in the croquis:

• Shape
• Width
• Height
• Length of the sleeve
• Fit
• Include darts and seams

If you include the above elements, you will have a detailed sketch that can be used by designers to create prototypes. In fact, the croquis template can be used by a designer to create multiple designs within a collection (of clothes).

Tips to create a Croquis Drawing

The croquis will help to put your ideas on paper in preliminary form before they finally come to life. While you can rely on readymade croquis, here are a few tips to create your own croquis:

• To create a croquis, you will need a hard lead pencil and drawing paper
• Ideation - Before you put pencil to paper, make sure that you have a specific idea in mind. Or else, you will be venturing aimlessly without achieving much. If you need some inspiration, check out design magazines, photographs, etc.
• The length of the croquis - The standard length of a croquis is around nine times the size of a head. You can elongate the legs to amplify the sense of height. 
• Use of body posture to convey various messages - Depending on the concept you want to highlight, you can present the posture differently. For instance, the hands and legs can be oriented differently to showcase a skirt than when showcasing a saree-wielding woman.

Step-wise process to create a Croquis

To draw the croquis of your choice, follow the steps mentioned below.

• The croquis will have a vertical line that will indicate the center of balance of the figure. The line starts at the top of the head and extends up to the bottom of the legs.
• Drawing the pelvic area - You can draw a square just below the balance line to assign the pelvic area. The interesting thing about the pelvic area (or box) is that you can create various poses simply by changing its position (or orientation).
• Adding torso and shoulders - You can create the torso by drawing two straight lines from the top corners of the pelvic square. Ensure that the width of the shoulders is the same as the square box. 
• Next, draw the neck and shoulders - The width of the neck is generally one-third of the width of the shoulder. Meanwhile, the ideal height is half of the head.
• Drawing the legs - In this step, you need to draw the legs, with the ideal length being four times the length of the head. The calves should be around the size of the head, with a broad top that tapers down. The ankle will be around one-fourth the size of the head.
• Drawing feet and arms - Draw the feet in the shape of a triangle with the base length similar to the head. 

If you manage to make an effective croquis, it will make it easier for you to make illustrations of your fashion design sketches. 

How to improve fashion sketches or figure drawing?

Where a croquis can help you get started with your drawing assignments, you also need to improve your fashion sketches. For instance, you need to learn how to add extra detail to the sketch so that it conveys the designer's concept more effectively and prominently.

So, here we bring some tips to improve your sketching skills:

• Read up on anatomy - This will help you understand the shape and proportions. 
• Adding style - A rough sketch is an incomplete product. You need to add meat, substance, and style to look the part. Styling will come into play when you want to accentuate a specific part of the anatomy and the way you would like it to appear.
• Adding movement - This aspect of sketching will come with much practice. If you master the art of movement, you are truly on your way to becoming a master storyteller!
• Adding texture and patterns - The pattern can be used to give a sense of the era or culture, whereas the texture can be about the softness, heaviness, or hardness of the subject under discussion.

Also read:

• 50+ MCQs for Design Entrance Exams 2026: NIFT, NID, UCEED Practice Questions
• 25+ MSQs for Design Entrance Exam 2025: Section-wise Multiple Select Questions