Watercolor Fashion Illustration - Step-by-step techniques for illustrating fashion and figures in watercolors

Learn to paint outstanding fashion watercolors with expert guidance from a leading fashion illustrator.Watercolor is a wonderful medium for figure and fashion as it creates loose, impressionistic results that capture the essence of a look without getting too bogged down in the details. In this complete course, professional fashion illustrator Francesco Lo Iacono shows you how to master creating delicate, beautiful fashion illustrations. The book begins with the best tools and materials, from paints and brushes to pencils, paper and more. You'll then explore simple watercolor techniques such as washes, wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, and using the white of the paper. Francesco then goes on to teach you about lighting and shading, which can have a dramatic effect on your work. And finally in the front section, you'll learn about colour, how to create palettes, how to mix colours and achieving a range of skin tones. Once you've covered these fundamentals, Francesco explores the key elements of illustrating fashion, with guidance on how to approach both male and female faces, a wide variety of hair types and styles, different male and female poses, and how to draw and paint garments, reflecting tailoring, drapery, volume, texture and patterns. Twenty step-by-step projects then take these building blocks and show you how to use them to create beautiful fashion watercolors, starting with easier subjects and building in complexity as your confidence grows. You'll begin by painting handbags and shoes without models before starting to introduce figures. The range of subjects included covers all angles, from full figures front on and in profile to close-up make-up and beauty illustrations. You'll also learn how to create dynamic compositions for editorial fashion illustration. Finally, Francesco covers the best ways to digitize and retouch your work, how to incorporate other media alongside your watercolors, how to work live at fashion events and how to take everything you've learned to develop your own personal style of fashion illustration.Francesco's clients include fashion brands Dior, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton ; and with this book you'll have all the tools you need to become an A-list fashion illustrator too.

List of contents

Foreword 4

INTRODUCTION 5
Using this book 6
Tools and materials 8

EXPLORING WATERCOLOR 12
Approaching the blank page 12
Mixing your paints 13
Practice exercises 14
Understanding lighting and shading. 16
Understanding color 19

ILLUSTRATING FASHION 24
Working in the fashion industry 24

CREATING A CHARACTER 26
General features 26
Women's faces 30
Men's faces 31
Hair 32
Painting beautiful hair 33

POSES 34
The body 35
Examples 38

RENDERING FABRICS AND PRINTS 40
Exploring fabrics and textures 41
Prints and patterns 43

TUTORIALS 44
Canvas tote bag 46
Wedge platform shoe 48
Gown on mannequin 50
Womenswear head to toe 54
Menswear head to toe 58
Girl with bag 62
Eye makeup 66
Girl with hat 70
Woman in print dress 76
Boy with hat 80
Perfumes 84
Focus on beauty 86
Girl with sunglasses 92
Man in print shirt 96
Vintage jewelry 100
Menswear composition 102
Catwalk moment 108
Close-up beauty look 112
Womenswear composition 118
Editorial with background 126

READY FOR BUSINESS 132
Digitizing your work 132
Mixed media 136
Working live 138
Developing personal style 141

About the author and acknowledgements 142
Index 143

About the author

Francesco Lo Iacono is an Italian illustrator based in London. His clients include Dior, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Fendi, JW Anderson, Bottega Veneta, Salvatore Ferragamo, Ted Baker, Paul Smith, Paris Fashion Week, GQ Mexico, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. He also tutors a monthly Fashion Life Drawing Class at the Cass Art flagship store in Islington, London.

Summary

Learn to paint outstanding fashion watercolors with expert guidance from a leading fashion illustrator.

Watercolor is a wonderful medium for figure and fashion as it creates loose, impressionistic results that capture the essence of a look without getting too bogged down in the details. In this complete course, professional fashion illustrator Francesco Lo Iacono shows you how to master creating delicate, beautiful fashion illustrations.

The book begins with the best tools and materials, from paints and brushes to pencils, paper and more. You'll then explore simple watercolor techniques such as washes, wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, and using the white of the paper. Francesco then goes on to teach you about lighting and shading, which can have a dramatic effect on your work. And finally in the front section, you'll learn about colour, how to create palettes, how to mix colours and achieving a range of skin tones.

Once you've covered these fundamentals, Francesco explores the key elements of illustrating fashion, with guidance on how to approach both male and female faces, a wide variety of hair types and styles, different male and female poses, and how to draw and paint garments, reflecting tailoring, drapery, volume, texture and patterns.

Twenty step-by-step projects then take these building blocks and show you how to use them to create beautiful fashion watercolors, starting with easier subjects and building in complexity as your confidence grows. You'll begin by painting handbags and shoes without models before starting to introduce figures. The range of subjects included covers all angles, from full figures front on and in profile to close-up make-up and beauty illustrations. You'll also learn how to create dynamic compositions for editorial fashion illustration. Finally, Francesco covers the best ways to digitize and retouch your work, how to incorporate other media alongside your watercolors, how to work live at fashion events and how to take everything you've learned to develop your own personal style of fashion illustration.

Francesco's clients include fashion brands Dior, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton ; and with this book you'll have all the tools you need to become an A-list fashion illustrator too.

Foreword

A modern approach to fashion illustration using watercolors.
Watercolors are an intergral part of London College of Fashion illustration courses.
Written by a respected illustrator who has worked for many of the biggest names in fashion including Dior, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Fendi and many more.

Report

"As in the arts, fashion illustration has had its master watercolour artisans, including the infamous David Downton, an avid watercolour and ink draftsman, Antonio Lopez and Kenneth Block, who captured the fashion figure with the most direct and considered brush strokes. Francesco is bringing this medium into a modern era, combining the skills of watercolour and technology to edit and refine his final outcomes. His rich, vivid tones always delight, leaving the viewer with a taste in the mouth for more after every sitting. Like Francesco as a young boy, revealing the rainbow palette of his first watercolour set, this book will give you the possibility to make your own marks and tell your own story."
Patrick Morgan RCA

Product details

• Authors: Francesco Lo Iacono, Francesco Lo Iacono, Patrick Morgan RCA
• Assisted by: Patrick Morgan RCA (Introduction)
• Publisher: David & Charles
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 09.11.2021
• EAN: 9781446308738
• ISBN: 978-1-4463-0873-8
• No. of pages: 144
• Dimensions: 216 mm x 13 mm x 282 mm
• Weight: 652 g
• Illustrations: 350 Abb.
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Interior design, design; Illustration, DESIGN / Graphic Arts / Illustration, DESIGN / Fashion & Accessories, Fashion design & theory, Paintings and painting in watercolours or pastels