Inking
After creating and developing the fashion sketch, the next step is inking-up the drawing. Inking is the process of outlining every line, detail and embellishment within the design before rendering begins. Inked lines are crisp, sweeping and even which contrasts to the rough, uneven and layered lines of sketches.
Each designer has a different approach to inking up drawings. For example, some ink all the drawing before rendering; others only ink partialy and leave details to the end; and, some ink after rendering. Through practice and exploration, you will gradually develop your own technique and order for inking up. To begin with, it is suggested you ink your whole drawing.
Explore the gallery below of the inked or line fashion illustrations. Take note of the different styles created through different pen strokes. Can you figure out which ones were created by hand and digital?
(Burke, 2006; Castle & Peters, 2007)
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Lets ink-up...
Activity 4: Inking-up design sketches by hand.
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Gather the following items together:
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Sketch book or paper
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Lead pencil, eraser and sharpener
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Fine black artline/gel pen and white out
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With your sketch below from Activity 1, lightly trace over the sketch on a fresh piece of paper using lead pencil.
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Using the lead pencil, make the traced lines crisp, ready for inking.
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Using fluid strokes that are smooth, trace over the pencil lines using a fine artline or gel pen in black. Ink-up all parts of the drawing including the legs/head/arms, embellishments and the whole garment.
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Let ink dry for 3 minutes.
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Using an eraser, rub-out the pencil lines.
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Take a photo of your inked up drawing and share it here.
Digital Inking-up...
Activity 5: Inking-up design sketches in Illustrator.
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Scan your sketch from Activity 1 into the computer and import it into Illustrator.
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Using the video below, follow along and learn how to digitally create line drawings for fashion illustrations.
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Play around with adding details and manipulating lines using the pen tool.
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Share your final digital drawing here in the form of a jpeg image.