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19 Croquis Development Drawing Techniques
 
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Hands on the Croquis 

 

Since we are not striving to become fine artists, illustrators, or animators here, but looking for a career in fashion, we can take shortcuts in how we approach the hands. Drawing in every finger on a fashion croquis will simply take the viewer’s eye away from really seeing the clothes you have put on the croquis. It’s important to keep the croquis simple (and by this I mean the underlying drawing of the fashion figure) so that it does not overpower the clothes, but remains a sort of “elegant hanger.”

You will notice that when you watch a fashion show done on a highly professional level—such as the Academy or Art University’s annual Spring Fashion Show (of graduating fashion design seniors)—or an haute couture show in NY, Paris or Milan, that the models are expressionless. This is so that the viewer will see the beauty and movement of the clothes and not the personality of the model. The same approach is helpful in your croquis development.

Hands are usually best represented by a simple shape that may not show every finger or nail. You may choose to move a hand behind the figure if it is blocking a clear view of a garment or you don’t want to draw it. A few simple lines can help define the hand such as a squiggle line indicating the knuckles. See the examples below.

Turning a hand with fingers grasping a hip into a fist on the hip is another shortcut you can take without having to spend time on fingers.

By all means if you want to include the hand in their full shape, please do, but keep it very simple. Avoid simplifying to the point of hands looking like claws.


Hands on the Croquis

   
You can handle a croquis like this in two ways. Drawing the hands can be a simple process once you see the basic shape and can duplicate that without a lot of detail. Or, if you find yourself wasting precious time on the hands, you can hide them from view. This is a shortcut for time, not a cop out, so first try your best to draw the hands. It’s an important element to learn to draw, just as the feet are.
   
These hands can be simply drawn as shapes, as said many times before. Keep the fingers to a minimum and usually the index finger or the little finger will be the only ones to be separate from the other fingers. By drawing the hand that way, you can simplify the shape even more. If you decide to change the hand on the hip to a “fist on the hip” remember to lengthen the arm so you don’t lose the correct proportion. When drawing the fist, notice that the line under the arm is practically a continuous curve. At the top where the wrist is, the hand pivots upward.
In cases when you are using a photograph with just a hint of a hand somewhere that you cannot really see, it’s best just to leave it out altogether. Remember: keep it simple and LESS IS MORE.
 
Click Picture, to Enlarge
 

If you remember that individual fingers bring too much attention to the unnecessary details of the figure, your croquis will have a much more professional look. Blind contour drawing is the best way to learn to draw hands because you are looking only at the contour shape and not at your paper—you will make quick judgments about your drawing. With practice, like everything in life, you will get better!
 

 

 
 

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