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How to Use Water Soluble Colored Pencils in Fashion Design

As early as 1860, fashion illustration, which includes watercolor and colored pencil sketches of clothing designs, was the means by which wealthy American women kept up with the latest fashions. By the early 20th century, French fashion designers and visual artists used fashion illustration to showcase their talent to the world on the pages of Vogue magazine. Today, fashion illustration, still part of the traditional fashion design curriculum, can be accomplished using water soluble colored pencils to create original fashion sketches and to show textile color and flow.

Things You'll Need

  • Pencil
  • Pencil sharpener
  • Eraser
  • Artist's sketch pad
  • 1 set water soluble colored pencils
  • Watercolor brushes
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Instructions

    • 1

      Draw your fashion illustration with a black or gray water soluble colored pencil in an artist's sketch book or on a piece of watercolor paper. Such paper is heavier than regular notebook or copier paper and can absorb small amounts of water without damage.

    • 2

      Add color to your illustration. Use other colors in your water soluble colored pencil set and add design details to garments and fashion accessories illustrated in the drawing. Fill in shapes with broad and narrow watercolor pencil strokes to give depth to your illustration.

    • 3

      Dip your watercolor paintbrush in cold water and use the brush tip to blend colors. You can also use your watercolor brush to remove dark sketch outlines for a professional-looking illustration. To remove heavy dark outlines, wet the lines with your watercolor brush and dab your illustration gently with a clean, moist paper towel to remove loosened dark sketch marks from the paper.

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