As part of the Design Rendering course I teach, one of the last assignments before students start their final projects is a costume rendering of a super hero. For those students who don't want to design, they can simply copy a super hero. Or, they can make up their own as well. This course is taken by 1st year Design & Production students, in all concentrations. Here's an example of how I craft an assignment using TILT guidelines.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this assignment is to practice industry standards in visually communicating a costume design to be built in a costume shop and worn by a performer for a live performance.
Skills:
Using images of people in clear standing poses as a reference, you will practice drawing a proportional figure
Visualize the three dimensional design while describing it in two dimensions
Practice drawing fabric and begin to understand how it wraps the human form.
Refine your color mixing skills, matching the "fabric" swatches to accurately paint the design.
As always, you will practice best clear presentation skills, with neat labels, secure "swatches" and a smudge-free finish.
Task:
The design can be one of your own devising, or a known superhero.
It is a costume design for a real, human body.
You may use padding, but you may not design CGI
You may “cast” a specific kind of performer (dancer, acrobat, body builder, etc…)
The result must be wearable, and the wearer has to be able to move.
You are not simply recreating a comic book illustration.
METHOD:
Research:
Research the body and pose you are designing and drawing.
If you haven’t drawn proportional people before, this is an essential step
Look for full body photos for underwear, bathing suit, and dance wear catalogs
Be wary of photos that have been photo-shopped.
Avoid photos with unusual angles that create foreshortening.
Research every element you wish to include.
You don’t need exact replicas, but you do need a reference to begin to study how fabric, clothing, and accessories interact with the human form.
Draw the Figure: Trace your photo if this is helpful, but only trace the joints and skeletal structure. You need to capture the body, pose and weight shift.
Add clothes to the figure: Pay close attention to the details- how the collar wraps around the neck, how shoes and boots are angled, how the wearer gets in & out & closes the clothing, etc…Your design must include a cape (Sorry Edna, but it MUST).
Digitally Swatch the Design: I am not expecting you to know what kinds of fabrics will work best for the design, but I do want you to swatch for color & texture as that is what you will match when painting. https://www.fabric.com/ (Links to an external site.)
Paint the Sketch: Using mostly watercolor and colored pencil as desired, paint your sketch, color matching your swatches and creating a dimensional figure. Alternately, you may work digitally.
Finish: Neatly label your sketch and attach your swatches, in the order and in proportion to how they appear on the body. Organize your research neatly, editing it to reflect the design.
Criteria for Success:
A proportionally drawn figure at least 9” tall.
The figure is wearing a costume with clearly illustrated style lines and thoughtful details.
The painted fabric drapes and/or is tailored to the body accurately. The color is evenly applied, using highlight and shadow to describe folds, depth & any layering.
The paint colors are mixed to match the swatches.
The rendering is clearly labeled using guidelines with a character name and any technical details not clear from the illustration are notated.
The swatches are neatly attached to the rendering, and the organized research is reflected in the finished design.
Here's a time lapse developing the design & adding color with ProCreate:
And the same design using watercolor & marker:
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