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croquis silhouette

starzoe | Posted in General Discussion on

Awakening from an afternoon nap, my mind was roaming over a task I took on – a costume for a girl of 17, a large girl. She’s not handy and I have some measurements but I really needed a croquis of her body. Searched the internet and found this:

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Graphic/Graphic-Plugins/Silhouette.shtml

Now, I am not that computer-smart and I don’t know if this will give me what I want. I need to draw onto
her body shape to decide on an attractive design. Hopefully I can take a photo of her and convert it to a silhouette to use as a croquis.

I have a croquis of myself following THREADS’ instructions of a few years back and it is invaluable. I can draw onto it and immediately tell if the shape is going to be flattering. Am going to send this url to my son (the computer nerd) to see what he says about it. Maybe someone would like to try it?

Also, for fashion artists, take a look at this array of croqui:
www.designernexus.com/free-fashion-croquis. It’s a keeper.

Replies

  1. Tatsy | | #1

    The old-fashioned way was just to draw around the body, face-on, and side. I found this invaluable recently when I had to readjust my patterns because of weight fluctuation. But, if she's not around, that's a problem. Maybe you could get her mother or one of her friends to do it for you and send it. It just takes big enough paper, a door or wall to attach it to and someone to make the tracing.

    1. starzoe | | #2

      I do not want one full size, it is just as easy to get the proportions on an 8.5 x 11 inch page, plus it is easier to handle.

  2. ohiostar | | #3

    A photo croquois works, I made one earlier this year. My daughter and I took digital photos of ourselves with underwear on, front, back and side. When I uploaded it to the computer, I just put it into a photo program, cropped away the extra stuff, but not around the body (takes too long) and printed it to fit the page. Then I traced around the body over tracing paper, scanned that, and printed out several sheets to use for designing. I even shrank it to half sheet size for when I go design "sleuthing" and can quickly draw up the design details to see if I like it on me. Later you can re-scan your drawing into a paint program and do something more visual with your sketches if you want. Quick and easy designing.
    jann

    1. starzoe | | #4

      I'm glad someone else agrees with me - it seemed that it could be done with a photo on the computer. I use mine (done via THREADS) a lot. This would be a very good idea when friends (mostly) ask advice about what would suit them - just draw on the outline to prove that the trendy item they have in mind is a no-no for them! I've even got the "perfect proportions" for the body drawn on my croquis but found that either the theory is flawed or my body is seriously out of kink!

  3. Teaf5 | | #5

    Your second URL doesn't open, but the first one is interesting. However, for your purposes, I think tracing over a recent full-length photo --perhaps in tights and snug knit top--would be much more accurate and useful.The problem with using a computer generated croquis with measurements is that the same set of measurements can result in completely different body types, depending on the distribution of weight. That is, one woman may be very cylindrical, while another with the same measurements is very shallow and wide. One may have a broad back, while the other has a very narrow back but full front, and so on.Nearly everyone has a digital camera, so perhaps she could email you several photos. You could print those out on regular paper, then trace an outline from that. You can also use tracing paper or waxed paper to draw different fashions on it. While this technique will help you determine a design, you may not want to show her the realistic silhouette, as it probably looks much different from how she sees herself. Even we mature ladies have difficulty accepting our realistic silhouettes, and we'd rather look at an idealized image.

    1. starzoe | | #6

      I certainly agree with you that the realistic silhouette looks much different than we see ourselves. Mine is buried deep in my filing cabinet.The computer-generated croquis does not depend on measurements, but the silhouette, and any way the silhouette is achieved would work for the purpose of drawing styles on it.Good idea about not showing her the realistic form - she's a large, young girl and probably more than aware of her shape.

    2. starzoe | | #7

      Here's the right url: http://www.designersnexus.com/free-fashion-croquisI think you will enjoy it, click on some of the stuff on the site, it's interesting.

      1. KharminJ | | #8

        Oh Yeah! After just a very brief glance, I can tell that Designer's Nexus is going to be a terrific resource!! Thank you very much! Even just the "poses" on the Croquis pages will be helpful for getting design ideas onto paper, and translating the relationships of body parts (not so much actual sizes and proportions - they're more unrealistic than a Barbie doll! LOL) Kharmin

      2. Teaf5 | | #9

        Wow, thanks! Just what I need in the last couple days before summer break--some inspiration!

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