Where Do You Find Design Inspiration?

You want to create your own clothing - but how, exactly, do you start? 

Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

Do you just find something you like and make a copy?

Well, the answer to the second question is NO!!!!!!!!!!  Never, EVER, copy someone else's work!  If you design something for yourself, would you want someone else to copy it and claim it as their own?

In this month's Tips and Techniques video, I talk about the process of design - where to find inspiration, how to use that inspiration, how to make a sketch, how to play with color, and more. 



As I discuss in the video,  if you're just copying things you see, you are not a designer.  There's a lot more to design than following what someone else does. 

And there's much more to it than drawing a pretty picture. You'll have to make some important decisions along the way - where is the opening? Are you going to use a zipper, buttons - or something else? What kind of fabric do you want to use (firm or soft)?  Would this look good in a solid color, or a colorful print?

You'll see that I use some unusual tools in my design process - coloring books, color pencils, and fashion sketchbooks! 

Coloring books can help you learn about color and design. Using the dresses in the coloring books, you can see how different color combinations work together, and when would adding another color be beneficial, and when is it "too much"?

Then, move on to the sketchbooks.  These have "nude" body templates, and you draw the clothing over the template.  The template helps to maintain proportion, and it adds a certain artistic element in the template's pose. 

For more inspiration from historic fashion, take a look at Easy: Inspiration From the Decades.

This Craftsy courses explores fashion throughout the 20th century, and the cultural changes that influenced fashion. There's a lot of emphasis on details, and that's exactly what you need to focus on for your own design inspiration!

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