Get inspired and then DRAW ALL THE THINGS!

All right, let's get this show on the road!

We thought it would be nice to start with a bit of inspiration. I have to admit that most of the artists I like don't necessarily focus on drawing clothes... With one notable exception!

Maarten Vande Wiele is a Belgian illustrator and comic artist who released Paris, a graphic novel about models and starlets, a few years ago. Since the fashion industry plays an important part in the story there was a lot of attention paid to the clothes the characters wear! So if you feel like curling up reading a dark comedy and looking at pretty pictures, I'd definitely recommend this!

Maarten's drawing style is deceptively simple, with the characters reduced to the most essential lines, and the same goes for the clothes. Still, there's a lot of detail included that makes them stand out!

Most of the outfits worn in the book are vintage or current designer garments, and some of them are instantly recognisable, like this epic Viktor & Rolf coat:

(I kind of want this)

The designer names are always mentioned in a little footnote, which is a fun detail.

I always liked how these drawings almost have a technical quality to them: they're obviously stylized and drawn with an artistic instead of a funtional goal, but the attention to detail reminds me of functional line drawings.



It's also interesting to see as an example of drawing clothes on a body in motion, which is basically the next step after drawing static line drawings. Folds and movement in fabric are (in my opinion) some of the hardest things to draw (apart from cars!!!) and this guy makes it look so easy.

So run to your nearest comic book shop, get a copy and sit down with the story of Hope, Chastity and Faith. You won't regret it!

Don't forget to go over to Hanne's blog and see who she's inspired by!