By Mrs Maughan (Textiles Teacher)
On Friday 5th May, the Lower Sixth textiles students explored the creative possibilities of digital textile design. The purpose of the workshop was to introduce the students to design specific products such as Adobe Illustrator, and share with them techniques that will enable them to create fashion visuals using industry standard techniques and processes.
The students used their hand drawn fashion croquis as templates to trace onto their artboards, producing a digital version of their individual fashion visualisation presentations. They explored line quality, experimenting with line profile and density and focused on applying skin tone and shadows to the digital croquis before moving onto the visualisation of their garments and body piece designs.
Digital swatches were then created from samples the students had photographed. They were then able to fill sections of their designs with their samples to get a realistic interpretation of their design work. The students then created a “line up” of three designs and included backgrounds and titles to complete the presentation. The outcomes produced were very impressive and will be a fantastic starting point for further personal investigation.
Sofia Citriniti (Lower Sixth) said: “During our digital workshop, I learnt how to navigate Adobe Illustrator in order to digitally illustrate my designs and communicate my ideas in a creative and eye-catching way. This skill was really engaging and important for me to learn due to prestigious fashion universities placing a heavy emphasis on having a digital element within application portfolios. Knowing how to digitally present and elevate my designs will not only be beneficial for my textile’s coursework but also my further studies in fashion design beyond BGS.”
Annabell Hine (Lower Sixth) added: “The digital processes learned during the workshop were time consuming but very rewarding as the results looked very professional and will be an important addition to my sketchbook. The news skills learned will positively impact my work going forward on this course, helping me to elevate my coursework to the next level by introducing digital presentation techniques; preparing me for creating a portfolio for future university applications. Most importantly this workshop gave me new skills that have allowed me to advance my knowledge and add to my creative toolkit.”
