Essential Fashion Illustration: Color and Medium

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Gouache or tempera has been used since medieval times, at which time it

was known as temple paint. It is often confused with watercolors, since both

techniques are applied in a similar manner. The difference, however, is that

gouache is heavier and more opaque. It is applied using layers and veils (diluted).

And, in contrast with watercolors, the darker tones can be applied first or over

these the lighter ones or even white. This means that despite its matte finish, it

is the perfect technique for illustrating reflections and intense highlights for

elements like glasses, jewelry, gems, or metals. It dries quite quickly and, once

dried, errors can be corrected by superimposing layers, bearing in mind that if

the layer is too thick it may crack. The materials used for this technique are: a

heavy paper, recipients with water, a palette for mixing the colors, and brushes

of different thickness, depending on the level of detail that needs to be achieved.

Gouache

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Loreto Binvignat

Originally from La Serena, Chile, she lived in several cities during her childhood—

both inside and outside of the country—giving her a more open vision of the

world. On returning to Chile, she finished high school and studied art at the

Pontificia Universidad Católica, which marked the beginning of her artistic

career, and hopes of continuing her training in New York or Europe. After two

years, she moved to the Dominican Republic to study fashion design in the Altos

de Chavón School, affiliated to the Parsons School of Design in New York. After

the first term, she decided to continue her studies in Barcelona, graduating at

the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED). Today she works as a fashion designer for

an international company and as a freelance illustrator.

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Loreto Binvignat

A light pencil (HB or less)

is used to draw the top, so

that this does not dominate

the drawing. All the details

are drawn, and for the gems

it is recommended one draw

the faces of each stone, in

order to follow the forms

and highlights when coloring.

The blue base color of the

top is painted with a thick

brush. The advantage of

the gouache is that if the

result is not even, it can be

corrected by adding one or

more layers afterward. The

base color of the skin is also

applied in this step, which

will be finished off later.

Gouache

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Top with Gems

Color is applied to the base

where the strip of gems will

be, which are then evenly

painted. With a very fine

brush, the highlights are

added to different parts of

each stone, depending on

the direction of the light. Last,

the main folds and shading

are marked with gray.

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Loreto Binvignat

The shirt is drawn in pencil.

In the ribbed area it is not

necessary to draw all the

creases but rather to synthesize

and mark only some of them.

It is recommended that one

make some blacker than others

to create depth. This will serve

as a guide when it comes to

applying color.

With a reasonably thick

brush, the first layers of

each color are applied, with

the gouache very diluted in

water, thus obtaining a lighter

tone for each color. This

is done flatly and evenly

without consideration for

the light or shading.

Gouache

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