HOW TO DRAW SWIMSUITS

When you draw swimsuits and lingerie the whole body of the model is exposed and every little mistake you make drawing the anatomy will be noticed. If you don’t feel confident drawing the fashion croqui, you can download one of my free figure templates or check my second website with hundreds fashion design poses I Fashion Templates. The pose I used in this tutorial is available here.

Start your swimsuit sketch by drawing a rectangle in the center of the chest of the model. Notice that the rectangle is placed low on the bustline. If you draw it higher the bra will look uncomfortable and unrealistic.

This step is the starting point of both one-piece and two-piece swimsuit designs.

The shape of the cups is where most beginner artists take a wrong step. There are two things that you need to remember: First, always draw the cups the same shape and height. Second: the cups are not flat. Notice how the triangle shapes are slightly curved out to mimic the volume of the breast. If you draw the shapes flat, no coloring tricks will save your drawing from looking plain.
It is very important to follow the curves of the model body underneath. Just like the tringle on the right – do you see how it’s slightly turned because of the pose of the model?

Once you are done with the top part, drawing the bottom of the swimsuit is easy. Just follow the breast shape. Usually the bra is not straight at the bottom. If you pull a straight line it will again lead to a flat and unrealistic drawing.

The straps are another tricky moment when drawing swimsuits and lingerie designs. As a rule of thumb you can direct the straps to the point between the end of the neckline and the outmost point of each shoulder.

The model on the right wears a swimsuit that ties behind the neck, so we push the straps from the top corner of the cups to the endpoint of the neck. Note that these straps are again slightly curved, not flat.

Every swimsuit design needs a twist, something that is unique about your idea. Feel free to add ties, embroidery and decorations as per your liking.

Even though the right top ties at the back I will still show the ties to make sure the design is clear. Be clear and specific in your fashion illustrations, don’t leave the design to the imaginations and assumptions of the viewer!

Mark the top of the swimsuit bottom half. Same as the top, we are not using any straight lines here!

Time to finish this two pieces swimsuit and draw the bottom part. No matter how low or high the cut of the design is, there will be some curve to accommodate the figure. Avoid using straight lines in your swimsuit drawings!

Drawing one-piece swimsuit designs is not so different than what we just saw. You simply follow the same principles and get creative with details and straps.
When you design one piece swimsuits you can also play with different cutout and necklines to make your design even more interesting.

Here I have already done the rectangle in the center of the bust and I am drawing the cups. When the cups are not padded they are likely to form tiny little folds. In horizontal cups the folds will be horizontal, in designs where the cup has more height than width the folds will be vertical. More on how to draw folds in clothing you check my “How to draw Folds in Clothing” tutorials.

Continue your drawing by following the body outlines closely. Remember that you can give high or low rise of the bottom to suit different body types. and don’t forget to accessorize your illustration.
The “How to draw a large brim hat” and “How to draw sunglasses” tutorials are your friends when designing your swimwear collections.

I hope you had fun and this tutorial inspired you to create something sweet and stylish for the beach. What tutorial do you want to see next? Let me know in the comments !

Happy drawing!