followedyouhome asked you:

Any tips on hand flats you can share?

At Robert Geller, we draw all our flats by hand. I do the same for my own personal work as well.

I personally prefer hand drawn flats because I find that it’s a lot faster to work, and computer drawn flats tend to be more “cold”. It all depends on where you work of course, a lot of factories like computer tech flats because it’s easier to understand.

My point is, hand drawing flats allows more of an artistic touch (life). So you don’t have to get so technical and straight with things. If you want a perfect straight line and perfectly spaced ribbing, use a computer. Just remember though, how you draw it is how your production team will assume you want it to look, so don’t get sloppy.

How I work:

9x12 Vellum (Easy because you can trace older flats and build off them)
Staedtler Pencils (usually H and a 2b for some outlines and shading)
Electric Eraser (this will change your life)
Vertical Electric Sharpener (Not shown, but this will also change your life. If you can find it, the now discontinued Panasonic KP4A is the best. Vertical is preferred because you can just dip your pencil up and down with one hand to sharpen.)
Clear Grid Rulers (Use clear grids to make sure spacing of things like pockets are even)
Patternmaking French Curve (I prefer this to the french curves you buy at art stores, you can find them at any sewing craft store)
Circle templates (For Buttons, etc)

Drawing Tips:

• Start by drawing the center seam on the back of the page. Makes it easier to erase.
• The larger the drawing, the easier to draw details. People tend to draw flats too small. You don’t have to fill the page though.
• Grid rulers make spacing elements evenly easier. Just center one of the lines with the center seam and measure out evenly on both sides.
• Draw details like top stitching, stitches and ribbing on the back of vellum to make it easier to erase and change if you need to. This way you don’t have to redraw that part of the garment. Same goes for shading on the back of the vellum. 
• Go over the outlines with a softer pencil with a looser hand to give the drawing more life (see the above sketch details sleeves and fold)
• When we’re done with a sketch, we photocopy it darkened a bit. This is great for a merchandising board like we have below. You can also blow it up and make notes for tech packs or design binders.