Do professional Fashion Designers use Adobe Illustrator?

In order to be considered a professional in some occupations, you must demonstrate mastery of certain tools. A good example would be a doctor's stethoscope which demonstrates experience and knowledge in their profession. In the fashion business you will see many job postings requiring experience with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop among other requirements. Does knowing these two software programs really demonstrate the knowledge and experience of a fashion designer (or any type of designer really), and thus their professionalism?

Design School

Design school usually includes training for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. This is because many designers of all types use these two software programs. It is expected that a fashion designer will need to know how to use graphic design tools in our current tech savvy world. Designing is a visual medium and being able to communicate through media is an important skill. This is especially true when working with overseas factories. Being able to demonstrate an idea with a drawing or photograph is sometimes the best and only way to communicate. A design student should definitely take advantage of this training. Designers who did not go to design school can find opportunities for learning from several platforms including Skillshare or Udemy.

Software Cost

Not long ago Adobe switched from outright license purchase to a subscription based model. There are different price tiers depending on which software and features needed. The monthly subscription fees are not entirely unreasonable, but it creates an ongoing financial commitment to using the software. This can present a financial barrier to a needed tool for some. There are advantages and disadvantages to this system, but keep in mind there are options out there. Illustrator and Photoshop also need computers with a certain level of memory and processing power to work well. That may be an additional cost.

Is it necessary?

Yes and no. Your job and responsibilities may not actually require use of Illustrator or Photoshop. Fashion designers are idea creators and often entrepreneurs. They may have some experience in a lot of areas but at the end of the day, some tasks are assigned to employees or outsourced to people with more focused skills. I have worked with a variety of designers over the years. You may be surprised to know that few fashion designers can draw or use Illustrator and Photoshop. I have seen some pretty poorly drawn ideas that later were translated into some very nice final products. Technical designers, artists, graphic designers or illustrators can create any artwork that might be needed. So while it may be nice to have access to Illustrator and Photoshop, it isn't absolutely necessary for fashion designers who are starting their own lines.

Options

While Illustrator and Photoshop are the two software applications mentioned most often, there are other options. The truth is there are other drawing and photo editing applications that can accomplish the same task at varying costs. The tool that you need is the tool that will do the job.

Procreate - an Adobe drawing program available for tablets
CorelDraw
Inkscape
Gimp

Among so many others.

Inkscape and Gimp

I have been in the fashion industry for a long time now and I only used Illustrator for a short time. I didn't like it at the time because the software was bloated with a lot of features I never used. It took a long time for the software to load and the extra tools and palettes got in the way. The current versions are much more streamlined and efficient. I also used CorelDraw, which worked well enough. In any event, as soon as I found Inkscape, I switched and haven't looked back. The same with Gimp over Photoshop. I have used Inkscape as a professional designer for at least 10 years and no one has been the wiser.

Illustrator will open and use Inkscape file formats (SVG) and vice versa for Illustrator (AI) files. Photoshop will open common image file formats like PNG and JPG. Gimp will open PSD files. Compatibility between different programs is so much better than it used to be. There are ways to provide Illustrator or Photoshop file formats if using Inkscape or Gimp. There are some workarounds including online file conversion sites that do a pretty good job.

Professionalism?

At the end of the day you can choose your tool of choice. If you prefer Illustrator, then that is your choice. Definitely take advantage of any training you can and test out all the different options. If your goal is to be an employee, then training on Illustrator and Photoshop may advantageous. If you are a freelancer or starting your own business, you can choose what works for you.

Professionalism is another matter. In my mind knowing specific software packages shows experience or knowledge, but it doesn't imply professionalism. Professionalism is to complete a task well, on time, and on budget. It includes good communication. The tool of choice is less relevant. What do you think? Please leave comments below.

Pattern drafting in LibreCAD

At the start of the new year I commented about trying to figure out what to do next. I described my feelings as reaching the end of one road and trying to decide which road to take next. You might assume there were only a few options, but in reality there are many. One option was to look at languishing projects to pick back up. I have two rather large projects. One will take me many years, the other is about half done.

The really large project is sodaCAD. I started a software project back in 2010, but let it drop because I lacked the skills to work on it. SodaCAD is my attempt at an open source pattern making software. Most commercial or enterprise level pattern making software packages are very expensive and have onerous maintenance fees and licensing. I've always wanted to provide an alternative.

After much research and a few different attempts, I stumbled upon LibreCAD. LibreCAD is a free alternative to AutoCAD. Commercial pattern making packages have AutoCAD at its core. LibreCAD contains many essential CAD drawing functions already, so it is a perfect foundation to build on. I actually learned how to draft patterns using AutoCAD in college. What I lack is programming skills, but that is slowly coming.

Before I can work on optimizing LibreCAD, I had to test it out and actually try drafting a pattern to test its capabilities. It took a bit of time, but I managed to draft a bodice front.*

LibreCAD is by no means the ideal solution (not yet!) for this kind of work. It is, in many ways better than Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape. Illustrator and Inkscape lack precision and efficiency. Inkscape in particular, tends to be fuzzy when it comes to numbers. Say you draw a square that is 25 x 25, but you move one side out 1 inch. Now you have a rectangle that is 25 x 25.95. LibreCAD has no issues with precision. It does lack efficiency for pattern making, so I made many mental notes for improvement.

LibreCAD is available for use now on Windows, Mac, and Linux. If you do decide to try it out, I would recommend watching some video tutorials on YouTube. The interface and drawing functions take some learning. I have no idea how long it will take to get SodaCAD ready for use.

*This pattern piece is available in sodaCAD source files for demonstration and testing purposes.

CAD 101 published at Fashion Incubator

I am being a lazy cross-poster today. Part One of my co-written articles on CAD can be found at Fashion-Incubator (part two should be published January 19th). My co-writer is Angela from Eve and Ellie. Check out Angela's website - it is beautiful! Kathleen did a great job pairing us up. Not only was Angela great to work with, but we both work with girl's special occasion clothing. My current special occasion work can be seen at One Small Child. Most of my work is technical design, but you can see some of my designs in the mix.

If there is interest, I can expand on some of my CAD drafting, grading techniques, pattern naming, organization, etc. In the mean time I am working on the back-end of my store, which is taking a lot of my time. I have been reading up on CSS, PHP web design and database management (for coding geeks only!). I decided that to truly get the website I want, I need to switch my store manager to something new. This is all behind the scenes and is in the building and testing stages. My current store continues to work and is secure. The new store will be 100% more powerful!

So my grading projects and boys' shirt pattern revision is still in the works, just slowed down. I have my base pattern graded up to my needed size 24M. And guess what! The neck measures a little over 12"! Now it is only a matter of applying that neck to the shirt pattern.

In other news, the consumer product safety commission has issued recalls on more children's jewelry, rattles, teethers, and magnetic toys. Be sure to read this page!

Inkscape for Technical Fashion Drawing

I discovered a few days ago a new software product called Inkscape. Actually, I have fallen in love with it. Inkscape is an open-source vector drawing program. I have used many drawing programs over the years and this programs fits my needs almost perfectly.

In college and later in employment I used a little program called Micrografix. I still love Micrografix. It was a simple vector drawing program and it was incredibly easy to use. It allowed you to scan a drawing and trace around it. You could select points (or nodes) on a line and change them from curves to sharp points. As a technical designer, I used this program to create all of my technical drawings. I had a library of component parts - sleeves, pant legs, collars. I could mix and match my pieces very quickly. The best part was it was incredibly affordable.

As the internet and technology revolution has sped up, Micrografix was left in the dust. It was acquired by Corel and pretty much abandoned. CorelDraw is very similar, but far more complex. I am sure it is a great program - I currently use PaintshopPro and love it. My mistake was buying CorelDraw Essentials. It is a horrible program. It has similar features as Micrografix, but only the "essential" functions from the better program CorelDraw. Editing points and lines are more difficult. Plus, the program is unstable -- it has crashed on me more times than I can count.

I have used Adobe Illustrator. I like Illustrator, but the program is big. It hogs a lot of memory and takes forever to load. Even though I had Illustrator available at work, I used Micrografix because I could have it open and switch between programs very quickly. Illustrator is loaded with many tools and options that are not necessary for simple line drawings. Plus the $1000 price tag is just too much.

Enter the open source movement. I have been waiting for a better option to come along and Inkscape fits the bill. It is very similar to Micrografix in what it can do. Quick node editing and great free-hand drawing tools. The entire program is a mere 17 megs. It loads quickly and even better, it is free. There are a few things that do bother me about the program. Some of the right-click menus don't make sense. Plus there are not many translations. In other words, you can save your drawing in only a few formats - svg, dxf, and eps. Still, many other drawing programs support those formats. The program has also crashed on me a few times.

Despite the few problems and annoyances, I still like this program. Because the program is open source, it can only get better (and it won't cost a fortune to upgrade!). Corel and Adobe should be very nervous.