Update: For a step by step look at arranging storyboard elements check out the CAD Fashion Storyboard Help post.

I get a lot of Google traffic searching for how to put together fashion storyboards, I'm currently in my final year of a BA degree in fashion design, if you have any questions or want any tips feel free to hit me up on twitter @safashiongirl or drop me a comment. I'd be happy to give fellow students any assistance. In fact I plan to dedicate more posts toward assembling storyboards as soon as I have time, theres a gap of information about it online and I only wish I could have found a few examples and ideas when I started out. For now here are some brief pointers:

A typical fashion storyboard consists of:

• A fully rendered fashion figure (can be stylized to work for your theme)
• Technical drawings also known as flats, these are essentially blueprints for the design depicted on the figure. I do my flats in fineliner and usually on white paper but you can jazz it up by copying them onto different paper
• Fabric samples you would use in constructing the design, these can include embellishments like buttons, rhinestones etc.
• A background suited to your theme to host all of the aforementioned elements. I like to go to Deviant Art and search for what kind of background complements my theme. If you're printing it out, make sure its sized right so it is not printed pixelated.
• Headings and labels. I like to label my technical drawings but some girls at college leave it out. The heading should be in a font that parallels your theme so for example, an oriental font for something Asian inspired. Sometimes I'm briefed with headings so it is decided for me but sometimes you have the freedom to come up with your own.
• Layout is important, I stick my fashion figures on the left or right of an A3 page, then I do a composite layout for my flats (back tech drawing just slightly on top of my front or vice versa). Not all storyboards have to be the size I do mine, it's just how my college briefs us. It all depends on the assignment but you can resize when necessary.

Here is an example, this storyboard was supposed to invoke an easy, airy, fresh, clean, whimsical theme. My fabric samples are huge though because I felt I had to fill up more space, I usually do much smaller squares because I usually use more fabric and have more than two technical drawings. If I had to redo this one, I would definitely stylize my figure, making her fit the theme more.


More examples coming soon. Happy designing!