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Fashion Sketching: Draw Like a Designer (Beginner Course) (Udemy.com)

Master Croquis, body movement, plumb line, shading, to sketch ideas clearly, confidently & professionally.

Created by: Nino Via

Last updated March 2026

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What you will learn

  • You will learn how to sketch a "9-heads Croqui". (what is a Croqui?)
  • You will learn movement of the body, how the body moves, establish balance, and be aware of a plumb line.
  • You will learn pencil techniques in order to create shirring/gathers, and shading, and the use of color pencils.
  • They will learn about a fashion diary/journal, as a source of inspiration in order to be a great designer.

How it compares

Against the other 194 rated Udemy courses in Drawing on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.4 out of 5higher than 20% of them
  • Reviews1,839#37 of 195 by number of reviews
  • Length0.8 hoursshorter than 92% of them
  • Last updatedMarch 2026more recently than 91% of them

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Course Description

If you can’t sketch your ideas… you can’t fully design.

Fashion sketching isn’t about being an artist.

It’s about being able to think, develop, and communicate your ideas clearly.

This course teaches you how to do exactly that—even if you’re starting from zero.

WHAT YOU’LL BE ABLE TO DO

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Draw fashion figures using the 9-head croquis

  • Create dynamic poses with body movement and balance

  • Use the plumb line to keep your sketches accurate and professional

  • Sketch garments with shading, folds, and detail

  • Communicate your ideas clearly to pattern makers and teams

  • Start developing your own visual style as a designer

This is the skill that turns ideas in your head into something real on paper.


WHY MOST PEOPLE STRUGGLE WITH SKETCHING

Most beginners:

  • Think they need “talent”

  • Don’t understand body structure and balance

  • Draw stiff, unrealistic figures

  • Get frustrated and stop

That’s why their ideas stay stuck in their head. This course fixes that.


WHAT MAKES THIS COURSE DIFFERENT

This isn’t about “art.”

This is about fashion sketching as a professional tool.

~ You’ll learn how designers actually sketch in the industry
~ You’ll understand structure—not just copying lines
~ You’ll build confidence through simple, repeatable techniques

Including:

  • Step-by-step croquis construction

  • Real explanations of body movement

  • Practical sketching techniques you can use immediately

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • 9-Head Croquis – Industry-standard fashion figure

  • Body Movement – Create dynamic, natural poses

  • Plumb Line – Keep balance and proportion correct

  • Sketching Techniques – Pencil control, shading, folds, texture

  • Garment Details – Closures, structure, and clarity

  • Creative Development – Using a fashion journal for inspiration

THE REAL TRANSFORMATION

This course shifts you from:

  • “I can’t draw my ideas” → “I can sketch them clearly and confidently”

  • “My sketches look stiff or off” → “My sketches look dynamic and professional”

  • “I have ideas in my head” → “I can communicate them visually”

STUDENT RESULTS

“I always thought I couldn’t draw. This course showed me how to structure the body—and everything changed.”

“Understanding the croquis and plumb line made my sketches look instantly more professional.”

“I can finally sketch my ideas in a way that others understand. That’s a game changer.”


WHO THIS IS FOR

  • Complete beginners who want to learn the right way from the start

  • Aspiring designers who struggle to express their ideas visually

  • Students building a fashion portfolio

  • Creatives who want to develop their own design style

So…

If you want to think like a designer—

You need to sketch like one.

— Enroll now and start bringing your ideas to life.


We start with a simple exercise using a pencil and learn how to achieve different "shading" effects depending on how you are holding the pencil.  Using the pencil correctly is the foundation of good sketching, whether it's fashion design or not.

You will also look at inspiration as a way to influence sketching: fashion inspiration, using a "fashion diary/journal" - creating a "pool" from which to draw ideas from will definitely affect your ability to draw new fashion designs.

You will learn garment closure: difference between womenswear and menswear button closure.

ALSO: In this Course students will learn:

  • How to draw a "9-Head Croquis"

  • How to use a Croquis as a template to start sketching fashion ideas.

  • Body movement and creating an "S-shaped" silhouette.

  • Balancing the body and use of the Plumb Line.

  • Pencil techniques to create "shirring/gathers", and shading, and coloring.

  • Creating a "fashion diary-journal" to use as source of inspiration to influence ideas for designing.

  • Differentiate garment closure between men's wear and women's wear

  • Create your own style.

  • And some inspiring words of wisdom...

Sketching ideas swirling in your imagination onto paper is the first step in developing a fashion portfolio and a fashion collection/line.  Being able to share ideas that can eventually be translated into an actual garment is so important.

You will learn that the body moves in a certain way and stays balanced at all times. That's when learning how to use the Plumb Line correctly will enable you to create your sketches so they look professional and exciting. Learning how the torso and the hips work together in-sync with each other will enable you to sketch dramatic and impressive figures and illustrations.

As a fashion designer the pencil will become your best friend: learning techniques on how to hold the pencil and apply pressure unto paper in order to achieve different "thickness", applying different weight of the pencil unto paper.

Your seamstress and/or pattern-maker have to be able to look at your sketches and understand what you're communicating. The sketch will eventually become the garment thus needs to be accurate and clear.

You will learn how the industry uses a Template known as the Croquis as a way to sketch ideas.  A Croquis is "taller/longer" than the normal body thus elongating the body/figure and appearing taller than the average human body.

You will learn how to create a "fashion journal" which will help you develop your own unique style as a fashion designer. Knowing what you like (and don't like) empowers your designing abilities and will support you in developing your unique "voice".

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Instructor Details

Nino Via

Welcome! I’m Nino, Your Ultimate Fashion Design Coach & Creative Mentor.

Are you ready to unlock your creative genius and design the fashion career of your dreams? You're in the right place. I’m here to help you turn your passion into purpose, and your purpose into profit.

With decades of real-world experience in the global fashion industry, I bring a unique blend of insider knowledge, expert technique, and creative vision to every course I teach. From mood boards to market-ready collections, I guide you through the entire process—concept to creation—with clarity, confidence, and care.

✨ Here’s Why You’re in Great Hands:

~ I’m a proud graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in NYC.

~ Former Instructor & Curriculum Development Coordinator at FIDM (LA), where I was honored as “Instructor of the Year” in Fashion Design.

~ I’ve worked with top brands like Ralph Lauren, where I oversaw Italian-made sample development (yes, I speak fluent Italian!).

~ I’m the author of 2 published books: “How to Be a Fashion Designer” and “Design Your Future – Be a Future Designer.”

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Reviews

4.4

1,839 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Krystyna Chojnowska on 7/15/2026

I enjoyed the course and learned a lot. From very early on one could tell the lecturer knows his domain well, has practical experience, techniques, but also this rare skill of sharing his knowledge in an accessible form. Lectures were short, perfect for a short attention span of our times, yet packed with info and examples. I'm poor in drawing but learned croquies in a moment, so much so that I actually impressed my artistic sibling. Sewing is just a hobby for me, hobby I'm sometimes very intimidated by, but this course helped me to learn and be more confident in my trials (and errors, let's be real, I'm no expert). Very grateful and happy with what I've learned

By Shreya Shania Prasad on 12/9/2024

One of the best course ever. It gave me confidence as I did not know what to do and where to start from, but this course gave me all the knowledge I wanted for the sketching. It was explained in the most simplest way which really helped me a lot to understand each concept. Thank you so much sir for this brilliant class. One of the best. I highly recommend the students who are interested in fashion designing to learn from Mr. Nino Via.

By Angel Williams on 2/12/2024

I love the details in this course. I am becoming a self taught designer located in the South where there is very few fashion schools around. Thank you and I am grateful for your lectures.

By Mary Kinder on 2/2/2023

Good course. Enjoying the drawings of coquis and and shading etc. learned so much with such a short but very inclusive knowledge for the course at the sale price.. Want to take more classes but waiting for another sale to come along

By Jennifer Withers on 1/12/2023

A lot shorter than what I initially thought, although I should've paid more attention to that detail before I bought it. Not for beginners at all - I've never taken a fashion design or sketching course and this course touches on some basic techniques, and not much else. No discussion of fabrics, or even the very basics of sketching.

By Alexandra Márquez Ch. on 8/5/2021

During this course not only was I taught the basics of sketching for fashion design but I also was given advice of things to take into consideration while sketching. Furthermore, the lessons were explained clearly and in an easy way to be understood. The course truly exceeded my expectations.

By Bevania Martins on 4/4/2021

I think this course could have included more way of how to draw different fashion tecniques... like how to draw ruffles, how to draw bows, and example of hour to specify things on your fashion sketch. As it was said just drawing is not enough we need to think about how the person gets in and out of the clothes. Also, it would be interesting to know how to draw different fabrics... textures etc

By UDHAYA KUMAR on 11/14/2020

Very informative and helpful for beginners. Great tutor

By Dhriti on 11/14/2020

very nice

By Agnes Blijer on 11/14/2020

Het is goed eenmaal het voor beginners is, maar ik had wat meer sketching verwacht.

By connie mphela on 10/27/2020

very informative and easy to follow

By Celine on 10/24/2020

is great

Showing 12 of 190 reviews

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Overall Score : 88 / 100