Introduction to Costume Design
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Introduction to Costume Design is a course I took in Spring 2015. This was a class assignment where we were to create the majority of the costumes for Cabaret. We were allowed to create our own renders in our own style and medium. My chosen mediums were pen and colored pencil.
The project started out with us reading and analyzing the script: locating when the character was on stage, what the script said about costume if there were any notes, which actors could play multiple roles, and how quick the costume changes had to be. Once the analysis was complete, we did research of the time period, though we did have permission for artistic freedom as long as the costumes all went together and appeared close enough to the given time period that the costumes made sense. To the left is my research. I executed my research online, looking for specifics for given characters. I knew that I wanted Sally Bowles - the lead female - to look a specific way at specific times, that I wanted the two dresses she wears at the top and at the closing of the show to translate two separate things while still being her. For each character, I had a specific idea what I wanted to see. |
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Once we had our research, we sketched out our ideas and added color swatches. My color swatches were streaks of colored pencil as a reminder of what colors I wanted to use or have displayed. During this process, we were reminded to create connection between characters not only through shape, but through color as well. Some characters had specific color pallets to hint at things to come. Others had similar color pallets to show their tie to each other. Out of all the characters rendered, Sally had the largest range of color due to her character development throughout the production.
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Cabaret Renderings
The final step in this assignment was to create the final renderings. The final renderings were accompanied by fabric swatches we pulled from the classroom stock.
A very important aspect for me was creating a wide range of posses that spoke of the character but also kept each image fresh and unique. Though highly stylized, I strove to keep the image readable so that anyone looking at it could tell how long a given skirt or jacket was.
A very important aspect for me was creating a wide range of posses that spoke of the character but also kept each image fresh and unique. Though highly stylized, I strove to keep the image readable so that anyone looking at it could tell how long a given skirt or jacket was.