Sketching in digital clay: Digital sculpture for costume design visualization

Background
‘Costume Illustration in the Digital Age: Creating a Costume Technical Sheet’
(Bradley, 2009) explores the benefits of using 2D digital character templates and drawing software to improve the visual quality and accurate communication of costume designs. This practice-based research expands upon Bradley’s work through the creation of 3D digital costume templates for use within 3D digital sculpture software.
 
Method:
Problems are identified within existing costume visualisation methods. Solutions are investigated through the design and testing of digital sculpting tools and working methods. Digital mannequins and costume templates are created for the designer to sketch upon. Costume templates are designed to enable colour and pattern to flow over their surface contours. Resulting costume visuals are assessed for improvements in quality and utility.