How To Get Into The Fashion And Beauty Industry The Online Way With A Low Budget

These are the 3 best online fashion design schools available on the Internet. Our suggestion is to check all 3 out and choose the course which is best for you. Note that each of them provide payment plans available to students who may not be able to pay the full tuition cost on enrollment. The links to these Online Fashion Design Courses can be found below.

On the successful completion of these online fashion courses you will receive fashion degree certification or for example if you take Etelestia's patternmaking course you'll receive their pattern making certificate and if you take Elite Pro's Beauty, nails, stylist or personal consultant courses you'll receive a certificate for each of these fields. All 3 online fashion schools are industry recognized and have their own unique assets.

Etelestia offers several course options and included with your enrollment to their pattern making course you receive their industry recognized pattern making software at no additional cost.
You Can Download a Free Trial of Etelestia's Pattern Making Training Software Here

At Elite Pro school of Fashion and Beauty you'll be introduced to the world of fashion in a very trendy knowledgeable European Fashionista kind of way, learn all you need to know as a fashion designer and receive beautiful DVD collections and textbooks materials to bring you as visual and up to date a course as their equivalent on site courses are.

And with ICS's Dressmaking and Design course they provide you with a free sewing machine, complete textbook materials and in addition to learning how to sew you get a useful introduction to flat pattern drafting and pattern draping. The link to their online fashion design course is advertised periodically on the top and side bar ads on this page, just keep an eye out for them.

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This is my very first personal ebook product, I developed these templates several years back for my own fashion designs, but then I thought, someone else might like to use these too and might even like to sell them to their aspiring fashion illustrators or fashion design friends! So here you go, once you buy this product at my facebook store it's yours to sell in whatever way you like, just keep everything intact and unchanged (including my name). If you'd like to receive a special discount, click "like" at my shop and you'll get a special member's discount. Be sure to let your friends know too, enjoy

Click the photo above to visit my shop and make your order

Well, other than getting your tools and various learning materials together from online resources because this is really easy, than hunting them down one by one at your local library, putting together your own "online" fashion course won't really be online, but here's some important advice you need to know before you get started.

1. Don't shy away from learning how to create fashion illustrations and the very important technical "flats" of the garments you've designed (like the ones you see at the back of pattern books, only larger). Don't worry, fashion illustration takes on many forms and methods and a lot of them don't necessarily require actual drawing. Also fashion illustration and technical flats are both standards in professionally communicating your garment design specifications to other professionals in the fashion industry.

2. If you know how to sew your own clothes it's imperative that you know that home sewing techniques are okay but they aren't used in the actual fashion industry. You need to find out, study and then practice preferably what's called industry and couture sewing techniques and methods. Industry sewing techniques revolve around a balance of quality and production speed and couture sewing techniques are all about finery, perfection, details and downright special effects, decorative accents and absolute luxury in textile and garments arts. Become thoroughly acquainted and skilled with both.

3. Become well versed in the fashion industry's terminology, the names they give tools, textiles, techniques, silhouettes, garment details, styles and industry procedures. The purpose for doing this is to be efficient and be able to keep up with the speed of the fashion business. When you are working you can't afford not to know what the people around you are referring to when you're in the middle of a job.

4. Learn about the business of the fashion industry, some professionals would say that although fashion is an art working and being successful in the fashion industry has a lot more to do with business than art. So don't shy away from the business aspect as you'll seriously run the risk of not being able to get your career off the ground because you won't be in touch with the needs that have to be met to keep your business, your company you work for or your fashion line going.

5. Absolutely learn patternmaking and draping. You need to know how to draft patterns for several reasons;

a) It's a little harder trying to get a job as a fashion designer if you don't have the examples of actual garments that have been produced from your fashion designs, if you can draft a pattern you'll be able to get this done faster and with less money then if you have to hire someone else to get it done.

b) Even if as a fashion designer you won't be actually drafting your own patterns your familiarity with the process will allow you to produce designs that can easily be translated into flat patterns. (making work a lot faster for the pattern maker, always a plus)

c) If you have a shortage of capital to start your own line, you can save a lot of money by drafting your own patters as having to hire a professional pattern draftsman can be extremely expensive.

When we put this book list together we kept all these points in mind and went through many fashion related books to get our hands on all the best ones so we could come up with a compact collection that would provide fashion serious individuals with the wealth of knowledge they need so they can successfully get stared in their career paths.

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If you've went to one of the big name fashion design colleges and got a chance to network with industry professionals and showcase you designs in your schools year end fashion show than you may have already gotten or will get the chance to readily access job and business opportunities. On the other hand, if you're an up and coming aspiring fashion designer you could use a hand in getting your foot in the market place.

First of all you need to think about what you want to design (women's wear, men's wear, sports, evening, or infant's clothing, etc). You have to decide whether you want to work locally or internationally and you need to get an adequate portfolio together that demonstrates the kind of skills and know how required by todays fashion industry's needs.

Your portfolio shouldn't be a mixed up hap hazard variety ridden collection of unrelated garments. Instead you should have a tight collection of 20 - 35 different but clearly related looks. Their connection to each other should be in varying combinations of similar color palette, textile and patterns used, silhouette and mood.

Speaking of which, the very first item in your portfolio should be a kind of inspirational and "intention" collage called a mood board. Ideally, you put together a mood board as a beginning to any new collection. It needs to include an implication of your target market, ask yourself "Who's going to wear this collection?" Then you think about the 'theme' of your collection whether it be a movie, country, foreign culture, something in nature in particular, architectural style or a combination there of. You can either use cut outs from magazines or you can do what I do and produce a digital mood board and cut bits and pieces of photos and/or illustrations you find online.

Again, the grouping of elements you choose has to represent the "mood" or "theme" of your collection. Then you have to add on corresponding elements of colors, textiles adn embellishments derived from what's going to be available according to the correct season's trends and Voila! You've got your mood board.

Now for your actual collection. If you've done your fashion illustrations use them and add any photos of sample garments from your collection. Aside from these, do some flat technical drawings of your garment pieces, they're usually smaller than the illustrations and photos but they're important for indicating the structure and sewing procedure of the garments they represent. Along with these include notes on any hidden details, attach fabric and trimming samples and create a theme or "mood" appropriate layout for your collection. Make sure each look is a "member" of the rest of your collection so your portfolio will be cohesive, strong and professional. Provide different color ways for your different "looks" while still sticking with the same color palette. Last but not least make sure to only choose your very best pieces leaving out any that don't quite fit in with the rest and arrange it all in a folder, binder or special portfolio (preferably black of course) big enough to hold it all, keep it safe and allow your collection to be easily presentable.

Next you have to source some contact information. Some companies that hire fashion designers are clothing manufacturers, textile companies, fashion houses and some big department stores that have their own lines of clothing. you can look for these kinds of companies in online fashion directories such as Apparel Search or business directories. Then do a little research and see if they produce the kind of clothing you design.

You can also get a plethora of valuable contact information if you take the time out to build an online network of friends in the fashion industry, for this you can really utilize social networks such as facebook, myspace, yahoo groups and the fashion industry's favorite, the 'Fashion Industry Network' which is really a kind of "facebook" for fashion professionals and fashion enthusiasts alike.

Another option is to work for free for your local fashion house just so you can put some experience down on your resume. Or if you don't mind working an over seas gig you can easily promote and sell your designs to the Japanese market as they are very fashion hungry, very serious about all that's art. Always looking for something fresh, different, high quality and exciting the Japanese market can be a great place to start a career as a fashion designer as selling your garment designs over seas is always excellent for publicity, the Japanese also have a reputation for paying designers on time and not being cheap with their payouts. This is important because getting your money on time is the difference between surviving and getting killed as a designer before you even get started.

With these tips in your arsenal you can start to decide what kind of moves you might want to make to put your career in gear so go out there, keep learning, keep creating and you'll get to where you want to go.

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Okay, So you want to become a makeup artist and you absolutely love color and you admire and look for the unique beauty in everyone around you and maybe you even day dream about giving people your own version of a style by jury make over so they can see their own beauty and worth in a way that will make them feel good about themselves, give them more confidence and maybe even turn their lives around for the better. Well I want you to start off on the right foot with some of the insightful tips I wish I would have had when I got started down the makeup artist path.

First off, if you are going to go to a makeup artist or beauty school that's great. However, if you are going to take an online makeup course there are some things you need to know to help insure your success.

Have at least one or two or more friends to practice your developing makeup techniques and looks on. If you're short on friends you will run into problems because you won't acquire your skills without hands on experience. Unless you step out of your comfort zone and see if one of your neighbors would be interested in volunteering as your experimental models. Give it a try if you have to, it may well turn out to be a good thing.

Second, something you have to realize about the main focus in professional makeup artistry is (although the colorful drama you see depicted on the beautiful faces on the catwalk is by far, quite misleading) the real work and aim of the make up artist job is to cover facial discolorations and structural facial flaws. So when start buying supplies for your makeup kit you want to focus your money on complexion cosmetics and the various cover up makeup products that you'll be using on the job and in your practice. As for color, get a few of your favorites but for the most part when it comes to color cosmetics get neutral palettes that will save you some money as the colors look great on a bigger variety of people. Also don't be afraid to mix your colors to create the perfect shade or hue of eyeshadow, foundation, concealer or lip color you are after. It's a lot cheaper than buying a full product range and break your budget.

That's if your going with high end products, if your buying from ELF Cosmetics however, feel free to splurge. You won't be sorry when it comes to price or quality as the only difference between ELF products and more expensive cosmetic lines is that ELF compacts are a bit smaller.

Third, getting work in the field. If you have friends and family start working for them first (even if it's for free at first) Whenever someone is going to a job interview, a party be it birthday, a wedding or even an anniversary. Remember friends and family branch out to others and someone may know a photographer you can work with or they may have other friends you can set up a gig with. And whatever you do, once you start getting good at what you do don't just start charging money, ask to take before and after photos of your "clients" so you can begin building your portfolio (try to make sure good lighting is available when these photos are taken so your skills are clearly visible on your clients) This isn't your only option though. The different places you can get your makeup artist feet wet in ways that can lead to paying jobs are:

1. Finding a local photographer on your own you can do some work for.

2. Checking the makeup departments in the drug stores and department stores in your area to see if you can work as an assistant to ladies at the makeup counters.

3. Another option is to ask to be an assistant to a local makeup artist or in a beauty salon.

With these last two options you'll most likely be learning by watching while you earn your keep by paying the makeup artist to learn from him or her and by making their lives easier (cleaning equipment, sweeping floors, getting the coffee, taking calls etc etc.) You can do all this while working with family and friends on the side till you have a professional quality portfolio together then you can go on to the next step.

If you are planning to restrict yourself to only working in;your hometown visit your name brand department stores (the ones that have monthly flyers that include seasonal fashion) and send them your resume along with you portfolio which brings me to tip number Four.

Fourth. Portfolios, I would very strongly suggest getting two portfolios of your growing body of makeup artistry experience, one being a quality black binder particularly made for photos of different sizes preferably for standard and 'letter' size portrait type photos. The second portfolio should be online for quick viewing either on the computer, your blackberry or in your prospective employers email as either a link or a slideshow. Or you can bring your laptop along to your job interviews to show them what you've done.

Fifth. Dresscode, fairly common stereotype of the fashionably chic, black clad makeup artist isn't necessarily the mode you have to follow, however please do yourself a favor, if you happen to be a bit on the shy side don't add to your disadvantage by dressing in an un-attractive way. Get a friend or fashionable relative to help you pick several "looks" out for you so you'll make the right impression on potential clients and employers. Basically if you don't do this you may find yourself getting weird looks from people in unbelief of your career choice and you'll most likely never get any return phone calls from "potential" clients. Again don't do this to yourself, it can seriously hurt your confidence let alone put a stop to your career path.

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Jennifer Lilya is the world's best fashion illustrator. Based in New York, the insightful and generous fashion artist has been doing fashion illustration for companies and brands such as: Elle, WWD, Magic, Timex, Travel, Leisure, LuxGoddess.com, California Closets, Simplicity, Taunton Press and many more.

Her illustrations are extremely beautiful works of art that are both warm and refreshing, capturing the spirit of summer and ultimate elegance all at the same time.

She masterfully paints the faces of beautiful runway models and renders all manner of textiles and accessories bringing them to life with the magic of her water color and acrylic techniques.

We all love beautiful fashion illustrations, especially those awe inspiring commercial kind with their lively depictions of beautiful models wearing the season's latest trends. As a fashion career enthusiast you may be trying to aquire the skill of rendering these kinds of illstrations yourself, however it is of crucial importance that you also learn how to draw and produce fashion flats and spec sheets as well.

A fashion 'flat' is a technical drawing of a garment's 'flat' silouette (or 'body') in which there can be no details left to the imagination, used to visually describe all the necessary details to the production team, from the pattern maker, sample hand to the supervisor and seamstresses on the production floor. Used for the costing of the garment, the fashion flat and spec sheet (the written breakdown of all the garment and construction details (buttons, zippers, fullness, ties, lace and or other trimming, all measurements of garment areas etc, etc) are the most critical piece of communication between the designer and the manufacturing staff especially particularly when dealing with overseas production. Fashion flats and spec sheets need to be :

- properly proportioned
- complete in detail requirements
- symmetrical
- accurate in both detail and measurement
- 'cleanly' executed
- and consistant in quality

If the fashion flats and spec are missing any of these requirements it can result in sample errors that need correcting which can cause losses in time and reduction or even the cancellation of orders.

Before starting your flat drawing skills you want to develop your line quality. You do this by drawing freehand straight lines on a sheet of paper and practice conecting the ends of your straight lines from the sides of your paper to produce continues lines.

Practice drawing curves and using curve templates as this will be needed to produce professional looking details such as pockets, seamlines, arm holes etc.

Practicing your line drawing like this will help you gain both quality and speed then when you fell ready and confident to begin your design flats, prepare your 10-head standard fashion croquis/fashion figure in a forward facing, arms at the sides and feet shoulder length apart stance. Your croquis doesn't have to be your best work it only needs to be perfectly proportioned to industry standards and symmetrical as you'll be using it as an under-drawing for your flat silhouettes.

Note here: If you happen to be designing fashion flats for intimate apparel (lingerie / sleepwear) your croquis should have the same proportions as the normal croquis mentioned above only made slightly curvier and with a bit smaller waist.

Always make sure proportions are accurate otherwise the samples produced later will be distorted.

Draw your flats freehand first with pencil then when you're satisfied and the symmetry is perfect, go over your pencil lines with a black marker using your freehand technique or a ruler for the straight lines and a French curve or circle / ellipse template for the curves to produce a neatly rendered professional looking flat. Erase any remaining pencil lines and use white out to correct any pen errors.

You'll want to work large so that the flats can be shrunken down to further clean up the image and line quality (an industry standard practice).

A good rule of thumb to go by in getting that 'pop' into your garment flats is to use a variation in line thicknesses. To get professional results use

- a Sharpie marker for the silhouette's outline
- a Sakura Micron Pigma .08 - .05 for collars, pockets, seams and buttons
- a Sakura Micron Pigma .03 - .02 for finer detailing such as top stitching, lace etc.

You can also add shadows and folds to your silhouettes with a cool gray marker.

To maintain consistency in your work develop a library of flats. Then whenever you draw a new garment flat find the already existing silhouette that most closely matches your new one and use it as an under-drawing for your new flat. Also, when you need to produce a back view of a garment (necessary when there are details of the back that aren't obvious from the front) simply use the garments front view as an under-drawing and copy the outline then fill with the back detailing.

After a few seasons your speed, accuracy and confidence will increase as well as your library and you'll be able to use this library and you'll be able to use this library to produce even more fashion flats in a professional and consistent manner.

Tools you'll need to develop your fashion flats:

- copy paper
- light box
- 6" - 12" plastic rulers with graphs
- French curves
- circle / ellipse stenciling templates
- eraser
- tracing paper
- white out or correction pen
- 2H or 3H pencil
- cool gray marker for shading
- Sharpie fine point for outlines
- Sakura Micron Pigma markers
(a) .08 - .05 sizes for garment details (collars, pockets, etc)
(b) .03 - .02 sizes (for top stitching and finer details)

For more information on how to draw fashion flats, a visual listing of all the necessary industry standard detailing and how to create a spec sheet read Chapter 6, Flats and Specs in Portfolio Presentation for Fashion Designers