- 1). Flick through the history books or magazines to find examples of what women in the Victorian era looked like. Understand the type of clothes they wore, and how their posture was different to modern day women. Owning to their tight corsets, women during the 1800s stood much more upright and rigid.
- 2). Draw a stick figure to gauge the proportions of the woman. Allow extra length in the legs, compared to a man, to emphasize the woman's figure.
- 3). Sketch the outline of a Victorian dress. Corsets tape in towards the waist of the woman, so show this by drawing lines angled towards the groin. The style of corset varies; however, it elevates the bust, so add detail around the bust line on the torso to illustrate this.
- 4). Pencil in the shape of the dress. Victorian dresses were long but protruded outwards from the waist because of the layers of petticoat beneath the skirt. Illustrate this by drawing a large, bell-shaped skirt starting at the base of the corset.
- 5). Show folds and creases in the dress to represent the excessive amounts of material used to make the dress. For example, around the base of the skirt draw wiggly lines to symbolize ruffles, or add shaded lines curved down from the waist. Use elongated 'U' shapes along the length of the skirt to add depth.
- 6). Complete the drawing by adding a traditional hairstyle. Victorian women have been pictured with pinned hair with curls falling around the base of the neck. Mimic this style on your picture.
- 7). Add accessories such as large necklaces, drooping earrings and bangles onto the sketch. Victorian middle classes often showed off their wealth using jewellery, so accessorize wisely to reflect your character.
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