32 CAD in Garment Designing

R. Sheela John

epgp books

 

 

 

 

33.1 Introduction

 

The fashion industry has travelled a long way and has bloomed into one of the largest manufacturing industries in the world. The garment industry in India offers a wider variety of interesting woven, printed and embroidered textiles and garments. As the industry grew, the use of technology in this field has increased to a greater extent. In the field of fashion, the only constant is ‘change’. To have a competitive edge in the business, the application of CAD in the production process is essential. Hence a study on the CAD in the field of garment designing becomes vital

 

33.2 Learning Outcome:

  • At the end of this lesson the student will
  • Gain knowledge on the advantages of CAD in designing
  • Gain knowledge on creating garment designs in the 2 dimensional form Understand the need for 3D designs
  • Gain knowledge on creating garment designs in the 3 dimensional form

Digital fashion illustrations started during the 90s as more affordable and capable technology made it possible for illustrators to experiment with this fledging art. The current areas of application of computers in textile industry include weaving, knitting, printing, fashion illustrations, texture mapping, embroidery, pattern making, pattern grading, marker-planning cutting etc.,

 

33.2 Significance of CAD in Designing

 

The Computer Aided Designing increases the productivity of the designer, improves the quality of the design. It also serves as a database for manufacturing. In general terms CAD refers to the creation of designs with the help of computer. In computer the designs are  represented as a graphical model. Thanks to CAD garment designs are created faster with extra accuracy. Designing of garments using CAD software has the following advantages

 

Tools – Pen of different types and sizes are available to the artist. This enables the artists to draw lines of different shapes and sizes. The shapes of the lines can be easily modified without erasing them.

 

Colours and brushes – the CAD offers a wide range of colours, maybe a million shades. Also the artists have the freedom to choose from colour wheels like RGB, CMYK. The range of brushes and sizes is a boon to the designer. If drawn by hand it is very difficult to create a spray painting effect which can be easily created in the computer with a spray painting brush.

 

Effects – The CAD provides the designer with a variety of images, fabric designs which will take days to draw manually. Fabric swatches (new fashion fabrics) can be scanned or photographed into the image library and draped on the sketch in few minutes.

 

Editing – the copy and paste options helps in recreating the designs in part or full in colour helps in repeating the motifs. The motifs can be repeated number of times as desired. The size of the motifs can be controlled by scaling techniques. Mirroring the image and erasing or deleting part of the design is made easy with the advent of computers. The designs undergo changes many times, still the designs sheets can be maintained clean. The erasing tool and delete tool does the work without soiling the paper. Crop tool also helps in deleting the part of the design easily.

 

Storage of designs – The garment designs can be stored in the computer memory and a copy of it can be stored in the CD or pen drive and the same can be retrieved anytime, anywhere. The paper on which the design is drawn may get spoiled after some period when done manually, but thanks to the computer the designs can be stored for unlimited time. The designer can work half way through the design and store it in the system and work after whenever he feels comfortable without much stress

 

 Zoom tool – By using the ‘Zoom’ and ‘Pan’ tool the design parts can be enlarged and the details can be observed and edited accurately.

 

Physical arrangement – the designer usually needs a larger space for placing easel board, and a stand for keeping different types of pen, pencils, colours and palette. With CAD the artist needs only a system to draw and paint the fashion sketches

 

Internet – The designs can be stored in the email and can be retrieved in any place of the world. The burden of carrying the paper and maintaining the design is eliminated. The designer can send the designs to foreign countries for approval with the touch of a button

 

Thanks to CAD the creativity of the designer is enhanced and also helps the designer to create designs neat and quick.

 

 

33.3 2D Garment Designing Process

 

Garment designing in the two dimensional form (namely x and y axis) is similar to drawing an illustration on the paper. Here the drawing is created in the computer in the following ways

 

33.3.1 From photographs

 

33.3.2 Using tablet and stylus

 

33.3.3 Using general purpose CAD software

 

33.3.4 Using fashion designing software

 

 

33.3.1 From Photographs: The availability of photographs in digital formats is very common thanks to the digital cameras. The hard copy of the photographs can be digitised by scanning the photographs into the computer. The photographic images can be edited for colours and prints using suitable CAD software. The images can be placed in one layer and the outline can be redrawn for further major changes. This is more ideal for personalisation of dress designs. If a new garment design has to be viewed for a model or an individual this is an easier way. This is termed as ‘Style testing’. ‘Style testing’ meaning pretesting with consumers which aids in easy  identification of styles with low consumer interest and can be eliminated. Here a fashion scout can see a new design in foreign country, transmit the colour photo to incorporate it in the headquarters in India, where prototypes design can be developed using CAD. These designs thus submitted to consumer testing and the results can be tabulated within 24 hours.

 

33.3.2 Using tablet and stylus: The skill of the artists is very unique and there is no replacement for it. A tablet acts as a digitiser and therefore the hand drawn images are converted into a digital format. It serves as an input. The drawing is made on this tablet surface using stylus, which serves as a pen. As the garment design is drawn the image is seen displayed in the monitor.

 

33.3.3 Using general purpose software: General purpose software refer to the software like Coreldraw, paintbrush and adobe photoshop where a variety of designs can be created ranging from fashion model to a toy, scientific model of an atomic structure or parts of a plant / animal. It is a boon to a fashion designer where the designs can be drawn using the drawing tools, fill tools etc. This enhances the creativity of the designer in a short span of time. Like hand drawings, a croqui can be created and the same can be used for creating a variety of garments. Hair styles, accessories and the postures can be changed to suit the garment design. The garment design can be placed in different simulated background.

 

33.3.4 Using Fashion Design Software: Increasing number of fashion designing software is available for the designer to create garment illustrations. The nuances of the software are listed as follows;

 

  • The software has a library of different types of models for different ages, varied sizes and shapes. Hence the time needed to create a base figure is eliminated.
  • The software is has different fabric textures. The colours of the fabric swatches can be changed in part or full.
  • The software also aids in final presentation of the garment in an attractive way.

33.4 Need for 3D Garment Designing

 

Garment designs for the 3D human figure are usually presented as sketches or photographs, which is 2-dimensional. In it becomes hard to imagine how the 2-dimenesional sketches the will be in the other angles, say for example side view and back view. Fashion designs are more convincing if the model and the garments are portrayed with a certain 3-dimensional effect. 3D computer visualisation is an efficient and effective way to communicate design ideas. The need for 3D designing is listed as follows:-

 

Clothing is three dimensional, which means it is perceived in the round. The catalog and magazine designs are in the photographic form which is 2 dimensional. But if it is viewed as a 3D catalogues it will be of great interest to the consumer and is becomes more advantageous while shopping through internet

 

Before the dress is sewn, the tailor may not know the finished appearance of the dress. Also it is hard to imagine how it will suit the wearer. If the tailor has a good imagination, experience and skill, he/she may imagine the results.

 

With 3D designs, there is no need to physically produce the product. The styles can be presented to the consumer as 3D designs and tested for their acceptance or rejection without the garment sample.

 

Fashion show is the presentation of a designer collection using a human model. This involves lot of time, manpower and money. The 3D images can present a virtual fashion show at a minimal cost

 

In this age of information technology, it is essential to have a database of garment designs in the 3D image. Traditional garments are a treasure to our heritage. Hence it is necessary to store them in the 3D form for the future generation to view our rich culture

 

3D designing also enhances e-business capabilities by allowing user to create an e-store with the 3D collections prepared by the garment manufacturing companies

 

33.4.1 3D Garment Designing Process

 

The 3D designing software can be grouped under two heads, one is general purpose software and the other is a customised fashion designing software. The general purpose software include 3D Studio Max, Cinema 4D, Poser and so on. Some of the fashions designing software are VStitcher, Optitex, Modaris 3D and Assyst Bulmer. Today there is an increasing demand for the 3D computer graphics and 3d designs are becoming increasingly prevalent in the textile and apparel industry.

 

3Dimensional designing is a process of designing a garment in 3 dimensions, namely x, y and z axis. Three dimensional viewing of objects requires the specification of a projection plane, a centre of projection or the direction of projection and a view volume in world co-ordinates. Geometric transformations, viewing options and modifying activities are highly mathematical and complicated as the operations involve x, y and z axis. Creating human figure is itself a research. Hence it can be downloaded from an available source. If it is a fashion designing software, the models are available in the library which can be modified for shapes, hair colour, shoulder slope and postures.

 

Designs are created by drawing the outline of the garment directly on the 3D model. Here the model acts as a mannequin or human body. For creating a garment design on a mannequin, the designer should have a clear view on the details at all angles. The garment designing is similar to the process of draping, where a material is placed over the body form to create different styles of garment. Similarly 3D lines or shapes are drawn over the body form and a garment design is created.

 

Once a 3D object is created, textures and colours are applied to it to make it seem more realistic – rough and coarse or shiny and smooth. This process is termed as shading and texturing. It is the method of applying the surface properties to the garment design and body form. Texture applications make the model and the garment look real and interesting. The texture is applied with the material maps available in the material library. After the material is wrapped around the surface of an object, it can be stretched or shrunk to suit or follow the shape of the object.

 

Rendering produces the final output file and needs specifying the file type, frame size and frame. Rendering is a technique that facilitates users to get a preview of how objects can appear in the final 3D product after the users have modelled them, animated them and applied the desired shading, texturizing and lightning on them. A circular path was set for the camera to move. The render setting was set for a definite number of frames. Brightness and contrast level were adjusted to give more clarity to the scene. The fashion figure is placed in the stage setting and is animated. Animation refers to the movement of the object and the scene at different angles. This enables the viewer to get full view of the garment at all possible angles. The most difficult task is simulation of the fabric. The beauty of the garment lies in the graceful movement of the fabric while the human walks. It takes a lot of geometric calculations to give a beautiful fall to the fabric. This is still predominant in the area of research.

 

The highlight of the latest fashion designing software is ability to prepare a 2D pattern which will be converted into a 3D garment, virtually draped over a human figure. Another notable significant feature is that the fit of the garment can also be checked. This tightness of the fabric is shown by displaying redness in the garment parts and the garment falls off if it is loose.

 

33.4.2 Designing process of a 3D Salwar kameez

 

The steps involved in 3D garment designing for salwar kameez is given as an example. Salwar Kameez is made up of three pieces. The kameez is a long and loose flowing tunic like long shirt that is worn from top using a wide opening at the neckline. The salwar is the loose pyjamas that accompany the kameez. The third piece is duppatta which is worn in different styles. It is wrapped around the neck, on the shoulder and sometimes as covering for the head. The steps involved in creating the garment silhouette of a Salwar Kameez are explained below.

 

In the process of designing the upper part Kameez was designed first followed by the Salwar and the accessories

 

The woman model and the hair are frozen while designing the garment. This will ensure that the model will not be altered throughout the designing process

 

Objects are created by using polygons, primitives and mesh objects. Polygons are the surfaces that are formed by joining three or more points in a 3D space. A polygon is created and placed over the body on the right side of the woman’s figure at the centre front line

  • The polygon is converted into an editable polygon
  • The editable polygon is modified by selecting one edge at a time and extending it in the desired angle and length
  • The vertex of the polygon is selected and modified to suit the shape of the body Care is taken to see that the polygon is draped evenly over the chest.
  • When the front half is completed, the same procedure is followed at the back The sleeve for the right hand is also prepared in a similar fashion
  • The front, back and sleeve is selected and mirrored after cloning the same The same sequence is followed for the Salwar also
  • The kameez is hidden while working on the Salwar
  • After the completion of salwar, the kameez is “unhidden” and the model is “unfrozen”
  • Duppatta also is created by modifying a polygon
  • A pair of bangles and a slip-on shoe is created at the end
  • The salwar, kameez and duppatta are modified into ‘mesh smooth’ where the polygon and the edges are smoothened. Smoothing creates this illusion of roundness by assigning smoothing groups at the face, element or object level. The salwar, kameez and duppatta are subjected to “UVW mapping”. This makes the texture mapping more effective
  • The salwar kameez is texturised and rendered
  • The images given below bring out the stages of creating a Salwar, Kameez, Duppatta, bangles and slip-on shoes.

33.4   Summary

 

It is evident that the computers are playing an important role in garment designing and the garment designs are becoming more interesting and clearer in displaying the garment features and prints. In this fast moving world, where everything is instant computer technology comes handy for a businessman and a customer. For a fashion designer CAD assists and enables the designer to create more varieties and present the design collection to a clientele. Portfolio presentations can be made more attractive in the CAD. As an aspiring designer one should be aware of the latest developments in the CAD, make the maximum use of the technology and make the world colourful through their innovative and interesting garments.

you can view video on CAD in Garment Designing

 

Bibliography

 

  • Chockalingam, P. (1999), Computer aided design and manufacturing-CAD/CAM, Paramount publications, Delhi, Pp 8-10, 91.
  • Kogent Solutions, (2007), 3Ds Max in simple steps, 2007 edition, Dreamtech press, New Delhi, P 2.
  • Kogent Solutions, (2008), 3ds Max 2008 in simple steps, Dreamtech press, Delhi, Pp 126, 240.

 

Journals and Magazines

 

  • Amsamani, S. and Punna, T. (2010), Impact of smart technology on fashion, The Indian textile journal, December 2010, Vol CXXI, No.3, P 38.
  • Apparel views, (2007), 3Dimensional fitting and virtual range making, February 2007, P 34.
  • Chatterjee, K. N., Kaur, C., Khanna, S. and Chaudhary, J. (2010), CIM: An indispensable tool, The Indian textile journal, February 2010, Vol CXX, No.5, P 62, 64.
  • Hinds, B.K., McCartney, J., Hadden, C and Diamond, J. (1992), 3D CAD for Garment Design, International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Volume 4, Number 4, P 9.
  • Parthasarathi, V. (2010), Manual vs CAD/CAM system in garment industry, The Indian textile journal, February 2010, Vol CXX, No.5, P 56.
  • Paul, J. and Paul, D. (2011), Cloud computing: The emerging trend in fashion technology, Apparel views, January 2011, Vol X, No.01. P 64.