The most important thing to consider whenever you are drawing
clothing or any type of fabric is the direction the fabric is going to
be pulled in. Folds are caused wherever the fabric is being stretched or
pulled; figure out how exactly you want the fabric to move, and the
rest is pretty easy. Always remember to consider the figure beneath the
clothing; the cloth should reveal the shape of the figure beneath. I'll
go into more detail on this later.
At the left are some examples of basic types of folds. Notice the
movement of each example shown; the fabric flows downward on the top
left two, for they are being pulled down by gravity. This type of fold
would be on something that hangs loosely, such as a cape or long shirt.
On the lower left and upper right examples, the fabric is not only
pulled by gravity, but stretched to the left (probably by an arm that is
underneath the clothing). The folds become more horizontal than
vertical the further it is stretched. Also notice how sometimes the
folds are nested within one another. This will often occur at joints or
areas in which loose clothing is bunched up. The lower right picture is a
slightly more complex example of a more inert piece of cloth being
pulled in a viarety of directions. Notice how the folds follow the
direction that the cloth is being pulled in.
Here are a few more examples of basic fold shapes. On the left, the
cloth is being pulled downwards by gravity and to the right by wind or
motion. On the left, the long strip of cloth is bunched up near the top.
Remember to use shading to give your subjects more form. Generally, you
shade along a fold line, or on any places that you think a shadow would
be cast. This takes some getting used to. It helps to look at actual
folds sometimes to see where to shade. Sometimes, I'll sketch the drapes
or a towel hung over a chair just to practice and get a better feel for
how clothing is shaded.
Here are a few more random examples, of a bow and some sleeves. The
most important thing to note here is the shape of the folds at the joint
of the sleeve in the middle.
These are some more complex, overlapping and nested folds. The more
detail you put into the folds, the more interesting it will look. On the
left, notice how the fabric bunches up where it is tied together; the
weight of the fabric pulls it down and causes extra creases and folds to
form where it is gathered together. The tie itself is drawn with lots
of detail, and the cloth beneath it blows loosely in the wind. The
fabric is shaded around the folds and in the crevices formed by the
cloth. On the picture to the right, a length of fabric is draped upon
the floor; notice how the folds nest in one another and overlap,
creating an interesting effect.
Another thing I want to point out is the thickness of the fabric in
question. The fabric on the top example appears thinner than the fabric
in the lower example. Take note of both collars. On the top, the
circular rim of the collar connects directly to the rest of the collar,
while on the bottom, there is a space between the circular rim and the
vertical part. The same applies to the edges of the cape. While on the
top example, the edge is crisp and thin, on the bottom example there is
extra space between the rim and the rest of the cape. This extra space
makes the clothing look more thick and heavy.
Now that we know a few of the basic shapes of folds in fabric, let's
move on and see how clothing should look when it is actually being worn
by someone. At the left, we have an example of a very loose, draping
sleeve. As mentioned before, the main thing to consider is which
direction the fabric will be pulled. The sleeve here is being pulled in
two main directions: downwards because it's pulled by gravity, and to
the left because its attached to the main garment and is being stretched
across the arm and torso. The folds in the sleeve will follow the
direction that the cloth is being pulled. Notice also how the cloth
bunches up around the wrist. This isn't necessary, but it does indicate
the length and looseness of the sleeve.
Here are three more sleeve examples. These sleeves are not as loose
as the one shown above, and all stick pretty close to the arm. In these
examples, the cloth is stretched from the arm to the shoulder and torso,
rather than being pulled down mainly by gravity. There isn't enough
material to be pulled down too greatly. Since the fabric is pulled
horizontally, the folds should reflect this. The best example is the top
picture here; notice how the folds move towards the shoulder instead of
towards the ground. The sleeve in the middle picture is a little
looser, and is pulled down by gravity more. The sleeve in bottom picture
is big and loose, but is rolled up at the elbows, and thus doesn't hang
and droop as much as the sleeve in the previous example.
These are some miscellaneous bits of clothing that didn't fit into
any of the other sections of this tutorial, but that I wanted to include
anyway. In all these examples, try to identify where the cloth is being
pulled towards and in what direction (for example, is it being pulled
roughly towards the shoulder, or draping loosely over the subject?).
Always remember to shade wherever the light doesn't fall, such as
grooves, areas inside the folds, and places where the cloth overlaps.
One small but important thing I would also like to go over before
continuing is the effect that stripes can have. If you are drawing
clothing that has stripes or a pattern on it, make sure that the pattern
moves along with the rest of the fabric. Where the cloth bends, the
stripes and patterns will bend, as well. This can be difficult to draw
and shade, especially when you are dealing with complex patterns, but it
can add a really nice three dimensional look to your picture.
Now that we know some basic shapes and know a little more about how
clothing should fit on your subject, let's work on the actual parts of
your character's wardrobe. We'll start off by going over basic shirts.
Whatever type of shirt you draw, there are some basic places where folds
will occur. Sleeves will be stretched towards the shoulder. Fabric
generally gathers and bunches up around the armpits and waistline. If
you are drawing a character with a heavy jacket or a loose shirt, the
fabric should be thick and baggy and full of folds and creases, while if
it is a tighter fitting garment, the clothing will stick pretty close
to your subject (which is why it is important to be able to draw bodies;
I have found that you cannot always cover up your entire character with
really loose clothing to hide the fact that you aren't very strong in
figure drawing. ^_~)
Here are some better examples of various shirts and clothing for the
upper body. Notice that while some clothing fits closer to the body than
other clothing, you still see many folds where ever the fabric is being
stretched. Generally, you'll see folds the most at the armpits, upper
portions of sleeves, waistlines, and depending on how tight the outfit
is, the chest (as shown in the lower two examples). Also make sure that
any seams that are visible on the clothing follow the shape of the cloth
and the character that is wearing it. ^_^
All right, let's work on the pants (something that I personally
sometimes find a little daunting... ^.^;) I have noticed that guy's
pants tend to be a little looser, while girl's pants cling closer to the
subject. Also take note that female's rears tend to be more round,
while guy's are tend to be flat and squared off (a rather strange
observation, I know. ^_^;) No matter which gender you are drawing, the
fabric will gather around the lower waist, knees, and ankles. The cloth
around the upper and lower legs is generally pulled straight down by
gravity and won't have too many folds, unless the leg is lifted up, in
which case you'll have folds similar to the sleeves on the previous
page.
Here are two more examples of clothing for the lower body. The one
the left is an example of really loose, baggy pants. The material has
more folds than normal pants, and in this case gathers at the ankles.
Notice how poofy the pants get below the knees. The example on the right
is just showing how no matter what your character is wearing, you need
to consider the form of the figure beneath the clothing. In this case,
the clothing is relatively tight, but hangs down past the knees, and
thus is drawn a little tighter around the rear. Also notice how the
loose fabric bunches up right above and below the belt. That concludes
my tutorial on drawing clothing. It isn't the most organized tutorial,
but I'm hoping that it covers enough areas so that it can be of some
help to you. ^_^
