How to Draw Fabric Folds and Drapery

I've done a clothing tutorial before, but I've updated many aspects and have developed it further.

Things to keep in mind as you draw clothing

• How loose or tight is the character's clothing? As you can see in my lesson, folds form either at the seam or at the point of tension depending on that crucial note.
• Is the fabric relaxed, or is it being pulled. Generally, if the arm or leg is being bent, the point of tension is at the armpit/ elbow area or the hip/knee area.
• Be loose! Fabric has it's own laws in terms of how it moves and folds, but it can still vary greatly within those confines. There's no right or wrong as long as you follow the rules, so keep your hand flowing and stay loose.
• Start simple. You see my work and may wanna go straight into hatching and details, but if you're not comfortable drawing fabric yet, start simple and only draw the important folds. Later on you can start throwing in some added flair.

I will show you further examples of tight, loose, and natural fitting clothing.

We’re going to start off with a large t-shirt. I’m making sure to include the seams, because they can greatly effect how the folds are created. I’m going to begin with the collar of the shirt. As i move onto the sleeve, I want you to see how the arm is pushing ever so slightly on the sleeve. Where the sleeve would normally drape further out, this time it’s right up against arm.The x marks the point of tension. Tension is anything that is pulling the fabric. In this case, it’s the shoulder. The folds will go towards that X. Next, I keep in mind that this t-shirt is large, so gravity will play a huge role in how the folds are formed. Since he’s bent over, the shirt will flow down away from his body. Where it begins to compress is when it meets the leg. It folds into a C shape. There are many reoccurring shapes you will see in fabric. C, U, I, Z, and reverse versions of each. By adding a contour line around the shape, I indicate the 3d form of the fold. Make sure to not overdo it, because simplicity will show your understanding more than cluttering the shirt with folds and wrinkles. The shirt swoops down, and we meet our next point of tension which i will mark with another X. Here, the hip is pulling the fabric. The folds will go in 2 directions from here, and both of those points are the shoulders, which are also points of tension. These points of tension are all pulling against each other, even if it’s ever so slightly, you will still see it. You can test it yourself, use both hands to pull your shirt in opposite directions. The folds will go from one hand to the other. Now, the sleeve here will be pulling at the deltoids. And it’s pulling from the seam at the armpit. Usually but not always, where there is tension, the opposite end will have compression. See where his left arm is raised, tension starts at the armpit, and so the fabric is compressed on his deltoids. I’m going to draw some loose jeans on this guy with rolled up bottoms. The leg is raised, so the fabric is pressed against the quads of the leg. The knee will be our point of tension, so it’s pulling the fabric from the butt towards it. The folds will show the direction. On the inside of the knee, we will see compression, marked by a C fold. See, where there is tension, the opposite end will usually have compression. It’s key to remember this formula. I’m using arrows to show how the folds are all being pulled towards the knee. I want to show you how because his leg is raised, the fabric is being pulled from his butt, thus, there is compression on the opposite end of the butt, which is the front of his hips. Still, there is a little pull as he lifts his leg, so we will see the fabric drape towards the opposite leg. This leg is somewhat neutral, so the folds will be effected more so by gravity than by the form of the leg. However, fabric will begin to wrinkle the more it is used, and in the case of these jeans, you will see wrinkles around the knees.

On tight fitting shirts, the folds mainly originate from the bottom of the armpit. Like i said before, imagine pulling a shirt using both hands. The folds go across. Your arms are pulling the fabric across, so you will see horizontal folds on the chest. As we get to the pelvis, the folds will start to come down, making a V shape formation. On the arms, you will mainly see folds where the elbows bend, and where the fabric bunches up before the cuffs of the sleeves. On the other arm, the fabric is being pulled towards the elbow from the armpit. It’s important to remember that points of tension will pull against each other. The armpit will pull against the elbow. The butt will pull against the knee. The fabric bunches up right above the wrist, and I will use C, U, and Z shapes to make it clear. The same rules apply to the legs, but this time, the pants are so tight, that although the knee is pulling from the butt, there is less fabric to pull. Instead, we will see folds at the seams. Tighter pants such as dress pants generally work this way. On the neutral leg, the seams pull against each other to create small horizontal folds, as gravity plays less of a role here, thus less vertical folds.

Finally, I’ll show you how very loose clothing works. Seams don’t play much of a role on loose fitting clothes, instead the key player is gravity. I will use more swooping lines to create large C and U shapes for the sleeves. The folds start at the shoulders as they fall down to the hips. Same as before, the elbow pulls from the armpit, and then drapes vertically over the wrist and hand. The fabric over the knee follows gravity, thus falling vertically. I’m using much less folds since the fabric is so loose. On the neutral leg, the only folds that are very noticeable is the one where the fabric bunches up over the foot. A c shape fold will do the job nicely.

Next, without reference and only following the formulas, Tension pulls against tension. Where you find tension, the opposite end will usually experience compression. Tighter clothes will have more horizontal folds because they follow form, while loose clothing will have more vertical folds since they follow gravity. I highly suggest trying these out for yourself. Find reference images online, or draw people outside. What will guarantee your success is repetition. Back to back drawings, some quick, some with a little more detail. Draw clothing for males, and draw clothing for females, hell, draw clothing on dogs. Anything that will allow you to understand the formulas better.

HOMEWORK
Like how you see with the page I did above, find 5 to 10 reference images. These can be photos of yourself or of others off google images. Try this exercise out 3 times a week, or more if you a boss, and after a month or 2, you should be feeling pretty confident about how you are able to draw folds.