Clothing... Help!

[Lentrax]

I just can't seem to get the hang of drawing decent looking clothing.

It all comes out so flat and boring... (Or like one draped a bolt of fabric around thier shoulders and wrapped it all up. Either way is not pretty.)

Any advice/tips?

[Grinner]

It would help if you posted some examples.

Barring examples, I can only advise you to look the clothes you're (presumably) wearing. Notice how they contort with and hang off your body. Notice how they fold and ripple when you change position.

It's important to get the general form, but the details are what brings it out.

[Dernwine]

It would help if you posted some examples.

Barring examples, I can only advise you to look the clothes you're (presumably) wearing. Notice how they contort with and hang off your body. Notice how they fold and ripple when you change position.

It's important to get the general form, but the details are what brings it out.

agreed, it's hard to say what you can improve on if we can't see what you are drawing.

[Lentrax]

Sorry about this, but its the only one I can post right now, since its the only one my camera would take a picture of before the battery went out...

http://s11.postimg.org/7rl03phrn/image.jpg

[Dernwine]

Well, probably the best thing you can do for your clothing is to improve your anatomy (yeah I know, it sucks, everything comes back to "improve your anatomy" when there are so many more interesting things to work on! :( ). What I mean is clothing generally only can look as good as what is underneath it, so by working at what's underneath you'll gain improvements in your clothing for free.

Secondly as for the clothes themselves, one or two things that might make it look a little bit better... try looking up a reference picture of the kind of clothes you want to draw, virtually all clothes have folds, stretchmarks, seams etc. These are your friend because they help make the clothes look like something that your drawings are actually wearing.

And one last tiny little trick, hmm...I'm not sure how to describe this clearly, and I don't have my tablet on me to do an explanatory drawings but: When your clothes end there isn't a 1-1 transition from person to cloth. Run your finger along your neck down to your shirt and you'll notice there is a bump because the fabric starts. It's a continuation of the clothing line, not the shoulder line. Does that make sense? Probably not :/ If I have a moment and I remember I'll try to do a quick sketch to explain myself better.

But yes, Anatomy and Folds will be your friends here.

[Lentrax]

Which is about what I figured.

But that brings me to my next question. How do you get clothing to look like it isn't just a really tight t-shirt? How do you get it to look like it is a thicker material?

How do you give it depth?

[Dernwine]

<_< It's mostly down to Anatomy and Folds. Even a skin tight T-Shirt will have some folds, changing how you draw the folds and how the fabric falls changes what kind of clothing your characters are wearing.

I did a couple of very quick sketches of one of my characters comparing a sweater vs a tight t-shirt, perhaps that will help illustrate what I mean?
http://www.the-senkari.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/clothes-sketch-st.jpg
http://www.the-senkari.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/clothes-sketch-s.jpg

[Lentrax]

Sort of...

So I should draw the body in, then draw clothing around it. Then figure out the folds and such?

[Gnomish Wanderer]

Try getting a fashion magazine and just figuring out how the clothing looks in that, drawing it page by page. I was also told to try to draw the body under the clothing and then draw the clothing on top, to get a feel for both the anatomy involved and how everything was sitting. It was pretty helpful, you could try it and see if it works for you?

[Dernwine]

Sort of...

So I should draw the body in, then draw clothing around it. Then figure out the folds and such?

Yes! I don't think I know a single artist who doesn't at least do a gesture sketch of a person before putting clothes on them.

[Domochevsky]

Yes! I don't think I know a single artist who doesn't at least do a gesture sketch of a person before putting clothes on them.

Pretty much this. I know what all my characters look like naked, same as most other artists. :smallwink:
(If only to silence that nagging feeling that something doesn't look quite right, with clothes obscuring body shapes. You know that everything underneath is proper, even if you can't see it anymore.)

[Serpentine]

Body then clothes is definitely a must. You might also like to have a look at some fashion design sketches, as well. For example:
http://futurefashionstyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/How-to-Make-Fashion-Sketches.jpeg
http://25.media.tumblr.com/53c832a3bd64c2ecb81df44d477d4ada/tumblr_mm0giqCtJt1rau5ipo1_500.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OZjQTkC9NE8/Ta-Dog2L_7I/AAAAAAAAHc0/JQJ9SOBmxqs/s400/Fashion-Design-Sketch-04.jpg

And (http://eldanis.deviantart.com/art/fairy-costume-designs-132476593) some (http://lelia.deviantart.com/art/Peacock-123542985) DA (http://youkaiyume.deviantart.com/art/Kinmoku-Fashion-Three-Lights-162749916) examples (http://www.deviantart.com/art/Mugen-Male-uniform-180322240).
And never be afraid to refer to photos or other people's art.
edit: Two (http://jaeiyemm014.deviantart.com/gallery/26737097?offset=24) more (http://danydiniz.deviantart.com/gallery/35265653).

[Lentrax]

Okay. I'm back, and with another picture.

http://s17.postimg.org/5kdyq25mn/image.jpg

How does this look?

[Domochevsky]

It's certainly an improvement as far as the clothes go. They do at least partially look like they're wrapping around the body. :smallsmile:

If I may be so bold as to scribble over your stuff, though...
http://wildwestscifi.net/Misc/image_editchevsky.png

Construction work, yo. https://i.imgur.com/gHCeL.png

[Lentrax]

I.. Bwuh...

Wha?

[Domochevsky]

What I'm trying to say is... do your construction work, layer for layer, complete with scaffolding. The body is a building. (It's a castle, I'm a boss (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3w2MTXBebg)) Bring your tools. :smallsmile:

[/unnecessary reference]

[Lentrax]

What I'm trying to say is... do your construction work, layer for layer, complete with scaffolding. The body is a building. (It's a castle, I'm a boss (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3w2MTXBebg)) Bring your tools. :smallsmile:

[/unnecessary reference]

Okay...

And please, don't link me to Epic Rap Battles again... I do not care for it, and it upsets me greatly.

Please?

[Domochevsky]

...huh. Alright then. I guess that reference didn't play. Nevermind you me. >_>

[Dernwine]

If you are unfamiliar with the idea of constructing your people from basic forms underneath your clothes I'd recommend checking something like this out http://fav.me/dgd312 (or better yet go find a textbook on the subject, but hey, Devart is free :P )

[enderlord99]

How does this look?

It looks sideways.

[Lentrax]

If you are unfamiliar with the idea of constructing your people from basic forms underneath your clothes I'd recommend checking something like this out http://fav.me/dgd312 (or better yet go find a textbook on the subject, but hey, Devart is free :P )

This, more helpful than a link to Epic Rap battles.


It looks sideways.

This, not so much.

[Alejandro]

Check with your local library or community college about a free or low cost art class. Personal instruction for this sort of thing is always much more effective than (still good) forum tips.

Also, ERB is hilarious :)

[Lentrax]

Check with your local library or community college about a free or low cost art class. Personal instruction for this sort of thing is always much more effective than (still good) forum tips.

This is something I was planning on when going back to school. Glad it wasn't a wasted thought.

Especially given my entire art drawing history is summed up in those two pictures, the latest of which took me maybe 40 minutes to draw.

Also, ERB is hilarious :)

This, I disagree on.

So horrible...

Seriously though, is there just something I am missing in anatomy?

I have no depth perception, so I could easily miss something important...

[Dernwine]

It looks sideways.

Actually this is helpful. You should really orient your images if you are posting them with requests for feedback. As it stands you are making those who are trying to help you save a copy of your work and orient it so they can actually look at it. Essentially: make it easier to view your artwork.


This is something I was planning on when going back to school. Glad it wasn't a wasted thought.

Especially given my entire art drawing history is summed up in those two pictures, the latest of which took me maybe 40 minutes to draw.

Seriously though, is there just something I am missing in anatomy?

I have no depth perception, so I could easily miss something important...

Err...yes you are. Okay lets start by saying there is no shame in missing anything in Anatomy, Anatomy is hard, the shame lies in not trying to improve. I've been drawing nearly every day for years, as have most of the others commenting here, and still have a very weak grasp of anatomy myself (actually if you want to see my own struggles *shameless self promote* go click on the link in my sig). As you said, you've done maybe two drawings? So it's understandable that you are missing a lot on the anatomy front.

My suggestion would be to try and draw some figures (complete, yes including hands and feet) and with an anatomy guide or a "how to draw people" tutorial off the internet open to get some starting grips, as that will probably be easier to follow and less demoralizing than critique on a forum.