Cloth looks hard to draw because it has so many folds. But folds are not random. They start where the cloth is held up, at a point of support such as a pin, a hook, a shoulder or a knee, and they spread away from it.
Key idea
Find the points of support first. Folds start there and run away from them. Shade each fold like a small cylinder.
Why it works
Gravity pulls cloth down, and only the supports hold it up. Hung from one point, the cloth falls away in a fan of folds that all radiate from that point. Hung from two points, it sags between them in U-shaped curves, and falls in fans below each point. Each fold is a rounded ridge, so it has a light side, a core shadow and a shadow side, just like the cylinder in Highlight, Core Shadow and Reflected Light.
Worked example: A towel on a hook
A towel hangs from a single hook. How do you start?
- Mark the hook: the point of support.
- Draw the outside edges falling from the hook.
- Draw a few main folds as lines spreading from the hook down to the hem.
- Shade each fold: light on the side facing the light, darker on the turning side.
Answer: Start from the hook and let the folds radiate from it.
Common mistake
People draw folds as random lines scattered over the cloth. Random lines make cloth look crumpled or dirty. Ask where each fold comes from: every main fold should start at a support or at a place where the cloth bends.
Set up a dish towel pinned at one corner, then at two corners, and draw each for ten minutes. You will use this again in The Clothed Figure.