Drapery Links

Seven basic folds: http://www.mightyartdemos.com/mightyartdemos-bradley.html
Follow the link above to see more, or buy the book!! http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-People-Portray-Clothed-Figure/dp/1581803591

Types of Folds An Illustrated Tutorial from "Drawing People: How to Portray the Clothed Figure" by Barbara Bradley Breaking down the types of folds into categories may seem removed from the purpose of drawing folds on people. But to be in control of the folds you draw, you have to know the characteristics of each type so you can recognize and use them to your advantage, blending them into a harmonious whole. Pipe Zigzag Spiral Half-Lock Diaper Drop Inert
Use a Sharp, Soft Medium - I recommend a soft stick medium, such as X-soft compressed charcoal or a pastel stick in a dark brown color. Conte Bistre is a good choice. To sharpen it, make a long point on your medium with a craft knife, then smooth its sides on a sand pad so you have the choice of making a line using the tip of the medium or apply tone using the side.	Hold Your Medium Overhand - Let this be an order! Hold your medium overhand so you can apply strokes in any direction. With your palm upward, place the drawing medium perpendicular, not parallel, to the line of your fingers. As you draw, make sure it continues to lie across your fingers. If your medium is parallel to your fingers, it will get "stuck" and you won't be able to stroke in as many directions or change from line to tone.
	PIPE FOLDSIn their most regular pattern, pipe folds resemble a series of organ pipes, thus their name. Their shapes may be semi-cylindrical or semi-conical. You see them everywhere from clothing to drapery. There are two varieties of pipe folds: relaxed and stretched.
Relaxed Pipe Folds - You see this type of pipe fold when fabric falls freely from a condensed area. Arrange a short end of a rectangle of cloth into pleats, grasping it at the top and letting the remaining fabric fall. These pipe folds, semi-cylindrical in shape and consistent in size, are the type you see in formal window draperies [above left]. To study irregular pipe folds [above right], gather the material toward the top before letting the rest of the material fall. These pipe folds are semi-conical in shape and vary more in size. Fabric gathered in waistbands shows this kind of fold.	Stretched Pipe Folds - Fold a square of cloth into a triangle. Gather it near the upper corners and pull. This creates the cordlike pipe folds that appear in stretched fabric. You can also see these folds in rectangular fabric that has been gathered and pulled. However diagonal fabric stretches more.
ZIGZAG FOLDSZigzag refers to the pattern of alternating folds that occurs on the inside of the bend of a tubular piece of fabric when the fabric buckles. To see zigzag folds, put on a jacket, put you hand in the pocket to bend your arm a bit and look in a mirror. When the tubular piece of cloth that makes up your sleeve bends, the stretching side of the cloth along the back of your arm becomes taut while the excess fabric on the inside buckles. What Makes a Zigzag Fold?Zigzag folds alternate directions. The nature of fabric affects the folds, the stiffer the fabric, the more angular the folds. Planes of ZigZag FoldsNotice the horizontal diamond shapes. The top and bottom of each diamond fold toward each other to form two triangular planes meeting in the middle. Because the planes face different directions, each receives light differently. Memory Zigzag FoldsThis woman's knees are locked, not bent, but the cloth of her jeans has been bent so often that the folds have left an imprint. Study people waiting in line or standing on public transit. At the back of the knees of well-worn pants, you often see such zigzag folds caused by frequent compressions from bending the knees.
SPIRAL FOLDSSpiral folds result when tubular pieces of cloth condense around tubular forms, such as a sleeve around an arm. Different gestures cause different directions of spiral folds, and variables like the amount and character of the fabric affect the number of folds that form. The more fabric condensed into one area, the more folds appear. The softer the fabric, the more typically rounded are the spirals. Spirals Form Around CylindersCloth wrapped around curtain rods exhibits spiral folds. Notice the pipe folds that fall from the rod. Elastic in clothing, such as waistbands, creates similar but small spiral folds. Condensed Fabric - Push the sleeve of a sweatshirt or soft sweater up your arm, condensing the fabric. Most of these folds actually form only partial spirals that don't go all the way around the form. Direction Relates to Tension -The direction of spiral folds relates to the gesture of the underlying form. The tension between the armpit and elbow causes folds that travel diagonally between the two. Create These Effects Yourself -You can make spiral folds by inserting a cardboard cylinder into a longer piece of fabric, with the edges stapled together to form a cylinder. Soft cotton (drawing 1) makes typically rounded spiral folds. If you twist the fabric as you condense it (drawing 2), the folds spiral diagonally.

Continue reading about the seven basic folds here: http://www.mightyartdemos.com/mightyartdemos-bradley.html. Or buy the book!! http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-People-Portray-Clothed-Figure/dp/1581803591

Here are a couple reviews from Marshall Vandruff: http://www.marshallart.com/reviews/drapery/

BOOKS

Drawing People

by Barbara Bradley

This is not a book on drapery, but it includes some of the best instruction I know on how to understand folds. Worth the price for that alone, but the rest of the material is worthy as well. Practical, clear and helpful. —mv

Click book cover to shop at Amazon.com

Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery: Solutions for Drawing the Clothed Figure

by Burne Hogarth

This book is hard to review well. Students who have tried to read it come away more baffled than enlightened (he tried to change the names from their traditional, faulty names to new, faulty names) and the drawings are typically Hogarthian, for better and worse, occasionally looking as if the model was wearing rubber clothing in a heat wave. But if you ignore the text and just look at the pictures, you'll learn how a fold wraps around an arm, a leg, or a body. A few very descriptive drawings that make forms clear. —mv

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