Vilppu Drawing Drapery: The Clothed Figure

As art students, we all spent most of our time drawing the nude figure. As professional artists, we rarely draw the nude figure. In drawing the draped figure, the natural tendency is to copy the pattern of the folds that we see. My focus in this book is to use the drapery as a means to describe the underlying form. Of course, in describing the form, the action of the form is a critical element so the drapery becomes a strong component of communicating the action. The folds created by the drapery fall into predicable patterns determined by the kind of drapery, the form that it goes over, the action of the form and, in the case of clothes, the cut and type.

The predicable patterns are classified into seven basic folds, and combinations of these folds. Understanding these folds, and what causes them, allows the artist to draw the clothed figure from imagination. In drawing from the model, the understanding of the basic folds and their causes, gives you the ability to select the folds that best communicate the action and describe the form.