Drawspace U11

FABRIC OF A
Brenda Hoddinott
U11 ADVANCED: FACES & FIGURES
Drawing believable fabrics is integral to accurately
rendering a clothed figure. In this project, you
draw the folds, creases, puckers, and wrinkles of
the fabric of a sleeve so it appears to drape
naturally over the forms of an arm.
This project is divided into the following four sections:
INTRODUCTION: The folds, creases, puckers, and wrinkles of sleeves reveal the
unseen forms of arms.
OUTLINING FABRIC ON AN ARM: You begin with a rough sketch of an arm and
slowly build up to a contour drawing.
MAPPING VALUES: You plan the shading by outlining the shapes of the various
light and dark values.
SHADING WITH HATCHING AND CROSSHATCHING GRADUATIONS: You add

light values with hatching and a 2H pencil, and medium and dark values with
crosshatching and HB and 2B pencils.
Supplies include 2H, HB, and 2B pencils, erasers, and good quality drawing paper.
8 PAGES 15 ILLUSTRATIONS
This lesson is recommended for artists with strong drawing skills, as well as advanced students of home
schooling, academic and recreational fine art educators.
Published by Hoddinott Publishing for Drawspace.com, Halifax, NS, Canada - 2008
INTRODUCTION
Figure 1101
Fashions may come and go, but the basic forms

of human figures remain constant. Drawing
believable fabrics is integral to accurately
rendering a clothed figure. The folds, creases,
puckers, and wrinkles of sleeves reveal the
unseen forms of arms.
To draw smooth fabrics (Refer to Figure 1101),

you need to keep the following in mind:
Highlights reflect off surfaces close to
the light source.
The transition of values from light to

dark is compacted into short distances.
Dark shadows and pronounced

highlights are often very close together.
Figure 1102
OUTLINING FABRIC ON
AN ARM
In this section you begin with a rough
sketch of an arm and slowly build up to a
contour drawing.
1)
Very lightly sketch the outline an

arm bent at the elbow.
A 2H pencil works well. Refer to figure

1102.
2)
Drawing a faint outline of a figure

helps you drape the clothing over the
forms more accurately.
Use curved lines to indicate the

locations of the ribcage, breast, and
waist.
Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this document belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever
without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail brenda@drawspace.com Web site http://www.drawspace.com
3)
Sketch the outlines of the folds of

the fabric.
Figure 1103
Refer to Figure 1103.
Observe how the bent form of the

arm bunches up the fabric in some
places. Note how the fabric at the
opening to the sleeve falls
downward from the wrist.
Figure 1104
4)
5)
6)
Use a freshly sharpened HB pencil

to draw the outline neatly.
Refer to figure 1104. Dont press too
hard with your pencil or youll dent
the paper.
Erase as many of the original
sketch lines as possible.
Refine your outline of the clothing, paying close attention to the forms, folds,
and creases.
Refer to Figure 1105. Pay close attention to the way fabric clings to, or falls away
from, the various forms of the arm.
Figure 1105
Figure 1106
MAPPING
VALUES
In this section, you plan
the shading by outlining
the shapes of the various
light and dark values.
The finished drawing in
Figure 1106 will help
guide you.
7)
Very lightly outline

the shapes of the
various values.
Figure 1107
Figure 1108
Refer to
Figures
1107 to
1109.
Figure 1109
Figure 1110
8)
Pat your entire outline

drawing until all the lines
are very faint.
Check over your drawing carefully and change anything with which you are not totally
happy. Refer to Figure 1110 for guidance.
SHADING WITH HATCHING AND CROSSHATCHING

GRADUATIONS
In this section, you add light values with hatching and a 2H pencil, and medium and dark
values with crosshatching and HB and 2B pencils.
9)
Add light shading with hatching graduations, to indicate the forms of the fabric,
and the arm underneath (Figure 1111).
Figure 1111
10) Graduate the light shading toward

the shadow sections with medium
values.
Refer to Figure 1112 and 1113. Cross
over your hatching lines with a second
set to end up with crosshatching.
Figure 1112
Figure 1113
11) Add dark shading to

accentuate the darkest
shadow sections of the
fabric.
Refer to figures 1114 and 1115.
Figure 1114
12) Very carefully blend a few sections of

shading by patting them gently with a
paper towel or facial tissue wrapped
around the tip of a finger.
Do not over blend or you will destroy the
lines that give texture to the fabric.
13) Check over your drawing and adjust

any shading you are not happy with.
Figure 1115
You can lighten a section by

patting it gently with the tip of
a kneaded eraser that has been
molded to a point. Simply add
more crosshatching lines to
make a section darker.
CHALLENGE
Borrow your friends and family

and practice drawing their
clothing (or draw from your
own reflection in a mirror).
With an understanding of the

forms of a persons body, under
the clothing, drawing fabrics
becomes easier.
BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY

As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda
Hoddinott utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk
pastel, charcoal, cont crayon, and oil paints.
My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the enjoyment

aspects while gently introducing the technical and academic. Hence, in
creating a passion for the subject matter, the quest for knowledge also
becomes enjoyable.
>Brenda Hoddinott<
Born in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook. She
developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed
learning, and the aid of assorted Learn to Draw books. During Brendas twenty-five year
career as a self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation
departments have employed Brendas skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and
municipal police departments. In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of
Membership from Forensic Artists International.
Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and
painting classes. As supervisor of her communitys recreational art department, Brenda
hired and trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several childrens art programs. In
1998, Brenda chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote
more time to writing, drawing, painting, and developing her websites.
Drawspace http://www.drawspace.com incorporates her unique style and innovative

approach to curriculum development. This site offers downloadable and printable drawing
classes for students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult. Students of all ages,
levels and abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach. This site is
respected as a resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational
facilities throughout the world.
LEARN-TO-DRAW BOOKS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT
Drawing for Dummies: Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book is
available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.
The Complete Idiots Guide to Drawing People: Winner of the Alpha-Penguin Book
of the Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN, this
360 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores
internationally.

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FABRIC OF A

This project is divided into the following four sections:

SHADING WITH HATCHING AND CROSSHATCHING GRADUATIONS: You add

Published by Hoddinott Publishing for Drawspace.com, Halifax, NS, Canada - 2008

Fashions may come and go, but the basic forms

To draw smooth fabrics (Refer to Figure 1101),

The transition of values from light to

Dark shadows and pronounced

Very lightly sketch the outline an

A 2H pencil works well. Refer to figure

Drawing a faint outline of a figure

Use curved lines to indicate the

Sketch the outlines of the folds of

Refer to Figure 1103.

Observe how the bent form of the

Use a freshly sharpened HB pencil

Very lightly outline

Pat your entire outline

SHADING WITH HATCHING AND CROSSHATCHING

10) Graduate the light shading toward

11) Add dark shading to

12) Very carefully blend a few sections of

13) Check over your drawing and adjust

You can lighten a section by

Borrow your friends and family

With an understanding of the

BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY

My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the enjoyment

Drawspace http://www.drawspace.com incorporates her unique style and innovative

LEARN-TO-DRAW BOOKS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT

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