Sketching-People

SIMPLIFYING
Though every wrinkle, fold and crease can be copied,
the drawing won’t really work unless you simplify and
orchestrate the design into a harmonious whole. You
can’t simply draw a meaningless zigzag here and
some random lines there; you have to define the
underlying forms and reinforce the gesture.
Using an understanding of folds, wrinkles
in clothing can be simplified and used
to strengthen a drawing.
SIMPLIFYING HELPS SHOW FEELING
The shirt and pants of this reclining figure hold tight to the underlying form, emphasizing
the three-dimensional volumes. Clothes should be a part of the figure, not the subject of
the drawing. By simplifying the folds you see, you don’t lose your overall subject in a sea
of wrinkles. If I had drawn all the folds on the back of this figure’s knee or along his chest,
I would have lost this overall form and the relaxed feeling I was trying to capture.