Hey there! I was hoping to get some tips on this drawing I’m doing for a friend. At this point I’m going to just redraw the whole thing more stylized, but before I do that I want some tips on the clothes and hair. Clothing folds are something I struggle with, so some pointers and guides would be nice. I would also like help with drawing an undercut with curly hair in a stylized way. I don’t really draw undercuts (or side shaves? idk what to call that) very much, so I need some help. Thanks!
It’s often that I see people pour a lot of effort into meticulously placing their fabric wrinkles and folds meticulously and plentifully on their art. But the truth is, if you work in semi-realism or tooning, less is more. You for one, seem to have taken that to heart and kept it really neat and tidy, keeping the folds to the character’s crotch, and some pooling lines near the sleeve’s cufflink.
What I would suggest however is giving your fabrics a bit more density and substance, by making sure that their outlines don’t follow tangent to the body’s outline. You’re already on the right track with the corset/vest and the cuffs on their shorts, but I think you can push it a little further.
The folds on the scarf/cape could also do with some deeper folds, to express how the article is “pooling” around the character’s neck and shoulders.
In many cases, drawing believable fabric is more about adding substance and volume than the number of lines and folds.
I’m not entirely versed in the many variations of sidecuts/undercuts/cuts that are coming up currently. But when I draw for my usual character’s, I always start by mapping out the hairline (1). Typically, the hairline follows an “M” like shape over the crown of our head, and then circles down to the base of our neck.
Once this is done, I line up where I want the splits and landmarks of the hairstyle to be (2). In this case, I did a centre line to mark the centre of the mohawk-like updo, and then the edges of where I wanted the hair to be.
lastly, I draw the hair trying to go as random as possible, whilst still maintaining a general sense of direction ( unless my character’s hair has a very specific shape to it ). Zooming out often and keeping an overview of the general shape and flow of the hair helps guide you on how to place the individual locks. I usually have to go about the hair once or twice to get it to look harmonious.
