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Watson-Guptill

The Artist's Guide to Drawing the Clothed Figure: A Complete Resource on Rendering Clothing and Drapery

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Description

In order to effectively draw clothing and drapery, an artist must recognize the basic shapes of clothing and how the principles of physics act upon those shapes. Beginning with the basic shapes of clothing and the anatomy of folds, and progressing to final rendering techniques of both sculpted and loose drapery on solid forms—including how motion affects wrinkles, folds, and waves, The Artist’s Guide to Drawing the Clothed Figure presents a novel and completely thorough approach to understanding the mechanics of drapery. This comprehensive resource examines the mechanical principles behind the formation of folds: simple wave patterns, intersecting wave patterns, and tertiary effects upon these two, such as twisting and flowing forms. The book breaks down all clothing into three types: sculpted forms, loose drapery, and, most especially, tubes. Once these mechanics are established, various techniques for rendering clothing are presented, including how factors such as the stiffness, thickness, or texture of a particular material can affect the appearance of an article of clothing. Throughout, the author examines examples from master draftspersons—old masters, cartoonists, illustrators, and fashion illustrators, including Leonardo da Vinci, Ingres, Degas, Joseph Christian, Leyendecker, Charles Dana Gibson, Raphael, and Will Eisner—to see how they interpreted this information. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Watson-Guptill


Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 20, 2011


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0823001199


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 94


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.76 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.32 x 0.85 x 11.27 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #600,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #307 in Human Figure Art (Books) #485 in Drawing Specific Objects #582 in Figure Drawing Guides


#307 in Human Figure Art (Books):


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Excellent to understand the dynamics of folds
Format: Hardcover
I am a professional portrait artist, and teacher. This book does offer very easy to understand instructions. The greatest value of the book is the way it teaches students how to look at folds and the reason why they fold that way; type of material, thickness of the material, gravity or other forces, form underneath. Once that is understood, any person can create folds from imagination. It has many examples to make sure the point is clear. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2017 by CA Parent
    • Highly satisfied with product and supplier!
Format: Hardcover
1. High Quality Media shipped this product faster than I expected, was well packed, was in better condition than advertised. 2. Drawing the Clothed Figure is a better resource than expected; besides showing the masters' examples, illustrations show going from a figure to a clothed figure provided in detail. It truly is a complete guide. Highly satisfied! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2023 by Genevieve
    • The Anatomy of Folds
Format: Hardcover
I think this book covers it's subject well. It's firmly structured and shows drapery and folds under many circumstances in a surprisingly scientific manor. There are also several two page spreads of master drawings, with one page for the image and a second for talking about it and a simplified sketch by the artist showing the folds directions and pulls. There is also a section where the artist draws various basic garments, for both men and women, with front and back view of how the garments will fold about the body. Both in a standard still standing pose, and a section for when the figure is posing, stretching, bending and such like. It really is the anatomy of folds. This will teach you what you need to know about drawing convincing drapery in clothes and the lines of clothes as well, but to a lesser degree. On the minus side, I did not find it inspiring. After reading it I didn't feel fired up and wanted to grab my pencil and get to sketching. The drawings by the artist, while accurate and decent, are not filled with a lot of energy or interest. There are also next to none examples of historical clothes or costumes besides the select few from master drawings. The clothes shown are from our own simple modern fashion, shirts, clean cut dresses, trousers and the like. This book is for the serious minded artist that wants to polish their skills, and knows how to apply detailed knowledge into greater things. For me I think this could be a useful book, but it's not one I would leaf through just to enjoy it, to get inspired or view possibilities. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2012 by bgustavsen
    • Buy it used
Format: Hardcover
Bought it for my sister in law she likes it bought it usedso it didnt cost me an arm an a leg. A new one isOUTRAGEOUSLY priced
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2026 by Steve Ray
    • Fantastic
Format: Hardcover
30 years ago, I bought a page out of an old book with the image of two fully clothed figures. But their clothing was so sheer, it seemed almost translucent. They did not appear nude, but the material was like liquid, folding over & around them. I could see the contour of the woman's thin legs, because the delicate material was so carefully draped over them. Even the tattered silk tights on the male seemed worn, imperfect & drooped slightly over the bones of his knobby knees. It's as if the artist painted their bodies completely before ever painting their clothes. It was romantic, elegant & slightly surreal. This book reminds me of that style so much. It emphasizes the body under the clothes - what happens where they touch & what happens where they don't - the movement of the fabric should tell you all the information about the body it is covering. It's like a conversation between a silk scarf & a gentle breeze. I love this book. The step by step examples of the draped body's form & movement, will 'unfold' the mystery of the movement in the fabric. (pun intended) ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2014 by diane maloney
    • Great reference for serious artists.
Format: Kindle
This book is a wonderful reference for serious artists who wish to master accurate rendering of the draped figure. It is not something that is meant to be a quick read or a " cookbook" approach to drawing drapery. Instead, it should be thought of as a textbook meant for in depth study.
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2013 by Felisdomina
    • Best drapery tutorials for advanced artists.
Format: Hardcover
Absolute best book for the mid-advanced to advanced artist looking to understand how to scientifically replicate folds of fabric. Shows different methods of how the fabric settles using physics and allows the artist to fully understand how to invent hyper realistic drapery.
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2018 by Curiel
    • Deceptive book
Format: Hardcover
Do not buy this book: I bought this book as I have been making a study of drapery. I was looking for something that might elucidate the underlying practical principles of drapery when I came across this book. It appreared that Mr. Massen was knowledgeable although I was disturbed by the rather amateurish drawing reproduced on the cover. When I looked further, I was seduced by all the "scientific" diagrams which seemed to explain the workings of fabric. And so I bought it. However as I read through the book I began to see that these concepts were not translated into an accessible methodology for two reasons:1) the authour is an amateur and 2) he illustrated ideal fold theory, but folds on figures do not obviously act the same way. In fact some of the principles might lead one astray. In life fabric is not in a theoretical form : It is moving in multiple directions that do not exactly repeat themselves. A simple careful study of drapery itself will reveal that there are underlying zigzag, diamond and triangle shapes, though not in a "pattern". I did not need a book for that. The devil is always in the details and Mr. Masson cannot draw well enough to reveal any real particulars of what happens let's say, inside a eye of a fold because he does not actually understand what he is trying to explain. I have learned more from studying drapery on its own and copying masters: Other authors have broken down the basic types of folds in one page..Also the "masters" he chooses, with the exception of Leonardo, Raphael and Ingres, are not masters. They are commercial artists. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2012 by Ming

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