Creases in clothing...

Hi All,

I have done a search on "creases in clothes" and it came up with a few results. However, I didn't find the information all that helpful. The majorty just said to use "Dodge" and "Burn" tools... but that is okay, if you know what direction to draw a crease and other effects to use etc.

Are there any decent tutorials or template files to help explain creases on t-shirts/jeans etc.

Thanks,
Amnesia

my only advice is to look at images of real life clothing to understand how creases work. make a layer copy of the cloth you want to work on and experiment, I don't think there is any quick and easy answer.

Thanks for the info.

I was wondering if anyone would have created a tutorial (kind of like the step-by-step ones, that shows screenshots) for this kind of thing.

I notice Robin has a non-destructive dodge/burn tutorial, but it doesn't really go into detail about how to get a finished result...

I'll on searching

Try Google and YouTube. Also, instead of "creases", try "folds" and "shadows". Lastly, don't limit yourself to one tool. Even if you use Gimp, look at Photoshop tutorials, and vice versa.

Dekka has it right. You can look at technical tutorials as much as you like. They will tell you which buttons to push and which tools make the nicest lines. In the end, though, this is an artistic question. We are using a new medium, but artists working with crayons, pencils, and paintbrushes have been learning how to draw folds, shadows, and wrinkles for thousands of years. They learn by studying the way light falls on real fabric in the real world, and by practicing .... a lot.

Here are just two that I've used in the past to good effect. One does folds such as for a flowing skirt, the other is best used for realistic-looking fabric creases in the mesh clothing template, using free downloadable brushes for photoshop:

1. Flowing fabric folds: http://community.livejournal.com/solitarytree/6016.html

2. Fabric creases: http://community.livejournal.com/solitarytree/6226.html

There are many other techniques, of course, and tutorials on the web. But these are two pretty good, step-by-step ones. To figure out placement of fabric folds, look for photos of similar "outfits" on the web, and examine where the creases lay based on the angle of the fabric, the body shape, etc. It really doesn't take much to get a look that's realistic enough to give the illusion of actual fabric.

The technical side is 'use dodge and burn or ....', and if you're using the Gimp, my highlights and shadows tutorial shows you the technical side.

http://seshat-czeret.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-make-sl-clothes-in-gimp-part-3.html


The 'where to put it' is the artistic side, and for that I refer you to your local public library: or to google with the search "folds wrinkles art" (or similar sets of keywords).

As Dekka and others said, the answer is to look very carefully at how light and shadow fall on RL fabrics. Don't think of it as "how do I paint a wrinkle". Think instead about how the lighting and shading looks as the fabric bends and folds in space. As the best art professor I ever had used to say all the time, always approach every drawing/painting simply as a problem of light and shadow, and you'll never go wrong.

The best advice I can give you is to do drapery studies. For centuries now, artists who wish to draw and paint realistic clothing have spent entire lifetimes doing exactly that. Learning to paint convincing fabric is a skill that takes patience and practice to develop, and ongoing practice to maintain.

Here's a drapery study Da Vinci did when he was around 20:



And here's another from when he was closer to 30:



It was those studies that enabled him to paint paintings like these:






Doing similar studies yourself will teach you how to paint convincing wrinkled clothing for SL or any other environment, like these pants, for example:



Notice how the light and shadow fall on the folds of the pants. It's exactly the same as how it falls on those draperies.

Grab a bed sheet, throw it randomly over a chair, and draw it. If you've never done this kind of thing before, be prepared for your first few attempts to be pretty bad, no matter what your current level of artistic skill. With repeated practice, you'll get better and better at it. Absolutely no one (not even a master like Da Vinci) has ever been good at it right from the start. It's a skill, not a talent, and as such, has to be developed.

If you're really serious about this, I'd highly recommend you enroll in a drawing/painting class at a local college or adult learning center. Make sure the instructor knows you're especially interested in drapery studies. Trust me; it'll be well worth your time.




All that said, don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to say you can't get decent results after reading a tutorial or two. You certainly can, if you've already got artistic skill and experience. But I take it from the way you worded your question that you're probably lacking in experience. The only way to change that, obviously, is practice, practice, practice. And drapery studies are the absolute best way to get it.

Hi,

I have one I wrote here (and another user added one aswell) http://graphicssecondlife.freeforums.org/fabric-folds-dodge-burn-t17.html

It teaches the very basics but it should hopefully give you a rough idea...the creativity side is really up to you tho

Kind regards
Natalie