wrinkles and creases problem

Can anyone tell me what i'm doing worng? I am making wrinkles using the burn and dodge on an overlay layer in cs3. The problem is that my shadows look like the color of my fabric. For example, if i'm working on a pink shirt, my burn just looks like a darker shade of pink. Also, and I know this has been adressed in the forums, but i can't seem to find the threads. I can't see the overlay layer that has my wrinkles on it when i'm working with a black or white fabric. Can someone point me in the direction of those answers in the forums? Thank you!

Take a look at shadows on fabric in RL. They are not black and white, but lighter and darker shades of the fabric itself. If the shadows on your pink fabric look like a darker shade of pink, you're doing it right.

Shadows can be tricky. Again, take a close look at shadows on something you are wearing. A shadow on fabric is generally not uniform all the way across, and it usually doesn't have a hard edge. To get that effect, you have to use a very soft brush and use multiple overlapping strokes. Start at what will be the center of the darkest part of the shadow and burn a single pass with very low flow rate (try something less than 10%) with a small diameter brush. Then increase the diameter of the brush and do a second pass on top of the first one. Increase it a third time and make a third pass..... and so forth. If you get too eager and shade too much at once, you'll get window blinds and a very harsh appearance.

While you're looking at the folds on your own clothing, notice that most shadows are not isolated. They often have an adjacent highlight. When you draw shadows in Photoshop, you need to plan for those areas as well. Use the same approach as with burning shadows, only this time dodge.

Practice a lot. You'll find that you can vary the shape and relative widths of highlights and shadows to simulate diferent kinds of folds and wrinkles. You can also mess with brush hardness to simulate different kinds of lighting conditions and fabrics.

Now .... be careful when you're working on a black or white fabric. By definition, it's impossible to create a shadow on something that is already black or a highlight on a perfectly white fabric. Again, take a black dress out of your closet and look at it. It's not totally pitch black <0,0,0>, and a white blouse isn't blinding white <255,255,255>. If you want folds to show on those fabrics, your base tones can't be more than 10% gray on on end of the scale or 90% gray on the other end. The closer you are to the black or white ends, the less distinct your folds will look, and the harder it will be to see what you're doing with burn and dodge on your overlay layer. In those extremes, you may actually do better instead to paint gently with black or white and a very soft brush. If so, still do your painting on a separate layer and set the mode to either overlay or multiply (depending on whether you are painting with white or black).

This stuff is not easy. You'll be able to get the technical parts quickly, but the artistry will require a lot of observation and experimentation. Have fun with it.

Thank you so much Rolig.I will start practicing. It's good to know i'm on the right track.I appreciate all of the extra information. I will try those techniques.

Yes thank you!

The wrinkles and shading really take a lot
of practice.
I've erased and started over so many times now
I can't remember.
LOL!
But each time I learn something new or get a little
better skill.

I am guessing you are using a 50% grey overlay for the burn and dodge
if so then yes it will give you lighter and darker versions of the color under it (but doesn't do any damage to the color underneath)

always use the burn and dodge tools at about 25 to 30% exposure

and do some searching on the web for tutorials, you will find a lot of useful info out there

And I'm not sure if this warrants a new thread but I'm also
having a terrible time with shading. I use the airbrush, make
my highlights and shadows, but can't seem to smudge and blur
them out to a nice even shade.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks so much for any help.

lol

Well, try the approach I suggested earlier in this thread .... Make multiple overlapping passes with a soft brush at a low flow rate, increasing the brush diameter with each pass. If you get too eager and use too high a flow rate, you'll get a window blind effect. Work gently and patiently. And for heaven's sake, do all of your work on a 50% gray layer set to Overlay mode .... NOT on your fabric layer.

This isn't about wrinkles and creases and folds precisely, it's about highlights and shadows. But the same painting techniques are used to make wrinkles and creases - you just use them in particular shapes.

This expresses some of what the others have been suggesting, but with photographs that might help you. (And indications of the exact Gimp tool to use. Photoshop users will need to do a bit of looking to see which tool corresponds. They often have the same name, though.)

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

Thank you thank you thank you.

Seshat, I'm reading your instructions right now.
And Rolig I'm practicing.

Now please forgive my stupidity here.
When you say 50% gray are you referring to the opacity?

Thanks again.

Halfway between 100% white and 100% black. If you selecct the entire canvas and use Edit >> Fill, one of the options is 50% gray. You can also pick 50% gray from your swatches and use the paintbucket. Other ways work too. Be sure you set the mode for that layer to Overlay, though. The layer will appear to be empty, but it's still there. Dodge will subtract from 50% gray, making it whiter. Burn will add to it, making it blacker.