Help with coloring cloth folds

[Tsuki9]

Hi,I'm not sure if this is the right place to post,but anyway..
I've been trying to color more realistic cloth folds for some time now but I just don't get it right..
And the only tip I've gotten so far is that I should look at how real folds looks like,but that isn't easy!
So if you got any tip,tutorial or something,please help me!

Oh,and I'm using Photoshop and Wacom for coloring.

[Amber Alexander]

I'd recommend getting this book if you're learning how to draw fabric:
Drawing People: How to portray the clothed figure by Barbara Bradley

Although it doesn't help with how to color fabric, it does help with learning how to draw fabric and folds.

[Tsuki9]

AmberAlexander:
Sadly that wasn't what I was after,but thanks for commenting and I'll look that book up,one can never get enough practise and getting better at drawing folds might help with getting a sense of how they should be colored too.^^

[Spirit]

I'm not an expert, but I have a few tips I can share with you, although I have never worked digitally before, but I expect these apply with whatever medium you work with!
They were definitely right in saying that you should study how folds and creases look in real life, this is a very important thing to do!
When you are colouring or rendering the folds, remember to follow the form and shape of what you are colouring. Without this, your colouring will look very flat. You must also keep in mind what is underneath the cloth as well, as that can affect the folds which happen in the fabric.
Also, see how other artisst have done this, and try out the techniques they have used, it will help you to understand how to do it better.

I saved these pictures from this site a long time ago, so I'll post them here for you so you don't have to search for ages for them. They are very useful, so I hope the come in handy for you too
(sorry for the size of them, I didn't have time to scale them down, and it's so you can read the writing)

[Tsuki9]

Thanks Spirit.=P
I know,but just giving that advice is a little..Don't know what wor to use there,haha.
Ah,yes I always keep in mind that there's a person underneath the clothes.

Well,thanks for posting those,I'll take a good look at them and maybe save them too..

[dpaint]

I would like to come at this another way. The reason you can't look at folds of cloth and copy them is you haven't trained your eye to see what is happening and you don't yet have the ability to record it accurately. That is a practice problem; there is no formula for painting cloth folds, painting cloth is like painting everything else under the sun, it is light striking the form and creating shadows; each piece of cloth is dependant on its local color and its light source, if you don't correctly see shape and value there is no tutorial that fills in for your ability. You gain the ability through endless hours of practice and trial and error. You can speed the process up by only practicing the painting of cloth, but your time would be better spent learning the fundamentals of rendering light on form.

[Flake]

Those drapery pages are from ye olde "Famous artists Course", if you'd like to see more of them in context, quite a few are here..

http://www.raggedclaws.com/home/tag/...rtists-course/

More here, follow the links..
http://www.animationarchive.org/2006...mposition.html

[JeffX99]

I would like to come at this another way. The reason you can't look at folds of cloth and copy them is you haven't trained your eye to see what is happening and you don't yet have the ability to record it accurately. That is a practice problem; there is no formula for painting cloth folds, painting cloth is like painting everything else under the sun, it is light striking the form and creating shadows; each piece of cloth is dependant on its local color and its light source, if you don't correctly see shape and value there is no tutorial that fills in for your ability. You gain the ability through endless hours of practice and trial and error. You can speed the process up by only practicing the painting of cloth, but your time would be better spent learning the fundamentals of rendering light on form.

Well said dpaint. I would just like to add two points:
1 - Studying fabric and folds from life, while it might seem hard at first, IS the fastest way to learn how to handle them. There isn't a "fabric/fold" filter in Photoshop...yet (and when there is...people will still get it wrong).
2 - Color is secondary to drawing and value - the drawing carries the anatomy and the value carries the form - so "coloring" the clothing/fabric is not as important as getting the structure and value.

Amber's recommendation of the Barbara Bradley book is right on the mark.