Drawing Guide: Skirt Ruffles (Patreon)

I've been wanting to try something new - instead of focusing solely on process information for individual illustrations, I want to also make guides that dive into one specific topic in more detail! Rather than being tutorials, these will be meant to help you think while you draw and will hopefully help you figure out how to solve problems in your own way. Think of them more as a helpful suggestion to keep in your tool box than as a set of strict rules to follow!

This guide has seven sections - here's the list in case you see something you want to skip ahead to: 1) Basics; 2) The bottom of the skirt; 3) Angle; 4) Mix it up a little!; 5) Layering fabric; 6) Incorporating ruffles, lace, and pleats; and 7) Apply your own personal touches 

Before we start!

While "skirt ruffles" feels like it should be a simple topic, it's actually huge! There are different styles of dress, different kinds of cloth, different actions and motions that affect the way the fabric flows... so instead of trying to encompass all of that, I'm going to give you some absolute basics that can be altered to apply to most situations.

Remember: the best thing you can do is supplement with reference photos. These tips will hopefully give you a starting point and help you get more out of your references, while the references will help fill in all the gaps that I can't cover here.

Okay, let's start!

1. The basics of the basics

One of the first things you want to keep in mind when drawing a dress/skirt is the direction the fabric is pulling. This sets the stage for everything else. While there are exceptions, generally, if no forces are pushing or pulling the fabric, the folds (marked in pink) fall downward. But what if we throw a little wind in?

If you visualize the wind as an arrow pointing in the direction the air is flowing, the rest becomes fairly intuitive. Take those same folds and tilt them in the same direction that the wind is blowing.

Take note of the origin point of each fold at the top. They still originate from the same point that they did when there was no wind (the fabric is sewn into place, after all). This is what gives you that sort of twist that makes the pull of the fabric feel more believable. All it took was tilting your original lines!

Of course, fabric isn't always going to flow so cleanly, and the lines won't always be so uniform. If you want to liven up your lines to reflect this, you can jumble up your angles a little!

You'll also notice that, in general, the space between folds is smaller where they're cinched or gathered inward - in these examples, that's at the waistline, but depending on the style of dress or the shape of the body, that may not always be the case, so be sure to do a little cross-referencing!

Now, obviously, the skirt has to end, so what do you do about those big, curving bits at the bottom?

2. The bottom of the skirt

This can easily become a bad habit cheat code, so promise that you'll do a lot of photo-studying alongside this! (I'm actually constantly relying on this method without any further reference, so don't feel too bad if you do, too)

Here are some skirts and dresses and ruffles I've drawn in the past.

Now here they are with the bottom outlined. Notice anything?

They all utilize a somewhat similar line - one that curves and sometimes loops into itself and back out again. One that you could easily just scribble down without too much fuss. And that's exactly what we're going to do.

Obviously, there's more to it than that - you need to consider the motion of the character, the flow of the wind, the cut of the dress, the weight of the fabric, how it moves and bunches and folds... but before worrying about all that, try this exercise:

1) Determine the basic shape and angle of the dress. (I'm drawing a sort of thin-waisted bouffant dress viewed from slightly below.)
2) Draw a weird, squiggly line that loosely follows your previous guideline.
3) Now draw lines that pull in toward the top of the waistline where the fabric overlaps itself - this happens at the "edge" of each curve. (Don't forget the ones on the underside! I've drawn these lines in yellow.)

And there you have it, more or less! Typically, I have a little more back-and-forth communication between my fold lines and the curve at the bottom. I'll figure out the basic direction using the fold lines, draw the bottom curve so that it somewhat follows those lines, connect them, and adjust.

Unfortunately, it isn't *quite* that simple. To better understand how to properly shape that line, there are a few things you'll want to keep in mind!

3. Angle

One of the biggest things you'll want to pay attention to is the way the curve behaves on either side - speaking very generally, if it isn't being blown/pushed/pulled to one side, the curve will often point more to the left on the left side and more to the right on the right side. If it is being blown to one side, the curves will mostly point in that direction. (Remember what we said about the angle of the folds earlier!)

And don't forget to consider the angle at which you're viewing the dress! Think of your initial guideline as a sort of flexible hoop - it's more of a circle when viewed from above and below, and more of a line when viewed from the side, and at times it can bend and twist. Also, note that the "curves will point to the left/right" rule seem more dramatic when viewed from the side. It softens up a bit when viewed from above/below.

4. Mix it up a little!

Don't forget that none of this is set in stone! You can do all sorts of stuff once you figure out the basics!

You can do so much with that curving line. You can round it out more so that the dress opens toward the viewer. You can overlap it in all sorts of way to make the fabric feel fuller. You can use a more uniform curve for a cleaner, more intentional look. You can have the curve cascade downward for an asymmetrical look. And you can alter the pink fold lines, too! Instead of having them curve outward, what about having them curve inward? This completely changes the silhouette without bending any of the other rules!

And maybe the best part: once you start to understand the curve, drawing in layers/ruffles/lace/pleats becomes SO easy.

5. Layering fabric

So you've drawn the main skirt. Now, 2) literally just draw another curving line underneath your previous curving line. 3) Draw in the folds at the edge of each curve like we talked about before. 4) Do you want another layer? Then just repeat 2 and 3!

If you don't want your layers to be so flat, you can alter your line to be curvier to give it more body.

You can get pretty extreme with it, so be sure to experiment!

6. Incorporating ruffles, lace, and pleats

This is the best part!

Any of those curved lines you drew can easily transformed into a layer of ruffles, lace, or pleats. All you do is draw your pattern over that line. And even better, many of these styles can themselves be broken down into simple curved lines. They follow very similar rules!

Here's what that looks like on a dress:

7. Apply your own touches!

Maybe you don't want your art to feel so soft and rounded. Well, then try the above pointers with sharp, jagged lines. Maybe you want things to feel more simplistic? Then try more uniform curves. You can try different shapes, too. This can be applied to just about anything!

8. Final notes

Again, keep in mind that this guide is just a starting point. There's so much to learn and so much that you can incorporate into this technique, and it'd be a shame to stop here! Look at pictures of dresses in motion, dresses being pulled and held or kicked up, the way the fabric folds when someone sits down, the way that a lightweight fabric folds as opposed to something thicker, the way the cut of a dress can affect everything, or the way fabric sits on bodies of different sizes and shapes... it's an endless topic that I wish I could fully cover, but I can't.

But hopefully this helps! And if you do have any additional questions, please feel free to leave them below and I'll do my best to answer them!