Clothed Figure Drawing

Saturdays 9:30am -12:30pm (3 hours)

6 classes: $450

Starts July 11th, 2026

Dates: 7/11, 7/18, 7/25, 8/1, 8/8, 8/22

Instructor:

Pedro Cardoso

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Class Description:

Clothed and Costume figures can quickly become a daunting subject to draw. Folds twist and, well, fold all over the forms of the body, concealing what the artist is used to drawing in your typical figure drawing class. It’s hard not to want to draw all of those surface details, and impossible to not get lost in them.
This class will present you with a few systems to help you understand and simplify clothing on the human figure. Much like human anatomy, there is a pattern that fabric will adhere to when the body moves underneath which will help guide us in our artistic practice. In this class you’ll brush up on your figure drawing skills and learn how to relate gesture and structure to fold dynamics, how to identify and draw different kinds of folds and then expand that knowledge to varying styles of clothes and more complex costumes.


It is recommended that you have Figure Drawing experience before taking this class.

Day 1:
Review of figure drawing techniques and how the movements of the body relates to folds. Introduction to Fold Dynamics through the idea of Squash and Stretch of the figure and the resulting lines of the fabric on top. Poses will vary in length, but stay within the short pose range of 2-5 minutes.

Days 2 and 3:
We’ll cover the 7 Types of Folds and their behavior according to the positions of the cloth over the body, and how they change according to the movements of the body parts. Poses will vary in length, but stay within the short pose range of 5-20 minutes.

Days 4, 5, 6:
We’ll continue our investigation into folds and their dynamic movements over the body. Models will wear different styles of clothes with varied types of fabric so we can observe how the pattern changes between each type and style. We’ll cover drawing techniques from how to capture folds with lines to different rendering techniques for tones. Poses will vary in length, but stay within the longer pose range of 20-60 minutes.

SUPPLY LIST:

  • Strathmore 400 Series 18”x24” Sketch Pad - White

  • General’s Charcoal Pencil 2B, three to four pencils.

  • Compressed Charcoal sticks. Conte or Alpha Color brands recommended.

  • Kneaded and regular white eraser

  • Paper Stumps

  • Exacto Knife or Box Cutter knife. Box Cutter recommended.