George B. Bridgman - Drawing the Draped Figure: The Seven Laws of Folds

THE arrangement of line and volume of folds is not complete or harmonious without a hidden and subtle flow of symmetry. Nature has supplied both line and form that are symmetrical and harmonious. These laws of rhythm exist and are recognized as undefined laws.

There is rhythm in the movement of the sea and tides, in stars and planets, in trees and grasses, clouds and thistledown. It is a part of all animal and plant life. It is the movement of uttered words expressed in their accented and unaccented syllables and in the grouping and pauses of speech. Both poetry and music are the embodiment in appropriate rhythmical sound; of beautiful thought; imagination or emotion. Without rhythm there could be no poetry or music. In drawing and painting there is rhythm in outline, color, light and shade. So to express rhythm in drawing a figure we have in the balance of masses, a subordination of the passive or inactive side, to the more forceful and angular side in action, keeping constantly in mind the hidden, subtle flow of symmetry throughout.

MANY teachers and art students should be glad to have some definite knowledge of folds and should be pleased to have some idea that explains the principles which underlie the various forms that take place on the draped figure. To make this clear and as simple as possible, diagrams are shown by way of illustrations that are founded upon important truths. These primary principles are built upon the theory that each fold has a different function and character.

There has been a great lack of concise and simple understanding on the subject. Much that has heretofore been written, has for the most part, been vague and of little educational value.

The diagrams on pages eight and nine come under the head of geometric or working drawings and represent seven distinct characters of folds, each playing its individual role in the story of the draped human body.

One can make a code of laws to be governed by, but every one of these can be changed or eliminated, still one should know these laws so that they may be used as such or deliberately broken.

PIPE

ZIGZAG

SPIRAL

DIAPER

HALF LOCK

DROP

INERT

DRESS materials in themselves have no form. When lying on the floor they conform to the floor; thrown over a chair they take the contour of the chair on which they rest; if on a hanger or hook, the folds descend from their support. Drapery therefore, is nothing definite in itself as it depends entirely upon that which lies beneath. Drapery may encircle, it may fall or it may be drawn upward. To realize this is the first step to the understanding of drapery. There is no sameness, no monotony, every fold has a distinct character of its own. To show this vast difference in folds take the figure of Victory as an example. First, the diaper pattern which in this case falls from its fixed points of support at the shoulders is the simplest of all folds to understand. Next, a spiral fold is drawn around the receding hips; opposed to this spiral is a fold of a totally different character. It is irregular and zigzags from side to side. Below this another distinct type of fold appears, known as the pipe or cord fold. Beneath this another type emerges, called a half-lock. This in turn shares its form with that which lies prone upon the floor and is known by the name, inert. There is also the fold that is carried away from the body by its movement or by the air and is known as the drop fold or a piece of flying drapery.

EACH fold has a character of its own. If but one formation was used, the design would be monotonous and insipid. If drapery is drawn upward it causes one kind of fold; if allowed to fall, another form of fold is created. Folds passing from one point of support to another make distinct arrangements such as zigzags and half-locks, while others as they meet, die away and are known as the diaper pattern. One is angular in formation, the other spiral or rhythmic. The formation of folds must be recognized as a law, as folds are of such complex character it is difficult to observe these facts.

IF A piece of cloth is held up or nailed by one corner and then pulled from the other corner, tubular forms radiate from its fixed point. Whether the cloth is woolen, cotton or silk; whether it is thick, thin, old or new, the same radiation, the same tube or pipe-like forms are always prevalent. This is a distinct fact, therefore it must be recognized as a law as it is something that repeats itself often enough to be recognized as such, something to look for, something you expect to find.

These radiating cords or summits as they descend from their points of support are the simplest forms in drapery and are the first to be understood. A simple cord fold will descend and then divide into two or three other cords. As these diverge from each other, the original cords may make room for two or more within them, then these may again divide, making two or more until they flatten out. The breaking out and divergence of these primary folds is simple but of extreme importance. The pull as well as the force of the pull must be understood. This thought makes the drawing understandable to the observer. Radiating lines should not be abused but should be studied carefully. These laws may be studied apart from the model, but it requires a draped figure for verification. Then if the folds take different form, it will be found that these pipes or cords of drapery radiate from the points of support until they clasp the exposed parts of the figure where they cling to the form beneath.