hello to teachers and art enthusiast and whoever wants to listen

i have trouble..lots of it when trying to draw sheer material..could one of you experienced artist show me how to do this..i would greatly appreciate it..a small walkthrough that i can post so you can see how i do maybe..


thanks in advance for your time
regards
Kay

Hi Kay,

To draw sheer materials, you need to be able to observe them carefully. As they are translucent (you can see clouded shapes through them) you will need to use a light hand to build your layers of graphite.

Drawing sheer material is similar to creating fog. You draw what is there, then blend it to create a softer effect, the objects or shapes behind the material will be slight shadows, drawn a little darker. Folds in the material will be the same as any other fabric, darker in the creases and lighter on the tops of the fold, depending on the light source.

It would be better if you could show me what you are trying to draw and I could give you better direction. However, I just happen to be drawing something sheer at the moment so I'll share it with you. This is a self portrait done after the Portrait of a Lady by Rogier van der Weyden in 1460. The gauze head dress is the sheer element here and not complete, but you can see the general effect.

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[attachmentid=10366]Thank you very much for the info and the sample of your wonderful work..i tend to be so heavy handed and am beginning to think that perhaps sheer and delicate is not my forte

this dress i have crumpled up the art and thrown away because i tend to lose the sheerness of the fabric..i can not capture that..i will try again and again..thanks again

The dress is a complex piece so I'd suggest that you tackle it in sections, rather than trying it all at once.

Divide the dress into quarters or eighths if you prefer and do one of those sections, concentrating on producing what you see. The sheer effect comes from partially seeing what is under the material, not the material itself. Layers are very important here, so build them slowly.

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here is like my 5th attempt at this dress i did not concentrate so very much on the likeness of the dress as i did trying to capture the material..(ran myself off the page..tend to do that every now and then)

i also am including another drawn from a photo which i did not concentrate so much on the figure as i did trying to get the material..

wellllll.......nothing like being snubbed....this article has been looked at many times and not ONE person has offered to help me but islander....THANKS PEOPLE

Hi Kay,

I know I have nothing else to suggest than what was already suggested, but I think you did a very good job on that dress. Maybe I'm blind but I don't see any problem with it. Good luck with the others.

thanks very much nat for your kind words and encouragement..it is greatly appreciated

I don't see your concerns with drawing sheer fabric. You have the techniques well established from what I can see.

It looks great!

thanks so much...i guess i am on the right track and i really appreciate it islander..it just looks so heavy to me and not as delicate as i would like..i guess that will just come the more i practice practice practice....thanks again for your input and time

Here is a B&W posterized (exaggerated shadows) version of your dress.

You will see that there is very little that is pure white and the black is not as dark as you might think. Also the background shows through the dress as well.

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