Help with leather on my capeman.

[hotnwormy]

Here it is:

http://www.atomicpotato.com/capeman.jpg
(Done with Photoshop)

I don't paint... as you can probably tell. I stick to line art, and so I'm really stuck on things I'm not sure how to do. For example, I just can't seem to get the cape and hood correct. Any advice you could offer would be great.

Also, I know the face is off. Anything you can offer by way of advice on that will leave me in your debt as well.

Thanks! Be gentle with me, I'm new to this whole thing. :D

[Beer Baron]

Well, I'm not really sure what you mean by getting the hood correct, but I assume you want it rendered realistically. The only advice I can offer is to find some photo references of similar poses and lighting set-ups. See how the cloth and the folds react with the light and the forms underneath it, understand why they look the way they do, and then incorporate that into your picture.
If you can't find any photos, try wrapping a basketball in a sheet and setting up a lamp to get the lighting effect you are after. Again, study the folds and the creases and put that into your drawing.
For lighting the face, I'd probably just study your own in a mirror or a friend's.
You've got a good start here, just continue posting your progress here and hopefully more qualified people can give you better advice. Good luck!

[The_Dude_Abidin]

HI, this is my first post because I just joined. The advice about reference is always right. Reference helps. The only thing I could add that might be of help is what I find to be the most common problem with rendering fabric of any kind. Most people try to render cloth with all soft edges. Dont be afraid to have edges that are soft as well as hard. Leather especially is not soft . Use your shadows and shapes to describe any form it lays across as well. Anyway I hoped that helps and also hope Im able to get some of my own stuff up soon

The dude