The Joker

[ReignOfHail]

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs12/300W/i/2006/311/8/4/The_Joker_by_ReignOfHail.jpg

K, I'm 16...and I'm trying to get better at art. Like MUCH better. Here's a bust of the Joker I drew earlier. I like it, but the clothe wrinkles...they bother me. Can anyone tell me how I can make them look more realistic? I think I overkilled the wrinkles and I'm pretty off on them. Big time.

[silberfisch]

Hmm.. I'm not all too good at drawing clothes myself, but I guess, the best way to teach yourself is to look at -
a) how clothes wrinkle in reality
b) how other artists draw/paint them, and try to figure out what they are doing/intending and how they do it
c) try to understand what happens which makes the folds look the way they do

I think c is the most important bit.

[Skunkitorium]

Burne Hogarth has a great how-to book on clothing called "Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery." He explains how wrinkles in clothing have certain anchor points along the human body. For example, in a still, upright pose like the one in your drawing, there would be an anchor point for each underarm (where the seam usually is in clothing). All the wrinkles on the Joker's arms should start from those anchor points, instead of the static, helter-skelter way they are now. This explanation is probably more confusing than anything, so I'll try to draw a sketch sometime soon to show what I mean. :)

[Whammybar]

Hey, im 16 also, cool. Anyway, did you use a reference? If not, it would really help.

[ReignOfHail]

What's a reference?

[Kaoru]

A reference is usually a photo that has a similar pose/object that you're drawing. It usually helps if you look at how things are in reality when you draw them. Y'know... makes them look more believable, if that's what you're after.

[ReignOfHail]

In that case, no refs for me.

[Skunkitorium]

Okay, I drew a sketch with a pose similiar to your drawing:
49950
You can see how some of the wrinkles are grouped together (such as the crook of the elbows), with each group starting from one tension force (which is the bending of the arms) and spreading out. Other wrinkles are from the tension force that comes from the hands being shoved in the pockets or the tight belt.
In general, to get better at seeing and drawing how clothing looks, study it in real life, and don't be afraid to use photo references. I'm a fan of JCPenny's catalogues, myself. ;)