I get so annoyed because there are no good hoodie tutorials that I decided to try and make my own. (note TRY.)
The reason they’re so weird to draw is because they are different depending on how thick the material is they’re sewn with, and the amount of fabric used in sewing. There are SO MANY different ways for a hoodie to work! In fact there’s totally different types of hoods, so there’s no one specific way to draw them. In this mini tutorial I’m going to highlight the main three that i saw floating around on google images.
The first type of hoodie is the “high and tight” kind
The fabric on this guy’s hood is thicker, making the fabric more stiff and it sort of curves in higher up on his head.
It’s also a smaller hood, so its clinging closer to his head.
Also take note of how the hood doesn’t just end with the edge of the fabric, but it goes up to where the top of his hair is. This happens when the hood is pulled far forward or they’re bending forward, because then it can drape down over their face.
The other two types are the limp and tight ones and the drapey ones:
Limp and tight don’t really have a curve outward because the fabrics tight, so the edges dont move outward. Also, the limp kind have more oval-shaped openings in the front, so the fabric goes to the top of the head.
The drapey ones are sort of adventure-looking and they flare out near the bottom as apposed to the top or middle. They have a lot of fabric used and are probably the hardest to draw (for me anyway). Lots of folds and movement.
generally hoodie fabric goes like this, outward from the face
it doesnt fold down like normal fabric unless its the limp kind like this
So, that’s the front. As far as the side view of a hood goes, it generally looks like this.
The folds go down towards the rest of the hood and the back a bit, and the fabric covers most of the side-view of the face. Notice how there’s only a little bit of the front of the face showing. You cants see their ears! Even if its a drapey hood, it looks like this (with probably some exceptions depending on the weather and how the hood is being moved). Also, if the hood isn’t very tight there’s usually a bit of a “bump” or space at the back of the head like above.
But that bump’s only there if they’re trying to let you see their face. In hoods that are pulled all the way forward like this
there’s no space at the back, because the fabrics all forward. Spooky.
Another thing to consider when drawing hoods is how they’re deciding to wear them. A more shy person or character might have it forward more, which will in result make the hood look tighter and hide their face more.
And of course, the most important thing to think about when drawing hoods is “how is the fabric moving”? There’s plenty of different ways for the fabric to move, depending on how their head is turned and what they’re doing. Here’s a few good reference pictures I just found.
Oh, also, when people turn their heads, the fabric moves by a focal point
Her body is facing one way, and her head is turned the other, which makes the fabric tilt itself like that. This is on the drapey hoods only usually.
Just always remember that all the hoods very from hood to hood. You might get a sort of drapey one that looks like the tight ones, or maybe a gradient between the three i showed you, or even something weirder.
This is just me covering the basics as best I can, and if you feel the need to add anything, feel free!
Images found on google, I don’t own them.
edit: I changed the picture from Trayvon Martin to this other person. Sorry again.
