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Noticing illustrated fabric in a portrait

Look for little pictures within a garment, then see how folds and framing change what you can discover.

Pale figures and animals appear across the deep blue skirt, surrounded by small points and decorative borders. The whole portrait gives those illustrations a place within the larger blue-and-gold outfit.
Pale figures and animals appear across the deep blue skirt, surrounded by small points and decorative borders. The whole portrait gives those illustrations a place within the larger blue-and-gold outfit.
Katsucon 2016 Saturday photograph 0401 · Photograph: Yenra · Archive tags: Woman King
Captured: 2016:02:13 11:44:02

Yenra Photography ·

A garment can contain pictures of its own. Small figures, animals and scenes may first appear as a busy pattern, then become individual discoveries as you look closer. A portrait gives those little pictures a place among a face, a pose and a surrounding space.

These Katsucon 2016 Saturday photographs show illustrated blue fabric in three different views. Begin with the whole outfit, look at what the closer framing reveals, then compare a different spread of the skirt. There is room to enjoy both the small illustrations and the portrait that holds them.

Find pictures within the whole garment

In the opening portrait, pale figures and animals appear across the deep blue skirt. Small light points fill some of the spaces around them, and decorative borders trace the garment. Those details belong within a larger arrangement of blue fabric, gold headwear and pale sleeves.

Choose one pictured form you can recognize, then let your eye return to the face. Try that journey again with a different detail. You may find that something first read as texture becomes a small picture once you give it a little time.

Look closer at the visible illustrations

The closer view shows how the illustrated skirt meets the waist and how folds divide parts of the pictured forms. The foreground railing also interrupts the view, giving a different amount of information.
The closer view shows how the illustrated skirt meets the waist and how folds divide parts of the pictured forms. The foreground railing also interrupts the view, giving a different amount of information.
Katsucon 2016 Saturday photograph 0534 · Photograph: Yenra
Captured: 2016:02:13 11:54:21

The closer view gives the waist and illustrated skirt more space within the photograph. Folds divide some of the forms, and a foreground railing crosses the lower view. You can see more of certain details while other parts remain hidden.

Follow one outline until it meets a fold or the edge of the framing. Describe what you can see in ordinary words: a pale figure, an animal shape, a line of small marks. You can appreciate these relationships without needing to identify the artwork or know how the fabric was made.

See how the fabric changes their arrangement

The skirt spreads to one side in this seated view, revealing a different arrangement of the illustrations and border. The wider frame also includes the surroundings and other people.
The skirt spreads to one side in this seated view, revealing a different arrangement of the illustrations and border. The wider frame also includes the surroundings and other people.
Katsucon 2016 Saturday photograph 0634 · Photograph: Yenra · Archive tags: Woman King
Captured: 2016:02:13 12:00:39

Here the skirt spreads toward one side, showing another arrangement of its illustrations and border. The surrounding scene also becomes more prominent. Compare which pictured forms you can recognize now and where they sit in relation to the hands and face.

Your own exercise can begin with photographs you already have. Find two views of an illustrated garment and make one note about what each reveals. Keep the complete originals nearby; the larger portrait may offer as much to discover as the smallest detail.

Look back with curiosity.

  • Which small pictured form did you notice first?
  • How do folds and framing change how much of it you can see?
  • What connects the illustrations with the rest of the portrait?

Keep exploring

Noticing repeated motifs in a portrait · Noticing fabric folds in a photograph · Seeing clothing as shape

Browse the complete Katsucon 2016 Saturday gallery. Follow a photograph into its original neighbors and see which detail, pose or connection catches your attention next.