Hello.
This is a refined (-ish) sketch to continue the drawing of Joseph and his uniform.
Most of the sketch went alright (please ignore the horrible boots--they weren't drawn with much care in this pass), but I then realized that his suspenders looked bare.
"No biggie. I will Google them."
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And that ended up with me doing a whole whiteboard-looking diagram to figure out wtf I got myself into with so-called "ripcord" suspenders. Looking at my own diagram, it looks much more clear to me now. The whole idea is that it is a loop that is closed by drawing the cord (strap/suspender/etc.) taught, making the circle smaller and the resulting fit more snug.
Yeah, that sounds fine, but my brain was breaking trying to understand what those little plastic bits even do for that.
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And then I saw that little gap between the buckle and the strap itself and I went "oooooooh."
So I had to do a full-on visualization with myself to figure out where the buckle (???) goes on his chest, and then I had to put the "guess" on the straps themselves...
All this for the dangling bits of strap that swing by his knees. Terrific.
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Well, if you get anything about reading this, then I can end with saying that I like drawing...I don't know what to call it...mid-air shapes??? Growing up, I drew some characters with things like neckties that would fly in the wind (or something like that IDK). And, well, I love the shape of a strip of fabric (a tie, a ribbon, a flag, a strap, etc.) that is curved as it dangles. It's kinda pretty. It looks like a math function. That's how I think of it anyway--it's like a curvy 'X' shape where there is a meeting point between the eye and the object that signals that it has turned over.
I don't know what I am talking about, but I hope that this makes sense???
All this for stupid, sexy firefighter straps??? Ugh???