How to correctly draw a shadow from an object. Constructing a falling shadow of a complex object from a single light source

IN art schools ah, or in any drawing course, the first thing they teach is how to draw shadows. Drawing primitive figures: a ball, cube, cone or cylinder is a rather boring and tedious task. But it is precisely such activities that are the first steps towards understanding the volume geometric figure and the ability to correctly depict its dark and light sides. In the future, the ability to correctly sense light and shadow will help you in other drawings.

I didn't go to art school, but I took these classes on my own to learn how to understand volume. In this article I will go through this lesson again, because such lessons are never superfluous, no matter how many times we go through them. In the illustrations, step by step, I will show how I drew the ball.

Start with light items

Any shadow from any object appears when a light source appears. If you know where the light source is, then drawing a shadow on a figure is not difficult. But, if you see that you have problems with how to draw shadows, then I advise you to start with something easy, for example, with some simple shape. Use any drawing technique that is convenient for you. I usually draw using two techniques - .
Light the lamp so that it is the only source light in the room, and easily showed the shadow of the object you choose. I won’t bore you with stories about all the nuances of constructing a shadow because this is all theory, and I don’t think that you will one hundred percent understand how to draw shadows.
Artists, when drawing shadows, do it by eye, do not line up its guides and do not calculate where it should fall. Only practice will help you understand how to draw shadows, and if the first time you fail to draw a shadow correctly, then after fiddling with it for several evenings, you will see your mistakes.

How to draw shadows and add volume

I said that theory will not help to fully understand how to draw shadows, but still, every artist should know the main points. The areas where light rays fall directly on an object are called light. A penumbra or halftone appears around the light. Places where light rays do not reach are called shadow. After the shadow comes the illuminated area, which is called a reflex and is formed from other objects nearby.
The location of shadows on any subject will depend on how the light source is positioned and at what angle it is located. A bright light source saturates the shadows and makes them sharp, while from a diffuse source, the shadow transitions become soft and smooth. Important! You should always shade according to the shape of the object you are drawing! Sometimes it is possible to combine shading in order to enhance the shadows.
If you have already learned how to draw shadows, then try to draw a human eye three-dimensionally and realistically according to the lesson “

In this lesson I will tell you how to use light correctly so that your work looks as realistic as possible, because light is what creates the atmosphere. We can imagine the object as a simpler form, and then it’s a matter of technique. The truth is that if there was no light, we simply would not see anything.

In the first lesson in this series, I will tell you how to see light, shadows, reflections. We must learn understand how it works.

As I can see?

Have you ever asked yourself this question as an artist? If not, then it's yours big mistake. After all, everything you draw is only a representation of what and how you see, just like the laws of physics are only a representation of how it actually happens. I will even say more - what we are drawing is not real picture, this is just an interpretation of the picture, which is constructed from information received from the eyes. That is, the world that we see is only an interpretation of reality, one of many, and not necessarily the most truthful or ideal of them, but only the optimal one for the survival of our species.

Why am I talking about this in an art lesson? Drawing itself is the art of darkening, highlighting, and coloring certain parts of the paper (or screen) to create a realistic image. In other words, the artist is trying to convey the image created in our imagination (which, in fact, makes it easy for our perception, since we perceive everything in textures - we look for familiar forms in abstract drawings).

If a drawing resembles what we imagine, we consider it realistic. It can look realistic despite the lack of familiar shapes and lines - all we need are a few strokes of paint, light and shadow to make it realistic in our perception. Presented here good example similar effect:

To create a convincing drawing - that is, similar to what our imagination created, we need to understand how the brain does it. As you read this article, most of the material will seem quite obvious, but you will be surprised how close science can be to drawing. We perceive optics as a part of physics, and drawing as a part of metaphysical art, but this is a gross mistake - art is nothing more than a reflection of the reality seen with our eyes. So, in order to imitate reality, we first need to figure out what our imagination considers realistic.

So what is vision?

Let's get back to the basics of optics. A ray of light hits an object and is reflected on the retina of the eye. Then the signal is processed by the brain and, in fact, the image is formed. Well known fact, right? But do you understand all the consequences arising from this process?

So, here we remember the most important rule of drawing: light is the only thing we can see. Not an object, not a color, not a projection, not a shape. We see exclusively light rays, reflected from the surface, refracted depending on its characteristics and the characteristics of our eyes. The final picture in our head is a collection of rays hitting the retina. The image may change depending on the characteristics of each ray - each of them falls from different points, at different angles, and each of them could refract several times before touching our eye.

This is exactly what we do when we paint, we simulate the rays hitting various surfaces (color, consistency, shine), the distance between them (amount of diffuse color, contrast, edges, perspective), and we certainly do not draw those things that do not reflect or emit anything to our eyes. If you "add light" after finishing the drawing, you are doing it completely wrong, since the main thing in your drawing is the light.

What is a shadow?

In simple terms, a shadow is an area that is not exposed to direct light rays. When you are in the shadows, you cannot see the light source. Quite obvious, right?

The length of the shadow can be easily calculated by drawing rays.

However, drawing shadows can be quite challenging. Let's take a look at this situation: we have an object and a light source. Intuitively, we draw a shadow like this:

But wait, this shadow is created by only one point on the light source! What if we take another point?

As you may have noticed, only point light creates a clear, easily distinguishable shadow. When the light source is larger, or, in other words, the light is more diffuse, the shadow takes on fuzzy, gradient edges.

The phenomenon I just explained is also what causes supposedly multiple shadows to appear from a single light source. This type of shadow is more natural, which is why photos taken with flash look so harsh and unnatural.

Okay, but this was just a hypothetical example; it’s worth looking at this process in practice. This is a photo of my pencil holder taken on a sunny day. See the strange double shadow? Let's take a closer look.

Roughly speaking, the light comes from the bottom left corner. The problem is that it's not a point light, and we don't get a nice crisp shadow, which is the easiest thing to draw. And here even drawing such rays doesn’t help at all!

Let's try something different. According to what I said above, diffuse light is created from many point sources, and it will be much clearer if we draw them like this:

To explain more clearly, let's cover some rays. Do you see? If it were not for these scattered rays, we would get a completely clear, normal shadow:

Without light there is no vision

But wait, if a shadow is an area untouched by light, then how do we see objects in the shadow? How do we see everything around us on a cloudy day, when everything around us is in the shadow of the clouds? This is the result of scattered light. We'll talk more about diffuse light in this lesson.

Drawing lessons usually describe direct light and reflected light as completely different things. They may talk about the existence direct light illuminating objects, and the possibility of reflected light appearing, adding a little illumination to the shadow area. You can see charts like the one below:

In fact, everything is not quite like that. Basically, everything we see is reflected light. If we see something, by and large it is because light has been reflected from that something. We can see direct light only if we actually look directly to the light source. So, the diagram should look like this:

But to make this even more precise, it is worth introducing a few definitions. A light beam striking a surface can behave differently depending on the surface itself.

When a ray is reflected by a surface at the exact same angle, it is called mirror reflection.
If some light penetrates a surface, this part may be reflected by its microstructures, creating an abnormal angle and resulting in a blurry image. It is called diffuse reflection.
Some part of the world may be absorbed subject.
If the absorbed beam can pass through, it is called passing light.

So let's just focus on diffuse And mirror types of reflection, since they are very important for drawing.

If the surface is polished and has the correct light-blocking microstructure, then the beam is reflected from it at the same angle at which it falls. This creates a mirror effect - this happens not only with direct rays of light directly from the source, but also with rays reflected from any surface. An almost ideal surface for such reflection is, of course, a mirror, but some other materials are also quite suitable for this, for example, metals or water.

Specular reflection creates an ideal picture of rays reflected from an object at the right angle, but with diffuse reflection everything is much more interesting. It illuminates the subject in a softer way. In other words, it allows us to see an object without harming your eyes - try seeing the sun in a mirror (I'm kidding, don't ever do that).

Materials may have various factors, affecting the reflection. Most of them absorb most light, reflecting only a small part of it. As you know, glossy surfaces are more prone to specular reflection than matte ones. If we take another look at the previous illustration, we can draw a more correct diagram.

Looking at this diagram, you might think that there is only one point on the surface that reflects the rays specularly. This is not entirely true. The light is reflected specularly across the entire surface, it’s just that at only one point it is reflected exactly into your eyes.

You can do a simple experiment. Create a light source (for example, a telephone or a lamp) and position it so that it reflects specularly from some surface. It is not necessary that the reflection be perfect, just that you can see it. Now take a step back while still looking at the reflection. Can you see how it moves? The closer you are to the light source, the sharper the angle of reflection. It is impossible to see reflections directly under a light source unless you are the source.

How does this relate to drawing? That's what it is second rule - the observer's position affects the shadow. The light source may be static, the object may be static, but each observer sees it differently. This is obvious if we think about perspective, but we rarely think about light in this way. Answer with complete honesty - have you ever thought about the observer when working on lighting your drawing?

Have you ever wondered why we draw a white grid on glossy objects? Now you can answer this question for yourself, now you know how it works.

The higher the brightness, the better we see

We are not talking about color yet - for now, for us, the rays can be lighter or darker. 0% brightness = 0% we see. This doesn't mean the object is black - we don't know what it is. 100% brightness - and we get 100% information about the object. Some objects reflect most of the rays and we get a lot of information about them, and some absorb some of the rays and reflect less, we get less information - such objects appear dark to us. What do objects look like without light? Answer: no way.

This interpretation will help us understand what contrast is. Contrast is determined by the difference between the points - the greater the distance between them on the brightness or color scale, the greater the contrast.

Gray contrast

Look at the illustration below. The observer is at a distance x from object A and at a distance y from object B. As you can see, x = 3y. The greater the distance to an object, the more information about the object is lost, so the closer the object, the larger it is for us.

This is how an observer will see these objects.

But wait, why are near objects darker and far objects lighter? More brightness, more information, right? And we just found out that as distance increases, information is lost.

We must explain this loss. Why does the light of distant stars reach us almost unchanged, but we already see worse a high-rise building a few miles away from us? It's all about the atmosphere. You also see a thin layer of air when you look at something, and this air is full of particles. While the rays reach your eyes, they pass through many particles and lose some information. At the same time, these same particles themselves can reflect rays into your eyes - that's why we see the sky blue. In the end, you get only remnants of the original information, and even mixed with reflections of particles - very low-quality information.

Let's return to the illustration. If we plot the loss of information as a gradient, we can visualize why nearby objects appear darker. This will also explain to us why the contrast between near objects is greater than the contrast between distant objects. Now it is obvious to us why contrast is lost as distance increases.

Our brain perceives depth and volume by comparing information received from each eye. Therefore, distant objects look flat, and near objects appear three-dimensional.

The visibility of the edges in the picture depends on the distance of the object. If your drawing looks flat and you are tracing the edges of objects to highlight them, this is wrong. The lines should appear on their own as boundaries between contrasting colors, so they are based on contrast.

If you use the same parameters for different objects, they will look like one.

Art of shading

After reading the theoretical part, I think you have understood quite well what happens when we draw. Now let's talk about practice.

Volume illusion

The biggest challenge when drawing is creating a three-dimensional effect on a simple sheet of paper. However, it is not much different from drawing in 3D. You can avoid this problem for a long time by focusing only on the so-called cartoon style, but to progress, the artist needs to come face to face with his main enemy - perspective.
So what does perspective have to do with shading? Probably more than you think. Perspective helps to depict three-dimensional objects in 2D dimension so that they do not lose their volume. And, since objects are three-dimensional, light hits them from different angles, creating highlights and shadows.
Let's do a little experiment: try shading
the object below using the given light source.

It will look something like this:

Looks flat, right?

Now let's try this:

You'll get something like this:

It's a completely different matter! Our object looks three-dimensional thanks to the simple shadows we added. And how does this happen? The first object has one visible wall, that is, for the observer it is just a flat wall, nothing more. Another object has three walls, but a two-dimensional object cannot have three of them in principle. For us, the sketch looks three-dimensional, and it is quite easy to imagine the parts that the light touches or does not touch.

Next time when preparing a sketch, don't use just lines. We don't need lines, we need three-dimensional shapes! And if you define the shapes correctly, not only will your object look three-dimensional, but shading will seem surprisingly easy.

Once the basic flat shading is done, you can finish the drawing, but don't add any details first. The main shading controls the lighting and keeps everything consistent.

Terminology

Let's take a look at the correct terminology we will use when talking about light and shadow.

Full light- place directly under the light source

Blik- place, where mirror reflection hits the retina of our eyes. This brightest part forms.

Half-light- dimming of full light in the direction of the terminator

Limit- a virtual line between light and shadow. It can be clear or soft and blurry.

Shadow zone- a place located opposite the light source and, therefore, not illuminated by it.

Reflected light- diffuse reflection falling on the dead zone. Never brighter than full light.

Shadow- a place where an object blocks the path of light rays

And although it seems quite obvious, main lesson, which you need to extract from this - the stronger the light, the more pronounced the limit. Therefore, a clear limit is in some way an indicator of an artificial light source.

Three-point lighting

If you understand what vision is, then photography no longer looks so different from drawing. Photographers know that light is what creates an image, and they use it to show something specific. It is often said these days that photographs are too “photoshopped”, but in fact, photographers rarely shoot something as it is. They know how light works and use this knowledge to create more attractive images - which is why you're unlikely to become a professional photographer simply by buying an expensive camera.

You can use two different approaches, when choosing light for your drawing - imitate natural light, depicting the light as it is, or “play” with it, creating light that shows the object as most attractive.

The first approach will help you create realistic image, while the second approach will help improve reality. It's like a warrior in worn armor with a mace in his hands against a beautiful elf girl in shining clothes and with a magic wand.

It's easy to say which is more real, but which is truly more mesmerizing and beautiful? The decision is yours, but always remember that you need to make it before drawing, and not during, or change it because something went wrong.

To clarify, we are talking specifically about light, and not about the subject of the drawing. You can draw a unicorn or a dragon in natural light, or you can use light to ennoble a weary warrior. Playing with light means arranging its sources so that the best way show the relief of muscles or the shine of a weapon. In nature, this rarely happens, and we perceive all objects in the scene as a whole.
Therefore, I recommend the natural light method for landscapes, and the enhancing method for characters, but by mixing the two approaches you can create an even better effect.

We can only learn about realistic shading directly from nature. Therefore, do not take other people's drawings or even photographs as a basis - they can deceive in such a way that you will not even notice. Just look around, not forgetting that everything we see is light. Arrange specular and diffuse reflections, follow shadows, and create your own rules. However, do not forget that in a photo or drawing people tend to pay more attention to the details than to the situation around them. Drawings and photographs are easier to “absorb”, as they convey only the author’s feelings, something you can focus on. The consequence is that the work will be compared to other images rather than to reality.

If you do decide to take a different approach, I'll show you a little trick. Photographers call this three-point lighting. You can also use the two-point method for the most natural effect.

Let's place a light source in front of the bear. Use it to add light and shadow and blend it out. This light source is the key one.

To pull the bear out of the darkness, let's put it on some surface. Light will fall on the surface and the bear will cast a shadow on it. Since the rays incident on the surface will diffuse, they will be reflected on the bear. That's why a black line appears between the surface and the bear - and it will always appear under the object, only if the object is not combined with the surface.

Let's put the bear in the corner. Since the light rays also hit the wall, there are a lot of diffuse reflections everywhere. Thus, even the darkest areas are slightly illuminated and the contrast is balanced.

What if we removed the walls and filled the space with a dense atmosphere that could be seen? The light will scatter and we will again get a lot of diffuse reflections. Soft light and diffuse reflections to the left and right of a key light source are called fill light- it will illuminate the dark areas and thereby smooth them out. If you stop here, you'll get the kind of lighting you'd typically get in nature, where the sun is the key light source and diffuse reflections from the atmosphere create fill light.

But we can add a third type of light - framing light. This is a backlight positioned so that the subject itself obscures most of it. We only see the part that illuminates the edges of the object from behind - so this light separates the object from the background.

The framing light doesn't necessarily have to create that outline.

Another tip: even if you don't draw a background, draw the object as if there is a background. Since you are painting digitally, you can always substitute a background temporarily to calculate all the nuances of lighting, and then remove it.

Conclusion

Light shapes everything we see. Rays of light fall on the retina of the eye, carrying with them information about environment, about objects. If you want to draw realistically, forget about lines and shapes - it's all about lighting. Do not separate science and art - without optics we could not see, much less draw. Now this may look like a lot of theory to you - but look around, this theory is everywhere! Use it!

This lesson is just the beginning of the series. Wait for the second lesson, where we will talk about everything related to color.

Most art schools and drawing courses teach you how to draw shadows first. Constructing and drawing such primitive figures as a cylinder, ball, cone, cube is a rather tedious and uninteresting task. However, it is tasks like this that are the first step to understanding shape and volume. geometric shape, as well as the ability to depict its dark and light sides - that is, the ability to draw shadows with a pencil step by step. In the future artistic practice The ability to correctly feel the dark and light sides will be a good help in any drawing.

If you want to make the sketch visual and realistic, you need to give it volume. In this article we will tell you how to draw shadows with a pencil correctly.

Light and shadow

Drawings should be realistic and pleasing to the eye. Therefore, it is necessary to correctly combine light and shadow in them. This will give the drawings contrast, depth and a sense of movement. shadows to make your drawings look more alive, attractive and interesting?

A little theory

Have you ever wondered what allows us to see the shape of objects? Let's reveal a secret: this is a collision of light and shadow. If we place an object on a table in a room without windows and turn off the light, we will not see any form. If we illuminate an object with a very bright lamp or spotlight, then again we will not see its shape. It can only be seen by light that collides with shadow.

Neither light nor shadow falls on objects at random. There are certain patterns. They allow us to guess how the light will be located on the object, on its forms, and where the shadow will begin. And the person who draws needs to know these patterns.

Elements of chiaroscuro

In drawing, the following elements of chiaroscuro are distinguished: highlight, light, penumbra, own shadow, reflex and falling shadow. Let's consider each of them in order.

Glare called a spot of light that is located on a convex or flat glossy surface and is obtained due to the strong illumination of the object.

Light- These are the surfaces of an object that are brightly lit.

Penumbra called a faint shadow. It occurs if an object is illuminated not by one, but by several light sources. In addition, it forms on surfaces that face the light source at a slight angle.

Shadow- these are those areas of the subject that are dimly lit. A falling shadow is one that an object casts on the plane on which it stands. And his own is the one that is on the unlit side of it.

Reflex called a weak spot of light that is located in the shadow area. It is formed by rays that are reflected from other objects nearby.

The depiction of these light gradations allows the artist to visually depict the shape of an object on a sheet of paper, convey its volume and degree of illumination.

Do these rules work for computer graphics?

Yes. Computer graphics- this is the same drawing. Therefore, how to draw shadows in SAI or Photoshop is no different from drawing them on paper. All the theory and all the rules that work for an image on canvas or paper are also valid for a computer.

Step 1: Selecting the Right Materials

How to draw shadows with a pencil? First of all, you need to choose the right pencil. Of course, you can paint shadows with charcoal, sanguine, gouache, and acrylic. But at first it is better to limit yourself to a pencil.

For shadows, special drawing pencils are used. They are sold in sets. A budget option can be found at any office supply store. There is also special paper for drawing: it is better to choose thicker and stiffer paper.

There are many types of drawing pencils. There are ones with a soft (M, 2M, 3M, ..., 8M, 9M) lead, and there are ones with a hard one (T, 2T, 3T, ..., 8T, 9T). In sets from foreign manufacturers, M is replaced by B, and T by H.

To depict shadows, a set of 3T, 2T, T, TM, M, 2M and 3M will be enough for you. To depict light it is better to use hard pencils, and for shadow - soft. This way the drawing will look more natural and will be easier to draw.

Let's talk about paper. Too smooth sheets, like the ones we print on, are not suitable for drawing. Don't use paper that is too hard. It will be difficult to draw shadows on it. It is best to use special drawing sheets, which are sold in a folder at office supply stores. How to draw shadows correctly? First of all, purchase the right materials.

Step Two: Linear Sketch

How to draw shadows in a drawing? First of all, make a line sketch of what you want to draw. It is advisable to do this from life, but you can also use a photograph of the object. The most important thing is that the object you choose is motionless. In this case, you will have a lot of time to sketch it.

Take a close look at home environment. You can draw flowers, watches, kitchen utensils, and items of clothing. All of these are excellent subjects for sketching.

If you use a photograph, it is better to print it in black and white. This way you will be able to more accurately depict the outline and shadows.

Step 3: Achromatic Colors

How to draw shadows? When working with a pencil, all of them start with white and end with black, with several shades of gray in the middle.

How to create an achromatic scale? Draw a rectangle: this can be done on a separate sheet of paper or in the corner of your drawing. Divide this rectangle into five equal parts (you can do more, but 5 will be enough to start with), then number them.

The very first square will be white, and the last one will be black. The parts between them need to be painted with three different shades gray, dividing them by tone. As a result, you will have something like your pencil's palette: the first rectangle is white, the second is light gray, the third is medium gray, the fourth is dark gray and the last is the darkest tone the pencil can produce.

Step 4: Shadow Theory

How to draw shadows? To do this, it is necessary to understand their nature.

Find the main light source. Observe that the lightest are often closest to the light, the darkest are farther away, and the shadows fall opposite it. Special attention You should pay attention to reflections, as they can be the brightest place of the object chosen for drawing.

Step 5: Choosing a Hatching Method

How to draw shadows? Using shading. It is placed on top

Choose the way you will hatch the sketch, depending on the object itself, the light source and There are many types of shadow hatching, and the most popular ones are straight, circular and cross.

A straight line is drawing many parallel lines as close to each other as possible. This method is great for objects without texture and for drawing hair.

For circular shading, you need to draw many small circles. This shading can be used to create interesting texture by scattering circles and adding lines to them. In addition, you can more clearly show the density of the object you are depicting by placing the circles close to each other.

Shading objects by drawing intersecting lines is cross hatching. This method is great for adding depth to a drawing.

Step 6: pen test

Try making shadows. Since your drawing is still initial stage, you should not make them too dark. This way you can easily erase them if necessary. Draw, gradually filling in the places that are needed, and leaving the lightest places white.

As you paint, compare your work to the subject or a photograph of it to make sure you're putting the shadows in the right place.

Step 7: Patience and step by step work

Add shadows in several layers. They must be gradually darkened, layer by layer. Between dark and bright places there should be a noticeable contrast. Do not forget to use an achromatic scale: the drawing should not be in the same gray tones.

There's no need to rush. The process of shading shadows is similar to developing black and white film: it must happen gradually. Patience is your key to success and beautiful drawings.

The more you deepen the shadows in the drawing, the less noticeable its contours will become. And that’s right, because in real life almost nothing has a black outline. The same should be reflected in your drawing.

Step 8: Shading the Shadows

Now blend the shadows in your drawing. It is necessary to make them more realistic and smooth. You need to control the pressure so that it is not too strong and too weak. Blend until you are satisfied with the result.

If you don't have shading, you can use a small piece of paper. An eraser will help you highlight those places that you accidentally covered up. This could be a highlight, or a contour that is not completely hidden under the shading layer.

The main thing is to remember that most people who draw, including the most famous artists, at the initial stage creative path made mistakes.

Between your hand and the paper you are drawing on you can put Blank sheet printing paper: this way you will avoid stains on the drawing.
To avoid dirtying the sketch and correcting mistakes, it is better to use a vinyl eraser. Erasers made from this material do not damage paper and erase pencil marks well.
Don't use your finger to blend the shading.
To make the difference between light and shadow more noticeable, you need to use good lighting.
It is better to hold the pencil at a smaller angle to the plane of the paper so that you can draw with the side of the lead rather than its tip. This will make the shadows more natural.

Date of publication: 01/04/2017

To make the drawing look more realistic, we make shadows, thereby creating volume for it.

The concept of the terms light, shadow, chiaroscuro, reflex, halftone and highlight

Light- the lightest part of the picture. Without it, it is impossible to give volume to an object, since we see the shape of an object only in good lighting.

Shadow- the unlit part of the object. The shadow on the unlit side of an object is called its own, and the cast shadow is called the falling shadow. The own shadow is always darker than the falling shadow.

Chiaroscuro– this is a transition from a light area of an object to a dark one.

Reflex- a reflection of what surrounds the object in the drawing. The reflex will always be darker than the midtones and lighter than the shadow, since it is part of it.

Semitone - smooth transition from light to shadow without visible boundaries. It exists only where the sun's rays fall on an object only at a certain angle.

Blik- the light part of the mirror object. In the picture it often looks like a white spot reflecting the sun's rays.

What does the shadow depend on?

The degree of illumination of an object depends on the lighting in the room, the angle of incidence of the rays and the light source, and the distance between the object and the light source. There is natural and artificial lighting. Natural light is light from sun rays, and artificial is light from light sources made by man. The greater the distance, the weaker the illumination of the object and vice versa. Light and shadows on foreground should be more contrasting, as they are more noticeable. The planes that face the light are the brightest.

How to properly shade an object

First we need to correctly understand the shape that we need to shade. More complex objects, such as people, nature or things, are built from the lightest forms of an object - a sphere, a cylinder and a cube.

So, first, choose a pencil. Shadows are best drawn with 8b pencils. Best to have simple pencils of different hardness to make the pattern more voluminous.

The next step: you need to sharpen the pencil. It is best to do this with a stationery knife, as the lead is longer and thinner.

Next, we make a sketch of our object, which we will shade. Lightly pressing the pencil, draw the outline of the object. It is better to draw from life, seeing the object with your own eyes, this way it is easier to determine the shadow. Place the object in front of you and turn on the light, and you will see that it casts a shadow, which you will later transfer to the drawing.

Next, identify a light source to outline where the subject's shadow will be.

Strokes

Strokes – broken lines, which help to shade an object in a drawing.

Choose a shading method that is convenient for you. There are three types of hatching: straight, circular and cross. Straight hatching is drawn with parallel lines and is great for objects such as hair, dresses, and so on.

Circular hatching is done using circles different sizes And different strengths pressure. This allows you to create a more realistic object.

Cross hatching is done using cross-shaped lines that allow you to give a darker shadow to your subject in your drawing.

Always hold the pencil as horizontally as possible to ensure natural shadows.

I suggest you try all types of shading on a separate sheet of paper and choose the one that is more convenient for you.

Let's move on to the most important thing - shading. First apply one layer of shading to the object, draw another layer next to it so that our two layers do not intersect. If they intersect, a dark place is formed, which is difficult to get rid of during work. After you have applied the first layers of shadows, in the intervals between layers you apply a second layer, but the shading should be different, that is, you need to change the inclination of the strokes. Then on top, where necessary, apply the third, fourth, fifth and subsequent layers of strokes.

Shading shadows

Now that the shading is done, we need to shade the lines. There is no need to do this with your fingers. To do this, you can take a cloth, a piece of paper and carefully smooth movements, without pressing too hard, rub the pencil. Then look at your drawing. If you like it, then good, but if not, then move on to the next step.

Correcting errors

The most common mistake is that the shadow, highlight, and so on are incorrectly defined. To correct it, check again whether your shadow is in the right place and whether the highlight and reflex are visible. The contours between light and dark areas should not be clear. If dark joints have formed between the hatching layers, take an eraser and gently touch the dark place. Repeat this step as many times as needed.

No one succeeds the first time. You must strive for excellence, go towards your dreams. Remember that even the greatest and most famous artists did not immediately start drawing pictures, but started with simple things that you may be learning to draw.

In this article we will tell you how to draw shadows with a pencil correctly. In artistic practice, the ability to correctly feel the dark and light sides will be a good help in any drawing. If you want to make the sketch visual and realistic, you need to give it volume.

Constructing and drawing figures such as a cylinder, ball, cone, cube is a rather tedious and uninteresting task. However, it is tasks like these that are the first step to understanding the volume of a geometric shape, as well as to the ability to depict its dark and light sides - that is, to the ability to draw shadows with a pencil step by step.

Light and shadow should be realistic and pleasing to the eye. This will give the drawings contrast, depth and a sense of movement. How to learn to draw shadows so that your drawings look more alive, attractive and interesting?

A little theory

Have you ever wondered what allows us to see the shape of objects? Let's reveal a secret: this is a collision of light and shadow.

If we place an object on a table in a room without windows and turn off the light, we will not see any form. If we illuminate an object with a very bright lamp or spotlight, then again we will not see its shape. It can only be seen by light that collides with shadow.

Neither light nor shadow falls on objects at random. There are certain patterns. They allow us to guess how the light will be located on the object, on its forms, and where the shadow will begin.

And the person who draws needs to know these patterns.

In drawing, the following elements of chiaroscuro are distinguished:

- glare,
- light,
- penumbra,
- own shadow,
- reflex
- falling shadow.

Let's consider each of them in order.

A flare is a spot of light that is located on a convex or flat glossy surface and is obtained due to the strong illumination of the object.

Light is the surfaces of an object that are brightly illuminated.

Penumbra is a weak shadow. It occurs if an object is illuminated not by one, but by several light sources. In addition, it forms on surfaces that face the light source at a slight angle.

Shadow is those parts of an object that are dimly lit.

A falling shadow is one that an object casts on the plane on which it stands.

And his own is the one that is on the unlit side of it.

A reflex is a weak spot of light that is located in the shadow area. It is formed by rays that are reflected from other objects nearby. The depiction of these light gradations allows the artist to visually depict the shape of an object on a sheet of paper, convey its volume and degree of illumination.

Do these rules work for computer graphics? Yes. Computer graphics is the same as drawing.

Step 1: Selecting the Right Materials.

First of all, you need to choose the right pencil. Of course, you can paint shadows with charcoal, sanguine, gouache, and acrylic. But at first it is better to limit yourself to a pencil. For shadows, special drawing pencils are used. They are sold in sets. A budget option can be found at any office supply store. There are many types of drawing pencils. There are ones with a soft (M, 2M, 3M, ..., 8M, 9M) lead, and there are ones with a hard one (T, 2T, 3T, ..., 8T, 9T). In sets from foreign manufacturers, M is replaced by B, and T by H. To depict shadows, a set of 3T, 2T, T, TM, M, 2M and 3M will be enough. It is better to use hard pencils to depict light, and soft ones to depict shadows. This way the drawing will look more natural and will be easier to draw.

Let's talk about paper.

Too smooth sheets, like the ones we print on, are not suitable for drawing. Don't use paper that is too hard. It will be difficult to draw shadows on it. It is best to use special drawing sheets, which are sold in a folder at office supply stores.

Step2 : linear sketch.

First of all, make a line sketch of what you want to draw. It is advisable to do this from life, but you can also use a photograph of the object. The most important thing is that the object you choose is motionless. In this case, you will have a lot of time to sketch it.
Take a close look at your home environment. You can draw flowers, watches, kitchen utensils, and items of clothing. All of these are excellent subjects for sketching.
If you use a photograph, it is better to print it in black and white. This way you will be able to more accurately depict the outline and shadows.

Step 3: achromatic colors .

When working with a pencil, all achromatic colors are at your disposal. They start out white and end in black, with a few shades of gray in the middle.

How to create an achromatic scale?

Draw a rectangle: this can be done on a separate sheet of paper or in the corner of your drawing.
Divide this rectangle into five to seven equal parts, then number them. The very first rectangle will be white, and the last one will be black. The parts between them need to be painted over with different shades of gray, dividing them by tone.
The result is something like your pencil's palette: the first rectangle is white, the second is light gray, the third is medium gray, the fourth is dark gray, and so on, and the last is the darkest tone the pencil can produce.

Step 4: Shadow Theory.

To do this, it is necessary to understand their nature. Find the main light source. Observe that the lightest places are often closest to the light, the dark ones are further away, and the shadows fall against the light. Particular attention should be paid to reflections, as they can be the brightest place of the object chosen for drawing.

Step 5: Choosing a Hatching Method.

The shading is applied over the pencil sketch. Choose the way you will shade your sketch depending on the subject, the light source, and the type of drawing.

There are many types of shadow shading, and the most popular of them are straight, circular and cross.

A straight line is drawing many parallel lines as close to each other as possible. This method is great for objects without texture and for drawing hair.

Shading an object by drawing intersecting lines is cross-hatching. This method is great for adding depth to a drawing.

Consider the direction of the hatching and the shape of the object. Straight lines on rounded surfaces will not give the effect of volume; rounded surfaces must be hatched in the direction of the curvature of the planes.

Step 6: pen test.

Try making shadows. Since your drawing is still at the initial stage, you should not make them too dark. This way you can easily erase them if necessary. Draw, gradually filling in the places that are needed, and leaving the lightest places white.

As you paint, compare your work to the subject or a photograph of it to make sure you're putting the shadows in the right place.

Step 7: Patience and step by step work.

add shadows in several layers. They must be gradually darkened, layer by layer. There should be a noticeable contrast between dark and light areas.

Do not forget to use an achromatic scale: the drawing should not be in the same gray tones.

There's no need to rush. The process of shading shadows is similar to developing black and white film: it must happen gradually. Patience is your key to success and beautiful drawings.
The more you deepen the shadows in the drawing, the less noticeable its contours will become. And this is correct, because in real life almost nothing has a black outline. The same should be reflected in your drawing.

Step 8: Shading the Shadows.

Buy special shading sticks from an art store. If you don't have shading, you can use a small piece of paper. Change paper frequently.

An eraser will help you highlight those places that you accidentally covered up. This could be a highlight, or a contour that is not completely hidden under the shading layer.

The main thing is to remember that most people who draw, including the most famous artists, made mistakes at the initial stage of their creative path.

You can place a clean sheet of printing paper between your hand and the paper you are drawing on to avoid stains on your drawing.

To avoid dirtying the sketch and correcting mistakes, it is better to use a vinyl eraser. Erasers made from this material do not damage paper and erase pencil marks well.

Don't use your finger to blend the shading. Your finger quickly gets dirty when you blend out dark areas and then stains lighter areas.

To make the difference between light and shadow more noticeable, you need to use good lighting.

It is better to hold the pencil at a smaller angle to the plane of the paper so that you can draw with the side of the lead rather than its tip. This will make the shadows more natural.

Draw as often as possible, hone your skills. Only through repeated training, starting with simple shapes, you can achieve high level craftsmanship (see photo).

I wish you creative success!