Hwo First Used a Glass Plane to Draw People

In this lite and shadow serial, we look at the theory, cartoon and painting of a elementary grade focusing on shadow, light and edges.

in Part 1, we looked at the theory of calorie-free and shadow.

This week we're going to put pencil to paper and see how the theory works in a simple pencil cartoon of an apple…

Understanding your low-cal source

The different characteristics of the calorie-free hitting an object tin completely change its appearance.

For this sit-in, I've created a lighting set up using ane single light source which gives united states a anticipated fall of lite.

This set up demonstrates each distinct area to be aware of, exaggerating the widest tonal range, and when you're a beginner, it'due south the simplest way to come across the difference between the tones.

My lamp has a diffuser on information technology called a Softbox.

The Softbox gives united states the fall of light we're afterwards, still slightly softer edges on the shadows.

Why?

One of the key lessons from this demonstration I want you to come abroad with is to understand the importance of soft edges in your drawings.

 Softbox unmarried source lighting set in my studio

The importance of hard & soft edges

An edge is where two objects or two surfaces meet together.

The term a 'hard edge' tin can describe ii very hard surfaces, such as a tabletop with a metal cube on top of information technology or most commonly in drawing, we talk nearly the hard edge being an surface area that has a sharpness to it or a focal betoken of the moving picture.

So, information technology could exist a crisp line to bespeak changes in shape or angularity.

Or it could be an area of high contrast (light and dark) to draw the viewer's attending.

A 'soft border' is more flowing or fluid and tends to be more low in contrast. Soft edges advise the idea of roundness and a gradual transition.

In photography, lighting tin often be called hard light or soft light. Hard light is harsh lite so creates abrupt shadows and harder edges.

Soft light is very diffused, creating softer shadows and softer edges. And so if you wanted to photograph somebody in the near flattering light, you would have soft light. If you want to increment the dramatic quality of the scene, you would use hard light.

This 1 piece of data that can drastically alter your drawings and paintings.

And then as we become through the next demo, I'll indicate the areas to keep soft and the areas to go along sharper.

One of the biggest mistakes beginners make in drawing, is keeping all of the edges the same – nigh commonly, all of the edges are kept sharp and crisp.

If you lot can learn to alter the weight of line and to incorporate more soft edges in your drawings, it will make a massive difference to the realism and style of your work.

Shadow border

Below are two photographs to illustrate the subtle differences in the shadow strengths when I altered the lighting slightly.

The starting time one used directly sunlight considering information technology's non diffused; information technology has created a harder, more solid shadow line and cast shadow.

As well, encounter how you tin judge the angle of the sun via the length of the cast shadow and the brilliant highlight.

Low angle, hard lighting from directly sunlight.

The second one used a slightly college lighting position with a softer calorie-free creating a softer cast shadow edge.

High, softer diffused lighting from a single light source Softbox

The prototype to a higher place is the final reference prototype I'll use for this demonstration.

It tin can be 'right clicked' and 'Save image as', so you can use it as a reference for your drawing.

Habitation setup

A small table lamp without a shade is a good choice for setting up your still life at home, if you lot desire to piece of work from life, rather than the photograph above.

An opaque bulb will give you a light source in between the ii examples in a higher place. O.one thousand – you lot won't take a diffuser to mimic a Softbox – merely information technology won't exist every bit hard as straight sunlight either.

Simplifying your drawings past mapping the shadows

Before we get started on the principal event, here's a actually quick way of practising looking for the shadow line.

Don't underestimate its importance because of its simplicity.

It'south frequently the first sketch that is the most constructive at conveying the sense of form rather than an overworked, detailed drawing.

However, working with pencil, subtleties can go added into the scene (that are there) too early, and the uncomplicated stardom between light and nighttime gets lost.

During this exercise, you have to make a clear distinction between calorie-free and dark because you are using a pen – helping to prevent the separation from becoming muddled.

Pro tip: Working with a permanent marker pen is the all-time method I've found for practising this technique. It forces you to make a clean determination in your heed before committing pen to paper.

This sketch is based on the Cézanne painting from final week. I'yard using a black, fine line gel pen. This one is 0.5 mm from Muji.

I sketch out the outline of the object and then put in both the cast shadow and the shadow line.

I tin can then indicate the shadow side by hatching lines with the pen.

I'm keeping the lines evenly spaced and changing the direction of them, depending on the direction of the form. Observe how all of the cast shadows on the table are hatched in the aforementioned direction.

I and so draw in whatsoever darker accents on the bottom of the objects.

And once I'chiliad confident with the general shapes and shadow patterns, I work with a thicker pen (this is a Staedler whiteboard marker) to indicate the very darkest cast shadows within the cartoon.

So now I have three tones, the lights, the form shadows and the bandage shadows.

This has merely given me a actually practiced idea of the shadow patterns within the scene. It can be a great exercise to do if you're out in brilliant sunlight as you tin can become distinct shadow shapes.

And then at present your optics are tuned in, let's get on with the form drawing using a pencil.

How to draw a three-dimensional Apple

Materials you will need:

• White newspaper, either regular computer paper or cartridge paper
• 2B & 6B pencil – I use Staedtler Mars Lumograph
• Eraser – I utilise a putty eraser
• A round object to draw around (approx 7cm wide)
• A tortillion – I use a paper stump, which is very similar to compressed paper.

Discover a circular object to depict lightly around; this helps to give you a starting bespeak so nosotros can chop-chop put into practise the theory of the sphere from last calendar week. I'g using to 2B pencil (Staedtler Mars Lumograph)

I then make a mark indicating the furthest bespeak of the cast shadow.

Lightly draw an ellipse shape to indicate the bandage shadow. Find how the ellipse cuts through the shape of the circle.

I now use a difficult line and add slight angles to the circle, to represent more accurately the shape of the apple.

Lightly describe in the shape of the stem.

And then the shape of the highlight.

Reinforce the cast shadow shape noticing – the darkest function that sits directly under the apple, the mid-tone that makes up the majority of the cast shadow shape while keeping a lighter line as you get towards the brightest, softest tail of the cast shadow.

Lightly draw the shadow line; information technology has a slight curve to it.

The curved line below the shadow line indicates a band where the form shadow cadre falls within. This will be the darkest area of the apple.

I then shade a mid-tone along this form shadow core. Even though information technology's going to be darker than this somewhen, it will help you to judge the different tones within the cartoon.

Shade the apple tree stem equally dark as you lot tin can get it, information technology'southward practically blackness on the reference image and it doesn't need to blend into whatever other tones – and so nosotros tin can afford to go equally night as possible.

Now I swap to a softer pencil (a 6B) and begin to shade in the majority of the cast shadow. Find how the angle of the shading is the same as when I hatched the bandage shadow in the shadow mapping drawing using a pen.

Keep the shade over the edge of the apple, and this is called combining the shadow shapes.

I fill in the form shadow, working over the offset, grade shadow core band.

It'due south at this bespeak I swap back to the 2B and draw the hard, sharp line at the base of the cast shadow.

Using the softer 6B pencil, I reinforce the cast shadow depth of tone.

Holding the pencil lightly, I gently betoken the softer, lighter tail of the bandage shadow.

Now I feel confident to go heavier on the form shadow cadre as I take both the nighttime bandage shadow and the night stalk to judge against.

Irresolute hand position, I can follow the shape of the form.

Lightly work across the whole of the light side to indicate the halftone.

Now nosotros have established all the elements.

Using our secret weapon, our paper stump I start to alloy the tones to reach the soft transition betwixt the light side and the shadow side.

Discover how when you shade with the newspaper stump, information technology slightly darkens the tone.

I proceed to work between softening and sharpening and blending.

Using a putty eraser, I take back whatsoever of the shapes that have gone slightly out.

Soften out the tail of the cast shadow.

Pull back the highlight on the light side of the apple.

The finished drawing.

Whether yous download and utilize the reference image or ready up your report, accept it a step at a fourth dimension, look out for the soft transitions, and I hope you get some fantastic results!

Next time nosotros'll be back in the studio where we'll develop this apple tree written report into a simple contemporary painting.

If you'd like to learn more than well-nigh sfumato and drawing techniques, y'all should have a look at the How to draw low-cal & shadow online drawing course

Yous might likewise like:

1. A Beginners Guide to Light & Shadow: Office 1
2. A Beginners Guide to Light & Shadow: Part iii

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Source: https://willkempartschool.com/how-to-shade-a-drawing-light-shadow-part-2/

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