Basic Shapes
All objects are generally made of basic shapes that possess their own unique characteristics when it comes to lights and darks. To help you understand variation in shades better, we have made a generalization on how light effects the basic shapes.

The cube or rectangular prism is probably the most simple of the basic shapes. The surfaces are flat, and each of the surfaces is in contact with a different amount of light. The surface with the most light is the lightest in tone, the surface with the least light is the darkest. One common misconception is that each flat surface has a consisent tone. This is not always the case. Be observant. A lot of the time one surface may be darker at one end and lighter at the other.



The cylinder is arguably one of the most important shape in figure drawing for it can represent the arms, legs, neck and body. However, the curve of the cylinder poses a problem for many beginners. The curve in the cylinder results in a gradual but apparent change in light. The lightest light is the area closest to the light source, and is an area that runs perpendicular to the direction of the curve. This will fade to dark on either side. One important thing to note is that cylinders do not just go from dark to light. The tone always change back to a light after it hits the darkest dark, thus the darkest dark is not on either edge of the curve.



The cylinder works a lot like a cone, the only difference is that the shading expands as it nears the base of the cone.


The sphere is probably the most difficult of the shapes. The first step to shading it properly is to identify where the light hits first. That is the lightest light. Different degrees of tones are always curved. Never shade the sphere light on one side and dark on another, look closely at the shape of the tones. As with the cone and cylinder, the darkest dark is never at the edge.

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