Learning how to Shade and Shadow

Shadowing and shading are important techniques because of the extra detail they add to a picture or painting. The key to being successful when shading is to always have a point where the sun is shining from.

When you shadow you should always draw a fine outline. That is a key to shadowing. For shadowing most people hold their pencil or other item differently. If you hold your pencil, like when you write, it will be easier to add more detail. Detail is more important in areas such as, painting, pastels and clay. Another key to shadowing is to make sure that you have almost a perfect outline of your figure before you start shadowing. Then after you make an outline you can start to shade in the outline lightly. Once you’ve done that you’re practically done except for the extra detail you want in your picture like houses, trees, mountains, etc.

Learning Perspective Drawing

Perspective also deals with shadowing. There are two types of perspective, one-point and two-point. In perspective you have to draw the vanishing point. This is a dot placed in any part of the picture that shows where the horizon ends. Then the key is to line everything up with the vanishing point. Draw very lightly, because some of it won’t be in the picture. That tip will save your eraser and time. Curving the lines in a picture will also make it look more like a camera shot, which gives a more realistic feeling to your picture.

1. Summer hills are covered with trees and winter hills are just plain.

2. Land has many different textures, don’t draw land the same. For example: you can draw differences in the shape of the land by stippling.(Drawing dots around each other.)

3. You can draw animal tracks to show detail.

4. Draw dots (or stipple) for a rough texture 5. Don’t draw figures first, draw land first. 6. There are 5 different types of mountains: folded mountains, wrinkled mountains, dome mountains, volcanic mountains, and ice-carved mountains. 7. Draw clear water by showing the underwater also. 8. Only detail the surface of muddy water.

9. If you draw a plant, make it lean toward the light, because plants always grow toward the light and you want to make your picture realistic.

10. Plants look different at night then day. So if you draw a plant in daylight draw it differently than at night. For example: In daylight the plants look normal. At night time they droop a little and the plant looks like its dead.

1. If the object you are drawing moves, you should change the shape of the shadow to frame the movement of the object.

2. When you draw an object running, draw heavier lines at the front of the body to show weight being pushed forward. 3. Make sure the shadow follows the shape and lines of the surface it is on. 4. Use very light lines to draw breakable things.

5. Shading helps to create distance. For example when the object is up close, shade lightly, when it is far away shade a little darker.

1. When you draw an animal, draw them with an expressive face, it will look like they will move. 2. When you draw an animal in winter, make sure you draw footprints behind the animal in the snow. 3. When an animal touches the ground, it should touch it’s shadow too.

4. Dry hairs stand up and separate and wet hairs stay in clumps.

5. If your picture is in winter, draw a thick overcoat for the animal that you are drawing.