Basic Art: Lesson 3: Shading

Light is a very important subject in art. We are visual beings and have grown up relying on our eyes for information. Light and its interaction with objects can tell us alot about a surface or an object. Is the object shiny, slick, pointy, rough? A lot of the information we gather with our eyes is interpreted by its shading.

Many of us are subconsciously interpreting information that we see without realizing it. It is because of this that your first step in learning about shading is to grab a variety of items with different attributes (such as round, rough, shiny, colored, black, white, cubed, etc) and place them outside in the sun and indoors with a (preferrably movable) light source. Carefully, consciously, watch how the light interacts with the object and make mental notes as you do so.

What did you notice? You may have noticed several things that you haven't realized before. There are names for different types of shading and light. Here is a list of some terms regarding light and shadow. Direct Lighting: Area of an object with lighting directly hitting it. Reflective lighting: Area of an object with lighting hitting it as a result of bouncing off another surface. Cast Shadow: Shadow created from an object. Core Shadow: Area of darkest shade on an object. Secondary/Tertiary light planes: Areas receiving light but not from a direct light source.

Shading (in black and white) comes in 3 colors, Black, White and many shades of Grey. In order to learn to differentiate the Greys, we will need to do an exercise in shading.

OK! Lets begin!
Step 1: grab a piece of paper and a drawing utensil (preferrably a harder pencil)
Step 2: Draw a rectangle 11 inches long and 1 inch wide. Divide that rectangle into 11 one=inch squares and write 0 to 100 in increments of 10 above each square. These numbers represent the percentage of darkness in the block (100% is pure black and 0% is pure white)
Step 3: Proceed to color in the rectangles to match the percentages as much as possible. Color lightly! (this may take several tries but will help in understanding shades better)
Step 4: As you work on this (slowly) you should take a step back and look at the picture. Can you see the difference in shading between each square?

After you feel comfortable with shading, find a simple object to draw (ball, cubed, cylindrical, etc.) Place it under a light (indoors for now so you can take as long as you want). Take a moment to observe the shading. Draw the object (remember what you've learned from basic art lesson 1 and 2). Shade the object using what you have learned in the previous exercise. Remember that you can use shading to show realism but you can also use it in any way you want. Try different things and come up with your own personal style.

Well thats it for this episode of Basic Art.. remember to rest your eyes every once in a while. Take a moment and step back and look at your work from afar as well.