
Learn shading and smudging techniques using an hb pencil on practice boxes, mastering horizontal, vertical, and combined strokes, then apply lighter-to-darker shading and fingertip smudging for clean edges.
Learn to draw a sphere by shading a circle, using light from above, layering pencil strokes, blending edges, and refining an outline to create a 3D form.
Learn to draw a three dimensional cube by sketching a square, adding the side and top faces, shading with pencil and smudging, and refining with an eraser for outline.
Create a three-dimensional cone by drawing a curved triangle with a pointed top and curved bottom, then add pencil shading, deepen shadows on the bottom and sides.
Develop your still life drawing by mastering light and shadow to create three-dimensional form while learning to draw a vase with paper and pencil.
Sketch a vase beginning with a light U, add curved lines and an oval, then shade with vertical strokes following the vase’s shape, practicing small to large.
Master fingertip smudging to soften edges and blend light and shadow, and darken areas with multiple strokes of a single HB pencil.
Apply shading with vertical and curved strokes along the apple’s contours to show light, shadow, and darker edges, stem, and leaf veins.
Smudge dark pencil lines with your fingertip to blend shading on the apple and soften edges. Use the eraser tip to reveal light reflections, refine outlines, and emphasize shadows.
Learn to sketch an apple with pencil lines, using a C shape and a reversed C joined by curves. Start with light guidelines, erase mistakes, then darken the final lines.
Ever felt frustrated having worked so hard on a drawing – only to find it still looks ‘flat’?
Is it the proportions? The perspective? Perhaps the composition?
The most effective method of taking your drawings appear three dimensional, is understanding how light and shadow works.
If line drawing creates the proportions, handling of tone creates the form.
The theory seems simple and the changes in technique small, but applying the principles of how tone, light and shade work, will improve the illusion of form in every drawing you do – regardless of the subject.
And the exciting part about it is, once you ‘get’ lighting, the principles never change.
When reflected light is handled well, it can give your drawings that ‘How did you do that?’ response – so it’s worth taking the time with.
When working on three dimensional drawings, the two things I focus on are form and edges. We’ll also create some quick sketches to map shadows and cover drawing techniques on turning a form.
In this course you’ll learn how to draw using dramatic light and shadow. All form, no matter how complex, follows a basic set of shading principles. By understanding how light operates on the fundamental volumes of a vase, apple, and geometric shapes like sphere, cube and cone you’ll be able to realistically shade and render basic forms and be prepared to draw and shade more complex subjects.