Practice Shading

Practice gives quality to your shading. You get a better grip and control as you practice daily and I am confident that you will see progress each time. Quality art works are executed with quality strokes. One must labor with patience and love to achieve it. Do not throw what you have accomplished - keep it, compile it, collect it or have it framed to preserve it. Be it drawn in cheap materials, it does not really matter! Let your peers appreciate your piece.

For a time, I was out of touch from something I love doing the most due to a lot of things. But my love for the arts is truly, once again, finding its way back to my passion. I am sure that you would feel the same way once you get hooked to this.

Are you ready to practice something interesting today? Let me show you what I have been doing the past days

Title: Chillies
Medium: Charcoal/ Colored Pencils on Paper
Artiest: Yet  Diago

That's a lot of shading to practice. By the time you finish the whole lot, you would have a better control on your strokes. Enjoy every stroke. Do not rush. Take your time. It is going to be fun.

Materials I used:

• Canson Sketch Pad
• Charcoal pencil (light grade)
• Chinese brush for blending
• Colored Pencils

Step 1: I started from the center (and worked around towards the edges of the paper). I did this to avoid touching the shaded surface and prevent the drawing from unwanted smudges. I shaded the area lightly and evenly with color red. I repeated the process on the surface that should have a pure color which would be the midtone. 

Step 2: I combined a darker shade of color red with brown to shade the areas that should be in shadows. I repeated the process slowly and carefully, building a depth to the shading; adjusting irregular strokes to keep the tonal changes as smooth as possible until I achieved the intensity of the tone I want.

Step 3: In step 1, I started shading the object from light color to dark. But here on this step, I would start from dark shading to light. Reason for this was the soft lead of the charcoal pencil which can be easily applied. 

Step 4: I shaded the dark areas repeatedly and slowly until the tones build up and worked gradually easing the pressure on the pencil towards the light until no marks can be seen. I used the tip of a chinese brush to blend the transition of the graduated tone smoothly. (Repeat the process if needed.)

Step 4: Do the same on the others as you progress with the drawing and shading.

Step 5: Focus on the details and refine your strokes; adjust shading.

So there, another piece done. If you feel you need to practice more, just do so and try other subjects. Please feel free to email me your drawing/s so I can provide you a feedback/s on your progress. This will help you improve your shading skill.

Come back for the next lesson.

HAPPY SHADING!!!