Shading

If you did the exercises seriously then you are ready to move on to the next lesson - Shading. Shading plays an integral part in your drawing as this gives a three dimensional effect on a flat surface thus giving life to your subject.

Notice how dull the cube below looks like without any shading applied. It is flat and uninteresting. I will show you a variety of ways on how to give personality on the subject.

With the exercises you did in the previous lesson, I believe, that you now have a better control with your pencil. Let us shade the cube with those line exercises I taught you in the previous lesson. See below how the lines were applied on the surface of the cube.

So there. Take note that the lines followed the structure of each side of the cube. Now, we need to decide where the source of light should be coming from. In this drawing, we would want to imagine that the source of light is on the upper left hand side; somewhere higher than the cube. Considering the light source, the side of the cube that is against the light should have the darkest shade and the side facing left should have a medium tone.

Let us now apply more lines on both sides. The top appears to be lighter after the second layer of lines were applied.

Diagonal lines were added on both sides to minimize the white background of the paper. The contrast is now heightened because both sides are more darker in shade .

If you feel that you already achieved the desired contrast between the light to medium shade, you are now ready to work on the side that is against the light. Therefore, this side should have the darkest shade.

 I would like to stress that even pressure application on your drawing gives you a fine even stroke. Be extra careful in shading your subject to avoid showing scruffy lines. There are a variety of ways to give  that three dimensional effect on your drawing. It is all up to you on how to create your own style. 

See how shading can give life to a very flat object. Some artists would use ball points to fill in the space like the picture below. 

Tips on Pencil Drawing:

• You can use a variety of lines. Make sure that the strokes are even.
• You can do a side to side shading motion; working back and forth on the same area.
• You can give texture by doing circular motion.
• You can also use a shading stick or a brush with soft bristles.
• Make sure your hands are clean to avoid smudges.