Video:How to Do Basic Shading

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Transcript:How to Do Basic Shading

Hi! I'm Shaddai Berron with About.com, and today I'm going to walk you through shading.

Drawing Supplies for Shading

You will need a pencil, some paper, an eraser, and a napkin or cloth.

Shading Tips

When working with shading, remember it is never static. Shadows and highlights move and change depending on where your light is coming from as well as the shape you are working with. Today we'll start with a simple circle and give it dimension by adding shadows and highlights to it, ending up with a happy little sphere.

Choose a Lighting Source

First we have to decide where our light or lights are coming from. For the sake of simplicity we will use a light overhead and to the right.

Shade Light and Dark Tones

Next separate your lights from darks by laying a shadow on your form where no light will be hitting. After that, we will lay down our mid-tones. The shade between the highlights and the shadow on the area on the shape where we left white before. Just lay down a light area of gray being careful not to make it too dark. Then we'll erase a small piece of our shadowed edge in order to create a reflected light; separating the shadow of the shape from the shadow it will be casting. Be sure not to make it too light. Make it a tad darker than the mid-tones you made in the last step.

Cast a Shadow

We will now make our newly formed sphere cast a shadow onto the imaginary surface that it is sitting on. Draw the shadow in the shape of the object that is casting it. Remembering where your light is coming from. Think about it as being on the opposite side from your light. In this case, the lower left.

Smooth Out the Shading

To make your shading more perfect, take your napkin or cloth and smooth it out by blending or rubbing it. This technique is great when drawing smooth surfaces like this sphere.

Create a Shading Highlight

Finally, we'll make our highlight. Place the highlight near the center, of your mid-tone area, where your light would be directly hitting your source by using your eraser to form a small circular shape.

And there you have it! Practice shading with different shapes and light sources, and you'll be drawing like a pro in no time! Thank you for watching! For more information, please join us here at About.com.