Again, you won’t’ need to press hard! Start at the lightest value and work towards the shadows. You can use it the same way you use your pencil: on an angle with regular strokes. A blending stick is a small tube of tightly rolled paper that lets you smooth out pencil shading. Some people like the texture of the paper showing through, but I find you get the best shading results by blending. This is easier if you hold your pencil closer to the end and at an angle, using the side of the lead to shade.
Try to make your pencil strokes in the same direction to get smoother results. You don’t want to be able to see the paper between your lines. Your pencil strokes should be even and regular. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t have to press very hard if you want darker shadows, build them with layers of graphite. For darker shadows, press slightly harder and slowly lessen the pressure as you work away. You need to be aware of how you hold the pencil, how you apply your strokes, and how hard you press.
#Pencil shading art animal s how to
The key to smooth shading is learning how to control your pencil.
The closer the cast shadow is to the object, the darker it will be, fading as it moves farther away. The only time you will see a hard edge is when there is a cast shadow, otherwise the tones change gradually. You will notice that these values blend into each other smoothly, which communicates to us the shape of the object. This reflection happens when light hits the surface next to your object and bounces back. Most objects will also have an area of reflected light. The midtones refer to the gradation of tones between the shadow and the highlight. The side facing away from the light source will be in shadow. The spot where the light hits your subject directly is called the highlight, and is usually pure white. In your drawings, you will generally have one light source, which determines the location of highlights and the direction of shadows. How to Shade Pencil Drawings Understanding Light To learn more about Miranda, please take a moment to visit her websites below: You can learn how to make your drawings more realistic by understanding light, controlling your pencil, and blending. Shading isn’t difficult to learn, but it does take some practice. By improving your shading, you can greatly improve the quality of your drawings. It is sometimes a relief to shift from the tight discipline of realistic drawing to this type of work, but it can be equally relieving to go from these open-ended paintings to getting lost in the details of a drawing.Ī very important part of drawing realistically is shading: the variation in value from shadows to highlights that describe the shape of something. I am able to work loosely and fluidly, reacting to the painting as I go. The abstract works reflect my interest in colour and form. It challenges me technically and I am always pushing to create more accurate drawings. Drawing realistically indulges the side of me that loves detail and is a perfectionist. Each style allows me to challenge different parts of my personality. My work fits into two very different and unrelated categories: realism and abstract.