Shading and Shadowing

Guide to Coloring ~ Shading and Shadowing

I have always enjoyed looking at others drawings and pieces of art. Many have unique and interesting pieces due to all the different techniques and the varieties of their style. I'm not the best creative person when it comes to coloring or drawing. I've always wanted to improve because art is very captivating. So this blog is where I'll share my tips and experiences for being better at drawing and coloring.

The more I read the book New Guide to Coloring by Peg Couch, I found that there are many easy tricks and tips to improve your drawings. One of the first things I am going to focus on is shading. It is something nice and simple. Shading is where you layer colors to darken an area to make an object appear three-dimensional, or in order to show that something is overlapping something else by adding a light source and shadows to your drawing (Couch 60). Shading gives the flat drawing a much more real 3-D perspective and it is a great and easy step to add to your coloring's to make it seem a bit more next level!

When shading you need to decide where to shade, by choosing to shade either inside or outside (known as underneath) your shape or drawing. You can even do a combination of both, which the drawing I have done happens to be. The key thing to remember is perspective. "Just be careful when combining the two that the dimensions make sense to the eye. If the light source is coming from the upper left of the shape, your shading would fall on the lower right of the shape. The same would be said for the shadow underneath or around the shape..." (Couoch 61). So always keep in mind that from whatever side the light is shining down on the object that your shading and shadowing match up, a good way to remember what side to shade is basically remember that the shading would fall on the opposite side of the light as the quote above had referred to.

The shading is a bit hard to see, but if you can tell the balls are both darker on the bottom left side. The ball on the left side shows the correct way of shading. It is the realistic shading- the shadow is cast opposite of the light source.
The ball on the right side is an example I drew of incorrect shading. It is non realistic- the light source does not match up with the shading and shadows.

As you can see the shading does give the flat shape more dimension. I am pleased at how it came out, but also can't wait to see other tips and techniques that will help me prove!

Do you agree that shading makes a drawing more realistic or do you think otherwise? Do you enjoy drawing in any specific way?

Couch, Peg. New Guide to Coloring for Crafts, Adult Coloring Books, and Other Coloristas!: Tips, Tricks, and      Techniques for All Skill Levels! Fox Chapel Pub Co Inc, 2016.