Drawing Light and Shadow

Age 12 · Art

Open to everyone until Wednesday, November 18

To keep it, print it while it is open.

When you draw a lit object, look at where the light hits it and where it turns away into shadow. Shading smoothly from light to dark makes a flat drawing look solid and round.

In the picture

The light source: it decides which side of every object is bright
The highlight: the brightest part, facing the lamp, left almost white on paper
The form shadow: the side turned away from the light, shaded darkest
The cast shadow: the shadow an object throws onto the table, away from the light
The shaded drawing: tones built from pale to dense dark so the shape looks 3D

Examples

A football in a sunny park is bright on top and dark underneath, with a shadow on the grass.
A mug on a desk by a window is light on the window side and shadowed on the other side.