Help with Shading

~NymphetamineSyndrome Jul 3, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Hey all so I was wondering if anyone out their could give me some tips on shading.. some art I have seen on this site looks like a black and white photo how do you do this?? With my work you can tell it's a drawing anyone have any tips for me ? do I need different equipment??

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Devious Comments

~Glori305 Jul 4, 2012

Constant practice.

A good one to draw for highlight/shading practice is a clear glass with icewater in it.

~NymphetamineSyndrome Jul 4, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

I was searching this site [link] and found it interesting can you actually buy graphite powder???

~Artsy-HAM Jul 4, 2012 Student Traditional Artist

YES, you can. I've personally have never tried it before, but I had an instructor in art school last year who swore by it. I think- and someone can correct me if I'm wrong- that you can control it more by layering, and if you are going for a dark area, there won't be the indentations on the paper from the pencil.

~achipps Jul 4, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Learn to smudge the graphite to remove some pencil strokes and spread the graphite to make it look like a fine shaded area.

I use my fingers to smudge, but it can wear down the skin. You don't want dry hands to do it, and you don't want sweaty hands, because the smudge could get very dark.

Some people use chips and tissue. I have no idea how they learn to control the oils. So before you try smudging practice so you will get the feel of it.

~NymphetamineSyndrome Jul 4, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Thanks I never knew that, thanks for the tip I usually use my finger or a tissue but never knew about the oil side of things i'll def give it a go, i'm willing to give all ideas a go to improve

=nelchee Jul 4, 2012 Professional General Artist

You need to understand how light and shadow work on the form: [link]
Practice with drawing still life. Put some stuff on your desk (vase, fruit bowl, books...) and draw them. Trust me it helps more than you realize.

You don't need special equipment. You only need to learn how to work with what you already have.

~NymphetamineSyndrome Jul 4, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Thanks i'll gove it a go

Thanks for the link it's very helpful

~Artsy-HAM Jul 3, 2012 Student Traditional Artist

As itsa-puck said, a lot of it just comes from practice. Annoying how that always seem to be the answer, isn't it?

Just from quickly browsing through your work, I think your darks need to be darker. Like in this one: [link] It's a beautiful drawing, but it's mostly all one tone. Making the shadows darker will help bring emphasis. One good trick my freshman drawing professor taught me was to squint on the drawing. If all the shades and tones seem to almost disappear or blend together, then you need to add more contrast. For the Jordyn May drawing, this happens when I squint at it. The lines stand out, but most of the shading all but disappears.

For this drawing: [link] there needs to be more shadow under his chin, and more contrast between the lighted cheek on the left.

I don't think you need new equipment. I think you just need to practice more, and really look at the world around you. I noticed that you seem to mainly draw from photographs. If at all possible, try to start drawing from real life. Use yourself as a model, if needed. Photographs flatten dimensional objects, such as the human face.

~NymphetamineSyndrome Jul 4, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Haha yeah'practice' is the key word haha but it's a word I need to hear.. the real life drawings are a good idea I haven't drawn real life since school that be almost 4 years! and i've improved since then so I think it's time to try again.. I thought some people may have their certain way of shading as some art i've seen is wow out of this world and looks like it can't be done but practice i will thanks heaps for your suggestions

~itsa-puck Jul 3, 2012 Student Traditional Artist

A lot of it can just come with practice. Try playing around with eraser techniques or see what kind of gradients you can get with some dark to light pencil shading and smudging it with a scrap piece of paper, or your finger. Experiment, try everything you can think of, see what works.

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