Realistic Drawing for Beginners

4Shading

Have you ever thought how magical it is that a drawing can have such a feeling of depth that we forget it’s a two-dimensional image? This illusion is created mainly in the shading phase, which is the next step after sketching. Shading establishes the general values of light and shadow that give volume to a drawing.

Although this chapter examines shading in isolation, the general values of light and shadow you create at this stage of the drawing process will be affected later in the blending and texture steps. So fear not, dear reader; these first few layers can be adjusted later. The better the quality of the shading you do now, however, the easier the process as a whole will become. After all, the goal of blending and adding textures ...