help, (i cant shade, imgs inside)

#1

i cant shade right for some reason, can anyone figure out why?

http://img112.imageshack.us/content.php?page=done&l=img112/7434/skull3ej4.jpg
http://img267.imageshack.us/content.php?page=done&l=img267/1616/skull2ti4.jpg

#2

Hi~
About your shading concerns… I hope this helps… First I just want to say that I am not perfect by far, but before I started learning photoshop and a wacom (which was just over a week ago) I did all my art work with the traditional tools… I go to art school and am in the fine arts program so if anything I can give you a background on my experience…

I have found that there are certain things that GREATLY determine how my shading works out.  Because I am still the type of artist who likes to do line drawings then shade them in, sometimes I had to learn the hard way about shading.. I don't naturally shade to make a form..although I am trying now because I know that is a weakness of mine.

I would suggest first to get a nice sketch book. Lined notebook paper can only be expected to get so-so results as far as shading due to the “tooth” of the paper. By that I mean the texture of the paper(fibers) that will grab the medium(pencil or chalk etc). Then, I would say to buy some charcoal in various hardness, a rubbing stump (which will help you smudge areas and blend), and a gum eraser(its soft and you work it like putty to clean it), if you do not have these things already.

Secondly, I would say to do some basic exercises like making value charts, a few of them at least until you feel confident with them, that will help you get a better feel for value. you can just use scotch tape or whatever tape that will peel off your notebook to set it up and keep it clean around the edges, and make something like this…

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4484/fishday6ln5.jpg

and this link is a very basic video tutorial about drawing and shading a circle:

http://www.expertvillage.com/videos/basic-artistic-drawing-shading-circles-b.htm

After that I would just suggest to look at more anatomy and color theory books… and practicing. Getting yourself a bright spotlight lamp is a good idea too, then you can set up still lifes and basic objects to practice drawing with a good idea of light and dark.

Hope this was helpful~ Take care. ~Erica

#3

Sixslow,

Sorry for the delayed reply, I have a shading tutorial here:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=199&t=273928

Also if you do a search on the forum for shading, you should find a lot of other useful links. :slight_smile:

Cheers,

-Rebeccak

#4

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