TUTORIAL - Shading Techniques (Various Media) - by Rebeccak

#1

Guys,

   This thread is dedicated to the study of [b]Shading Techniques in Various Media. [/b]Thanks to warpyy for suggesting the idea!

Here is an example of a shading exercise which I was forced to do by my slave~driving high school art teacher (an amazing guy whom I completely credit for any artistic growth I might have had in high school) and which I now pass on to you! :slight_smile:

I lightly sketched first with maybe a super sharp 2B pencil the outlines before shading.

Basically, the assignment was simple ~ look about your house / apt, find a small object, and shade it using an Ebony pencil that is kept super sharp with a metal pencil sharpener. The trick is to keep the pencil always sharp ~ so it helps to have several of them sharpened and at the ready ~ and to finely shade on the point in teeny tiny circles with varying degrees of pressure to achieve lighter or darker areas.

Wherever the light hits the strongest (the highlight area) you leave white.

 [img]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/rebeccak5/Shading%20Tutorial%20-%20Various%20Media/Exercise_1_Small.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.pjartco.com/images/ebonypencil1.gif[/img] [img]http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/213401/2/metal_pencil_sharpener.jpg[/img]
#2

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[center] [left]Umm…forget that I hadn’t taken perspective at this point…:rolleyes:
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Exercise_1_Small_Detail.jpg563x785 

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#3

Another way to shade traditionally is to cross~hatch with pen.

These are examples of drawings which I did just as an exercise well after I had graduated from college (these were done about a year ago, I think).

I basically used a Bic Grip Roller fine pen and started hatching away, being careful to follow form and to not create straight lines, if possible. Any pen will work ~ I often use ballpoint pen. I recommend drawing lightly a pencil outline first, then cross~hatching away. I think I just dived into this one, but it’s better to start with a sketch.

Cross~hatching is not rocket science ~ you just hatch one way, then hatch another, until you get tired of it ~ then you come back to it the next day, and cross~hatch some more. :slight_smile:

This is a copy of one of Rubens’ fabulous drawings. I highly recommend doing Master Copies ~ as many as you can.

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#4

Here is another example of using cross~hatching technique ~ again, a Master Copy using Bic Pen on Sketchbook paper.

#5

For More Traditional and Digital Shading Tutorials, please see:

REBECCA KIMMEL’S Anatomy Review 003: SHADING TUTORIAL AND HUMAN SKULL EXERCISE

[left]There are numerous tutorials (mostly digital but also traditional) on shading in this thread, some excellent work posted by everyone, and there are links to everything at the beginning of the thread. Definitely check it out! :slight_smile:

~Rebeccak
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#6

awesome work,
i hope its okay to post now :slight_smile:
thanks for doing this, i will try to practice some of this now. its already 23:20 so i will probably post my updates in the morning. i hope everyone will benefit from this.

cheers.

EDIT : some questions

looking at the roll of string. which shading did you do first, did you make the background shading first and then add ontop, did you use an eraser (if so which one),
do you sharp your pencils short or long, did you make the edges first and then add the shading.
i am coming from a technical side,i believe that i have to know all the theory before hand and know all the goring little details to actually practice them right.

#7

warpyy,

Thanks! Post away. :slight_smile:

Regarding your questions ~

The key to the first exercise is to NOT ERASE. This teaches you to be careful in your work and to pay attention to what you are doing. The most we were allowed to do was to take a kneaded eraser and lightly press the eraser to the page to lift areas which were too dark.

Kneaded eraser:

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Also, yes, I started with a light sketch first (done with sharp 2B pencil) ~ you don’t want to press too hard, as you will leave an indentation in the paper, which, when shaded over, will remain light, giving you an unwanted outline.

You can sharpen the pencil any way you want so long as it is SHARP all the time. The little gray metal sharpeners are great for this.

Hope this helps! Please feel free to ask any questions. :slight_smile:

Cheers! :slight_smile:

~Rebeccak
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#8

– The most we were allowed to do was to take a kneaded eraser and lightly press the eraser to the page to lift areas which were too dark.

oddly enough i found this method myself :slight_smile:

– Also, yes, I started with a light sketch first (done with sharp 2B pencil) ~ you don’t want to press too hard, as you will leave an indentation in the paper, which, when shaded over, will remain light, giving you an unwanted outline.

only 2B, very very interesting.

– You can sharpen the pencil any way you want so long as it is SHARP all the time. The little gray metal sharpeners are great for this.

can i use my small green sharpener :slight_smile:

some of the strings looks like you took something sharp and cut or used a stencil on it… its not that right ?

thanks.

#9

warppy! smacks own forehead ~ you’re right about the white lines ~ those were etched with that fabulous tool, the fingernail. :slight_smile: Before you shade, you can make anything you wish to keep as thin white lines by scratching into the paper (preferably sketchbook quality paper) with your fingernail. Then, when you shade, the indented white lines will stay white.

Bear in mind, these exercises were done YEARS ago, so thanks to my folks insisting that I clean out my shrine at their home sacred for years, now desecrated!, I now have tons of my school artwork ~ yay. :rolleyes: :scream:

Anyhoo, yes, any sharpener should do. :slight_smile:

Cheers! :slight_smile:

~Rebeccak

#10

woo, thanks rebecca for providing this tut :slight_smile: i think your crossline shading is really awesome :slight_smile:

#11

Lynna,

Thank you! :slight_smile: This is a nice compliment, I appreciate it. :slight_smile:

Cheers, :slight_smile:

~Rebeccak

#12

sleepy sleepy :slight_smile: nice trick with the fingernail :applause:

EDIT : question, all the blackest of the black muscle curves are how did you add the black color to them, was it using the cross hatch, was it by just painting over without any pattern,
was it folloing the curves and just adding ink parallel to the curves ?

#13

warpyy,

The darkest of the darks are achieved by repeated cross~hatching. :slight_smile:

~Rebeccak

#14

good morning thread people,

@rebecca - you keep saying Bic Pen what is it ? the thin lines looks like something i can do with my 0.5/0.7 automatic pencil/lead holder. unless its not the proper tool i am going to use that for my next trial.

#15

warpyy,

A bic pen looks like this:

But any ballpoint or black pen (with a fine tip) will do. You should use the medium with which you are most comfortable.

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

#16

omg those are actual ink pens, you cant erase if you make a mistake and everyone can tell :eek:, however it does sound like something i want to do.

Do you think 5 hours of sleep is enough for me to start sketching now?

#17

i am not proud to show this, but…
used the finger trick, and it worked very good. i am still very much clueless about the direction the shading strokes goes. i will try to do that zoom of the arm/body with cross hatching, maybe it will give me the right direction.

@Rebecca - about your email, i will do as you asked me to. about the idea it was ment for a cgthread not for her.

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

#18

warpyy,

 Wow, I didn't know you would shade the actual object in the demo, but hey, I think what you did looks really cool! :)

I would suggest as practice to just find a group of small objects and light them with a lamp so that the light hits from one side or the other, giving you a highlight area and a shadow area.

Good objects might be: a plant, fruits or vegetables, a tape dispenser, scissors, a phone, a small box, any small object which you can arrange in an interesting way to use as a miniature still life.

Then, just sketch lightly these objects with a sharp pencil (being careful not to press too hard on the paper). After that, shade using REALLY TINY circular motions with your sharp, sharp pencil. Try not to smudge or erase. This really gets the feel of shading in your hand.

EDIT: The other key thing is to take your time. My perspective wasn’t the best in the demo drawing, but try to work on getting the perspective right on your new still life drawing.

 Then, post the results of this exercise, and we'll see what you have! Good work! ~And thanks for being understanding. :)
 
 Cheers, :)
 
 ~Rebeccak
#19

Wow, I didn’t know you would shade the actual object in the demo, but hey, I think what you did looks really cool! :slight_smile:

– thanks but i dont realy see any depth on it. i know i can do better

I would suggest as practice to just find a group of small objects and light them with a lamp so that the light hits from one side or the other, giving you a highlight area and a shadow area.

– almost all of my work is faces, i never realy connected to non organic (objects), the sun is shining so maybe i should use it as the big lamp…

Then, just sketch lightly these objects with a sharp pencil (being careful not to press too hard on the paper). After that, shade using REALLY TINY circular motions with your sharp, sharp pencil. Try not to smudge or erase. This really gets the feel of shading in your hand.

– that is what i was looking for, tiny circular motions. i will try that !! :bounce: :bounce: :applause:

Then, post the results of this exercise, and we’ll see what you have! Good work, and thanks for being understanding. :slight_smile:

– np

#20

@ other people cruising this thread

i see you :eek: !
although it is nice to have this thread all to myself, i would enjoy to see more styles, to learn from other people aswell, it might be night time where you are at but…keep that in mind

cheers.