There’s more to shading than just adding black! Shadows can be angular or round, hard or soft, and they help set a mood. They can jump from light to dark or gradually darken with many midtones.
There’s more to shading than just adding black! Shadows can be angular or round, hard or soft, and they help set a mood. They can jump from light to dark or gradually darken with many midtones.
So far, we’ve drawn figures standing at the same level as us. But what happens when we look down from a higher position? What happens when we look up at a figure from below? These examples highlight point of view.
A still, standing figure has its feet directly under the head, hands at its sides, and shoulders and hips parallel. As the body shifts from one foot to the other, knees and elbows bend, and the spine becomes an arch.
Begin with a very light shade of pencil. Draw trapezoids for the torso, a circle for the head, and lines for the legs and arms. Thicken the lines for the upper arms and legs, then use slightly thinner shapes for the lower limbs.
The blue area above is the basic shape, and the red areas are some important muscles. The size of the red areas can be different. Some bodies carry a lot of muscle in their chest, shoulders, and biceps, and their backs and chests are broad.