WORDS TO LEARN
midtones: the color values between light and dark.
value: the level of lightness or darkness of color.
tone: the intensity and saturation (richness) of color.
diluted: watered down, lessened.
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.
In line art, figures can appear flat. Shading helps them appear more three dimensional. When shading, start out lightly and slowly apply more pressure as you move into your darkest value.
There are many ways to shade. In this activity, we’ll use different mediums to learn how shading can add to our drawings. Grab a pencil, pen, or even some watercolors, and let’s get started!
Try it out
1-Gather a pencil, a waterproof marker or pen, an eraser, watercolors, a brush, a cup of water and a paper towel. Lightly sketch in pencil a skeleton for this boy holding a sparkler.
2-Next, add ovals and circles to create a fuller figure.
3-Draw the outline in ink or waterproof marker.
4-Add details (clothing, hair, shoes, and face) to create your basic line drawing.
5-Now use very diluted black watercolor to create a light gray color for where the shadows are. The light is mostly catching his face, chest, and hips on the left, since that’s where he’s holding the sparkler. Most of his right side and his feet are in shadow, and the arm holding the sparkler is in shadow because it’s facing toward his body, not the light. Finally, add a tiny bit more black to the diluted gray, and darken the areas farthest from the light—the back of his head, right shoulder, elbow, and leg.
