Fundamentals of the visual language of painting: light and shadow. §7 Light and shadow. How to draw a ball with chiaroscuro

Moonlight To achieve the effect of moonlight in a photograph, blue filters are used in combination with underexposure. This corresponds to our visual perception moonlight, which we consider blue and dark. In a color photograph taken with

As you understand, in order for the drawing to be realistic, you need not only to construct the objects correctly, but also to give them volume.

Since all we see are light rays reflected from objects, the degree of realism of the drawing depends primarily on the distribution on it Sveta And shadows. That is, we perceive the volume and shape of an object only when the object is illuminated. On a round surface, light is distributed differently than on a plane. If the body has pronounced edges, the transitions from light to shadow will be clear, if the shape is smoothed, it will be smooth.

In addition, the distribution chiaroscuro texture influences - velvet and glass reflect light differently; the distance of the light source, its direction and intensity - imagine the shadows from a fire or candle, and how objects look in daylight; the distance of the object itself - in the distance the shadows will be more blurred, and the contrast will not be as bright.

So today we will talk about cut-off modeling.

In the tonal drawing they divide light, highlight, halftone, shadow and reflex. These are exactly the ones means of expression, with the help of which the artist conveys the volume of an object. How these elements are distributed chiaroscuro In the drawing, the perception of the shape and volume of the depicted objects depends.

Light- brightly lit surface. However, no matter how brightly it is lit, the light is still tinted, albeit quite easily. To determine how intense the shading should be, you can place, for example, in a still life, a sheet of white paper for comparison.

Blik- a light spot on an illuminated surface - pure, reflected light. The highlight is the brightest spot in the drawing, it can be the color of the paper (although if you are drawing a still life of several objects, each of them may have highlights of varying intensity. Or there may not be any at all, depending on the lighting and materials).

Semitone- borderline illumination, transition from light to shadow. Halftones appear where there is indirect lighting, the rays fall on the surface of the object at an angle. As you understand, there can be many such transitional tones. And in the literature you may come across different names: half-light, half-shade. This is due to the fact that the eye perceives very large number tones - hence the scale of tones you use can be very wide. On round surfaces, the transition between halftones will be soft and imperceptible, without sharp boundaries. On rectangular objects, light and shadow can lie on adjacent faces, without any transition between them (remember how we drew).

How many halftones are used in a drawing directly determines its realism. 1 semitone is a stylized volume, 20 is closer to reality.

Shadow- unlit or dimly lit surface. Shadows can also be more or less intense. There are own and falling shadows. Falling shadow- this is the same thing that we call a shadow in everyday life; an object casts it on other surfaces. Own shadow- the unlit side of the object itself. Usually in a drawing, its own shadow is darker than the falling one. Even if the actual lighting is weak and the shadows are not too intense, the artist often enhances his own shadow so that the shape of the object is better read.

Reflex- appears in its own shadow. Reflex is reflected light from neighboring objects. In painting, reflexes will be colored, reflecting the color of objects around. But, regardless of color, the reflex will definitely be lighter in tone than the shadow. The brightness of the reflex will also vary depending on the surface. On glossy objects there can be very bright and light reflections, on matte objects they can be almost invisible.

But even if you don’t see the reflex, it will definitely be there. A dull shadow without reflexes looks boring, so try to find it. Or imagine and draw)

So, on each depicted object there must be:

light, glare, penumbra, shadow, reflex

Exactly in that order. Remembered as gamma. And for each element chiaroscuro its own role.

Light And shadow- the most expressive means of drawing. They are equally important to the overall result. As you work, you need to constantly monitor whether light or shadow has disappeared from the drawing or turned into halftones. If this happens, the drawing will appear gray. Although, this may be exactly the effect you need - for example, if you are painting rain or a foggy landscape.

Halftones important for volume. The more halftones, the more voluminous the objects. Although, whether to use halftones or not again depends on the task. For example, posters, comics or graffiti drawings can easily do without halftones at all.

Glare And reflexes bring the image to life. Depending on how you use them, they can either add realism to an image or vice versa. An incorrectly placed highlight or reflex can destroy the form, even if other elements of light and shade are positioned correctly.

At the same time, each object does not exist in the image by itself. It is important to distribute light And shadow throughout the picture. To determine where the main highlights and shadows will lie, try looking at what you are drawing by squinting, as if from under your eyelashes. Objects that are closer are usually more illuminated and have the brightest contrasts. Distant - in to a greater extent will consist of halftones.

This knowledge about distribution chiaroscuro in a drawing, enough to draw three-dimensional objects not only from nature, but also, more importantly, from an idea, because necessary items not always available.

brightness, a very important means of depicting objects of reality, their volume and position in space.

Physicallylightrepresents the visible partspectrum electromagnetic radiation The sun, i.e. the range of oscillations of the electromagnetic field that the human eye is capable of perceiving. These vibrations, hitting the retina of the eye, cause stimulation of the optic nerves, which gives rise to a sensation of radiance. The ability of various objects and their material surface to absorb, reflect and refract light rays in different ways gives rise to the feeling of coloration.

However, the phenomenon Svetashould be separated from the concepttonal, in particular chromatic , relations, i.e.colors . The last quality is subjective,color exists only in the process visual perception and presentation of objects. Light, on the contrary, noun. Light - " almost darkness, the first glimpse Sveta in darkness, the first manifestation of being from nothingness".

Unpainted light can be decomposed into seven using a prismcolor spectrum rays and back: oppositetones chromatic rows when connected give whitecolor .

However, in aesthetic sense lightindivisible; when artificially split, it loses its own quality and is reduced to materiality. ColoringSveta- not its own property, but the result of interaction with material bodies and the light environment that it fills.Lightsymbolizes the first day of Creation:

“And God said, Let there be light. And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.”

(Gen. 1:3-4)

Light- goodness, a comprehensive symbol of the Divine origin of the world ( In. 1:5). Dante Alighieri in "Divine Comedy"calls" material light " empyrean ( Greek empyreios - "fiery, fiery country"). Branch Svetafrom darkness, space from chaos is the basis of allaesthetic and philosophical ideas about the world.

IN fine arts these representations are expressed using polar (opposite) characters : solar (solar) And lunar signs, emblems of the masculine and feminine principles of nature.

Kingdom fight Sveta And darkness- the main theme of myths.

In Christianity, this idea is embodied in the Logia of Jesus:

“Jesus spoke again to the people and said to them, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

(John 8:12)

The news of the birth of the Savior - " luminary of the world" (lat. Lumen mundi) - carries light Star of Bethlehem. The personification of the night Sveta The moon or shooting star is Lucifer. In Christianaesthetics common epithets: light spirit, lightsouls, insight, enlightenment.

In history fine arts light And shadoware interconnected because they are used asfine art funds. Hence the generalized concept:chiaroscuro, which implies a certain quantitative relation of qualitiesSveta And shadows.

ChiaroscuroJust like perspective, artists have been using it for a very long time. Using this tool, they learned to convey in drawing andpainting the shape, volume, and texture of objects were so convincing that they seemed to come to life in the works. Light helps convey the environment as well.

Artists E. de Witte ( "Interior view of the church"), A. Make-up show ( "Evening over the Thames"), Latour ( "St. Joseph the carpenter"), E. Degas ( "Ballet Rehearsal") conveyed light from different lighting sources in their paintings.

Can be seen natural light (natural) sun and moon and artificial lighting (man-made) from a candle, lamp, spotlight, etc.

There is a special approach to lighting in the theater; it is no coincidence that lighting designers work there. They create amazing lighting effects, an amazing magical world - “painting" And " graphics » light.

Light We can change artificial sources according to our wishes, and natural lighting changes itself, for example, the sun either shines brightly or hides behind the clouds. When clouds scatter sunlight, the contrast between light and shadow softens, the illumination in the light and in the shadows is evened out. This calm lighting called light-tonal. It makes it possible to convey a greater number of halftones in a drawing.

There are many different states of the sunlighting, which can greatly change the samelandscape and even affect your mood. The landscape looks joyful in bright sunshine and sad on a gray day. In the early morning, when the sun is not high above the horizon and its rays glide across the surface of the earth, the contours of objects appear unclear, everything seems to be shrouded in haze. At midday, the contrasts of light and shadow are enhanced, bringing out details clearly. In the rays of the setting sun, nature can look mysterious and romantic, that is, the emotional impression of the landscape largely depends on the lighting.

Chiaroscuro as a means compositions used to convey the volume of an object. Degreerelief volumetric forms is associated with lighting conditions, which is directly related to the expression of the constructive idea of ​​the work. In addition, the degree of illumination of the image affects significant influence on charactercolor And tonal contrasts, balance, interconnectionparts and integritycompositions .

The interpretation of the volume and illumination of objects depends onblack and whiteobjects that form all kinds of contrastsshadows, penumbra and reflexes, endowed with their owncolor qualities and properties.

Volumetric forms in nature they are perceived as illuminated in one way or another.Gradations Sveta And shadowson their surface are defined in terms of:glare, light, light separation (semitone), shadow, reflex.

The following elements are distinguished: chiaroscuro:

• Sveta- surfaces brightly illuminated by a source Sveta;
• glare - light spot on a brightly lit convex or flat glossy surface, when it also has a mirror reflection;
• shadows- unlit or dimly lit areas of the object. Shadows on the unlit side of an object are called own, and those thrown by an object onto other surfaces - falling;
• penumbra- a faint shadow that occurs when an object is illuminated by several sources Sveta. It also forms on a surface facing the light source at a slight angle;
• reflex- weak lightspot in the shadow region, formed by rays reflected from nearby objects.

Image gradations chiaroscurohelps the artist to identify the volume of depicted bodies on the plane of the sheetpaper, cardboard, canvas .

Shadowsare divided into their own (on the surface of an object) and falling ( thrown by an object onto a plane or other objects). However, the imagechiaroscuromust be distinguished fromtonal (including black and white ) image relations, which are subject not to optical, butcompositional patterns, i.e. relationships of lightness that the artist consciously builds on a plane, in volume or space. The artist does not depict, but skillfully composeslight And shadow. Therefore we can say thatchiaroscuroin nature it is an optical basisshaping V art .

The perception of color also largely depends onlighting. If with the help of linear perspective we convey space in a drawing, then in painting we cannot do without taking into account changes in the color and tonal relationships of nature as they move away from the viewer or the light source. Dark objects at a distance acquirecold shades are usually bluish, and light ones are warm.

The great Rembrandt mastered the art of using light in painting like no other. He lit hisbrush light that warms anyone on whom it falls. Rembrandt's paintings are always illuminated by an inner light. The simple, kind people depicted on them seem to radiate it themselves. The greatness of an artist lies in his humanity. The light in his canvases helps to touch the human soul.

In his paintings, the light, illuminating the faces of those portrayed from the darkness, has some kind of witchcraft power.

The nature of illumination also depends on the height of the sun abovehorizon . If it is high above your head, almost at the zenith, then objects cast short shadows.Form And texture are poorly detected.

When the sun decreases, the shadows of objects increase, the texture appears better, and the relief of the form is emphasized.

Knowledge of these construction patterns light and shadow can help you in solving creative problems in depicting a landscape or a thematic composition.

It is important to take into account the position of the light source in creative work. Look at the images and pay attention to the expressive possibilities of front, side and backlighting.

this is when the light source illuminates the object directly because it is in front of it. This lighting reveals little detail.

(left or right) well reveals the shape, volume, texture of objects.

occurs when the light source is behind the object. This is a very effective and expressive lighting, especially when the painting depicts trees, water or snow. However, objects under these conditions looksilhouette and lose their volume.

In the picture there may be one or more sources lighting.For example, on the canvas " Fruits and candle“The artist I. Khrutsky skillfully conveyed the light from the window and from a lit candle, which is located behind the objects.

Shadows from objects lit by a candle, fall in different directions, directed from the candle, and the length of the shadows is determined by the rays coming from the candle fire.

Drawing falling shadow depends on the shape of the object and the inclination of the surface on which it rests. Its direction depends on the location of the light source. It is easy to guess that if the light falls from the left, then the shadow will be to the right of the subject. Near him the shadow is darker, and further away it weakens.

If you have to draw near a window or near a lamp, note that the illumination of objects near will be much stronger than in the distance. As the light fades, the contrast between light and shadow softens. Remember this when drawing near and distant objects in a still life. This phenomenon is called light perspective.

Contrasting lighting, which is based on a clear distinction between light and shadow, is called black and white.

Chiaroscuro is easy to see in a drawing of a sphere, cylinder or other simple geometric shapes. However, this is not so easy to do when an artist paints a landscape. Therefore, let's try to see light and shadow in such complex natural forms as trees.

1. I start painting in a general way, in translucent layers. oil paint. But already at this stage, brush movements should not be random. Since I am painting spruce trees in a coniferous forest, I need to make sure that the brush marks and the shape of the strokes resemble the branches of fir trees. The illustration demonstrates this stage of work: red arrows show the direction of brush movement. Since the brush is bristly and hard, it leaves “scratches” on the surface of the soil. As a result, the paint layer becomes the desired texture. And since I move the brush in different directions from the trunk, these strokes of paint create the illusion spruce branches.

2. Now let's try to paint a falling shadow from the trees. I paint her silhouette softly and blurry. On the surface of the grass, the shadow diffuses and creates soft contours. However, at the beginning, under the branches, the contours of the shadows are clear. Sunlight penetrates between the branches of the tree and forms an intermittent shadow on the ground. It becomes as if “ragged”, that is, a spot of light alternates with a spot of shadow. Therefore, at the beginning, under the tree, I introduce sharp impasto strokes of paint that convey this feature of the falling shadow.

3. The shadow under the tree smoothly merges with the trees in the background, forming a dark background. Against its background, I paint the bright leaves of the bush growing in front. This needs to be done delicately, with a small brush and palette knife. The paint comes on pasty. And it is written on a dried or at least thickened layer of paint from below. The leaves of the bush are illuminated sunlight, so white and yellow will be added to green. This way I capture the light in the foreground of the landscape.

6. The crown of the fir trees consists of individual spruce branches that emerge from the shadows like the paws of a fantastic creature. They are illuminated by light from above. Interior branches near the trunk hides in the shadows.

7. In addition to light and shadow on individual branches, chiaroscuro must also be seen as a whole, on the entire crown of the tree. For clarity, I outlined the illuminated and shadow parts of the spruce with a red line and slightly changed the color.

8. On a sunlit forest path I painted a walking man. This introduction of minor human or animal figures in the landscape is called staffage. This technique brings the plot to life. But in this work the figurine serves another purpose. It fills the void on the left side of the painting and completes the composition.

Thanks to tonal analysis, correctly adjusted light and shadow, the landscape becomes sunny. Spruce forest takes on a morning mood. Similarly, in any landscape you can convey morning, noon, evening, sunny or cloudy weather. But for this you need to learn to see how light, penumbra, shadow, reflections are distributed on complex natural forms.

IN creative circles Azerbaijani Rashad Alakbarov known for his non-trivial approach to painting. He does not touch paints and brushes, pencils and paper - he does not even work with crayons, pastels and ink. All the author needs for the next masterpiece is inspiration, light and several different objects. Unnecessary rubbish, pipe cuttings, and bolts and nuts, whatever comes to hand, will do. The main condition is the correct light, since Rashad Alakbarov paints his paintings with light and shadow.