The ability to draw is an excellent skill that can be useful in many situations, and even become your main profession. To master it, you need to master many techniques. In drawing, the main criteria are construction and shading. However, if the first one is not so difficult to learn, then the academic touch takes years to develop. To simplify the task, we will tell you about the secrets and types of applying tones.
Types of pencils
Before you start putting tones on paper, you need to learn how to determine the type of pencil you are using. This is of great importance, since the tonality of the entire work depends on the hardness of your material.
Initially, it is recommended to use the hardest lead you have in your arsenal. This pattern will be less messy and more detailed. If you already have experience in graphics, then you can safely experiment with materials.
Different countries have their own labeling, here are the most popular of them:
- Russia. This country is characterized by 3 types of pencils: T - hard; TM - hard-soft; M - soft. The number before the letter indicates the degree of hardness or softness.
- Europe. More varied spectrum: B - soft; H - hard; F - something between H and HB; HB - hard-soft. There are also numbers before the letters (9H to 9B).
- USA. It has the following scale: #1 - soft; #2 - hard-soft; #3 - hard; #4 - very hard.
What material to choose for drawing is up to you. However, there are a number of necessary criteria that must be met during preparation and during work.
- The pencil should always be sharpened. This is an important point for applying more accurate and fine lines. It should be sharpened not with a sharpener, but with a cutter, since the length of the tip should be 5-7 mm.
- Try to keep an eye on your tools. Lead is a very fragile thing. Any unfortunate fall can cause it to break from the inside. In this case, feel free to throw it away.
- Regardless of the type of shading, hold the pencil at a 45-degree angle.
- It is advisable to take a hard tool to start working on the drawing. Lightening dark areas is much more difficult than darkening light areas. You can add softer material at the end.
Types of work
It is worth understanding the types of working with a pencil. There are only 2 of them: shading and shading.
Shading - the lead is rubbed onto paper. This option is very rarely used by professionals, but is actively practiced by amateurs. It is mainly used for plein airs or sketches in a notebook, when there is no time for careful study, but you need to show light and shadow.
Hatching is a method of applying light and shadow using separate strokes. Unlike the previous type, they can be used various materials: pen, liner, marker, pen, felt-tip pen, etc. More often used for full-scale work. It takes a sufficient amount of time to develop different types of pencil shading. Perhaps several years.
Each artist has his own individual style. Therefore, it makes no sense to judge all varieties. However, there are 2 main sections:
- Decorative technique - used for graphics with ink, liner and other materials. Here you can use various patterns: zigzags, waves, eights, circles, etc. You can choose any element, depending on your imagination. Often used for decorative settings or sketches.
- The academic touch is exactly what artists learn throughout their lives. The main type of applying shades to paper. Can be used in all works, with any material (usually pencil). It consists of straight or slightly curved lines.
Rules for applying an academic stroke
As already noted, each person has his own style, but regardless of your individuality, there is a certain set of rules that must be followed to obtain the desired effect:
- Shade objects according to shape. This means that sometimes it is worth neglecting the straightness of the line to show volume. The strokes should follow the outline of the object. For example, if you are drawing a ball, then the lines should go in a circle, not horizontally. This applies to absolutely any item.
- Start from the shadow and gradually move to the light. Light areas can always be darkened, but dark areas are not so easy to lighten. Gradually apply color to the entire surface, then add pigment to the darkened part. At the end, you can use a soft pencil if you feel that the shadow is not visible enough.
- You can use the cross technique. In this case, you need to make a slope between the lines. The lines lie crosswise; this is one of the types of shading in graphics.
- Clean lines (opposite of the cross method) is the next method. Different hatching has different requirements; here, on the contrary, the lines must be parallel. Don't forget to lift your hand from the paper.
- Don't mix different types(stroke with shading).
- Foreground and background. The background will always have a lighter tone than the foreground. This is called aerial perspective. Remember this rule, it is almost fundamental in drawing.
- Make short hand movements. This will make it easier for you to apply and track the desired tone.
Decorative touch
If you use it in sketches, then it doesn't matter how or where you apply it. The best way to use circles, the easiest and fastest way to add tonality. The most commonly used is a pencil.
When decorating, you can give free rein to your imagination. Here, a stylus is very rarely used, more often ink, pen or liner. You can choose any convenient and suitable material. As for drawing, circles are the most versatile option, but, unlike a sketch, here they need to be applied more carefully. For originality, you can use any other pattern, but keep in mind that it should not come to the fore; the priority is still the subject, and only then its texture. Don't forget about aerial perspective and the transition from light to shadow.
In order to correctly apply any of the styles or types of pencil strokes, you need not only to adhere to the basic rules, but to constantly improve. How to do this? Here are a couple of tips that will help you get closer to the ideal in this art:
- Make confident movements. There should be small gaps between the lines even in the dark parts. In this way, you emphasize the difference between your technique and shading.
- It is better to do dark tones with a cross stroke, with increased pressure on the pencil (the main thing here is not to overdo it) and adding large layers. All this will create the impression of cleanliness and neatness, and these criteria are the most important.
- Try to keep your hand vertical and not leaning against the paper. This can accidentally smudge the finished elements and create a shading effect. And as we remember from the rules, different types cannot be combined.
- Even the brightest areas in the foreground should be worked out. This does not mean that you need to darken them, but you need to close them with a beautiful, almost imperceptible touch. This will give the impression of a finished job.
Handwritings of great artists
Here are collected different types of shading from great masters. This example shows how unique each person is. Through the art of applying tone to paper, one can trace the character and mood of the author.
Albrecht Durer. "Melancholy". One of the most mysterious paintings, there are many rumors about its meaning. However, we will pay attention to the stroke, how it differs on different objects. The artist selected exactly the texture that is characteristic of a particular material.
Hans Holbein the Younger. From the series of engravings "Dances of Death". Here is a clear example of decorative shading.
Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn. "Three Crucifixes" The author chose a dark tone for the painting, but maintained the proportions of light and shadow.
Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn. "Self-portrait with wide with open eyes". Pay attention to the interesting sketchy touch, which only emphasizes the mood of the entire drawing.
In contrast to the previous image. Another portrait, but with softer transitions, conveying deep age and gray hair. Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn. "An elderly man with a wavy beard."
Conclusion
There is a huge variety of styles and types of shading in a drawing. In order to master them, you need to constantly practice. And some reference materials can help you with this. If you really want to, you can master the art of penciling at home; you just need a little dedication and patience. Good luck to you in your creativity!
Hatching - this method of drawing with a simple pencil, when numerous short lines (strokes) in different variations and combinations are used as the main element of filling the picture with tone.
I believe that every self-respecting artist should definitely have the skill of applying shading correctly.
Firstly, it allows you to fill your hand unusually quickly and efficiently. And this will come in handy even if you prefer to work with paints.
Secondly, on educational work, which are made with a simple pencil (and therefore in black and white) all errors are very clearly visible. This nuance is actively used in art schools, and will be useful to us when teaching.
Even before the start of the lesson, I consider it necessary to note several organizational points.
Pencils must be sharpened.
It is best to place a sheet of clean paper under your hand so that the drawing does not become greasy or smeared. It will be very difficult to get rid of the “dirt” in your work later. It's easier to prevent it.
I recommend using an eraser as little as possible. I fully understand that sometimes things may not work out, difficulties may arise, or errors may occur. However, there is always a way to minimize their occurrence. More on this later. If something terrible did happen, then best option- start again. You probably won’t take on a group portrait on whatman paper on the very first day of training. Simple geometric shapes are a good place to start. Such as cube, ball, cylinder, cone, etc.
In addition to shading, some advise using shading (roughly speaking, “smearing”). I absolutely do not recommend doing this. Firstly, this way you won’t learn to draw really well. And secondly, the work of novice artists who are trying to master this method looks very dirty. It seems to me that it is better to do it unprofessionally, but to learn something from it, to appropriate some experience, rather than chasing quick results. They will come. The most important thing is to enjoy the process.
Basic principles of clean and neat shading
Let the strokes be shorter, but more confident and smooth than vice versa. Even some large surface can be carefully filled with tone without resorting to long lines. For you and me, accuracy is much more valuable.
It is necessary to remember the law of aerial perspective. All objects in the background will be much less detailed, and the light and shadow transitions will be softer and there will be less contrast.
In drawing with a simple pencil, these small “gaps” are very much appreciated, due to which individual strokes can be distinguished. It is believed that this way the work looks more professional.
Hatching should be carried out according to the shape of the object. Vertical planes - vertical shading. Horizontal - horizontal. Round - moon-shaped. Due to this, volume appears in the picture.
How to hatch correctly? Practice.
First, you need to understand that the whole essence of shading is separate lines that are not connected to each other. A very common mistake of beginning artists is not to lift the pencil from the paper at all. But in this case we have nothing to do with drawing, shading, or artistic skill.
Artists use pencils of different hardnesses. The hardest is 6H, the softest is 6B. Hard-soft (most average) - HB. There are probably even more distant options, but we definitely won’t need them. In my drawings I use only 4 options: 5H, HB, 2B, 6B, and so far this has been enough for me.
Why is this so?
The softer the pencil, the darker and “fatter” the shading turns out. But it becomes very easy to smear. The harder it is, the lighter the lines, but with strong pressure it is easy to scratch the paper.
It is better to start shading with the hardest pencil available. You always have time to darken it, but an eraser is a thankless thing. You will always touch something unnecessary, smear something important, but you still won’t get the desired effect.
There are several ways to achieve a darker tone. And you need to use them exactly in the order in which I will tell you about them. Of course, if you want to achieve accuracy in your drawings.
Multi-layering. After we have made the first layer with a hard pencil with medium pressure, we can apply another one in those places where a darker tone is needed. In this case, a second layer of shading must be applied A little at a different angle, but do not make any weaving in your design from perpendicular lines.
After this, you may still need to make the tone even darker in some places. Secondly, stronger pressure is used. But this force must be limited so that the sheet is not pressed or scratched.
And only as a last resort can we allow ourselves to pick up a pencil of greater softness in the darkest places. If necessary, this cycle is repeated with all available pencils in increasing softness.
There is also another shading technique that is very helpful.
Stretch by tone. We draw a dark line and begin to hatch from it, making the tone lighter and lighter with each stroke until it disappears completely. This can be done from a straight line, or from a curve. I recommend practicing this technique before using it in your work.
As you can see, the topic is quite broad and there are simply a lot of possibilities for shading. The main thing is to understand the basic principles, and in practice everything will work out through training and enjoyment of the process itself.
All the information from this article will be useful to us next time when we learn to work with chiaroscuro on volumetric geometric bodies: cube, ball, cone, cylinder and others.
See you soon, I will miss you!
Beautiful shading can make your drawing a work of art. Let's define the concepts - there are two types of working with a pencil: shading (everything that is separate strokes) and shading (everything that is smeared). Anytime art school First of all, you will be taught shading, the so-called “ringing” stroke. The most important rule in shading is the space between strokes. It is the visibility of paper that makes your work fresh and not greasy. Learning how to hatch correctly is not as difficult as it seems, but you need to understand a few things:
If you draw vertically, you may find the following hand position more comfortable:
The pencil is held as usual, but the working end of the pencil is much further from the fingers. This method allows you to gain greater freedom in working with a pencil.
The extended little finger allows you to get support for your brush without touching the sheet of paper with your entire brush, which protects your drawing from smearing pencil strokes and greasing the surface of the sheet.
There are several other positions that give you more freedom when working with a pencil, for example:
To pick up a pencil this way, place it on the table, then place the tip of your index finger on the pencil and wrap your thumb and middle finger around the sides. Lift the pencil by picking it up this way. It turns out that the pencil is hidden in the palm of your hand (the palm is pointing down), and the working end of the pencil is directed up and slightly to the left (for right-handers). This position of the pencil allows you to work with both the tip and the side surface of the lead. This, in turn, allows you to get a greater variety of lines, from very light strokes to wide, loose, rich strokes covering dark tones large surfaces. Thus, the lines - one of the main elements of the drawing - turn out to be alive, varied in execution, and, consequently, the whole drawing will “sparkle” with life.
The advantage of this way of holding a pencil is the ability to obtain a wide range of pressure by adjusting the pressure with your index finger. Also, with this method of holding a pencil, it is convenient to lean on the extended little finger when drawing. This allows you not to touch the sheet while working, while having fairly good control over the movements of the pencil.
This is a way to hold a pencil when it rests on the palm of your hand (palm facing up) or when your palm is turned 90 degrees in relation to the paper. In this case, the pencil seems to lie on index finger and presses with his thumb. This method is suitable for the easiest and most relaxed drawing application. You can manipulate it freely with your thumb and create very light lines. This method is very suitable for quick sketches when you only need to make a quick sketch of the shape.
As in other methods, the extended little finger helps when drawing.
In order to correctly distribute tonal relationships, it is recommended to make a so-called tonal scale before shading. This will make it easier for you to do the darkest and lightest areas, knowing what your pencil can do. The tone scale looks like this:
And here you can see how the pencils differ in softness
I have attached works in the gallery famous masters, for example. One way to learn is to copy good work. This way you will understand exactly how the strokes should be laid and how you can achieve this or that effect. I recommend watching the video - very useful to get started.
Don’t try to draw something complicated right away, pay attention to the materials. It’s better to take something matte and monochromatic, preferably light (it’s not for nothing that plaster forms are drawn in art to practice shading), it’s useful to draw draperies (even the same crumpled clothes), all this helps to feel the shape. Be prepared to work on your hand to keep your strokes light and neat. Try and experiment with papers and pencils and gradually your work will become more beautiful and professional.
When writing this post, materials from
TYPES OF HATCHING AND SHADING
Hatching and shading are one of the basic technical skills in drawing. Developing hand firmness, strength and timing of pressure requires many hours of the same type of exercise.
Straight hatching
Cross
Contour
Spot
Random(zigzag)
We begin to place our hands and master elementary shading without gradation, studying compositions. There is no need to persist in achieving perfect quality initial stages(although, of course, one must strive for it). In the end, it always works out as required, but smoothly and without tragedies.
In addition to simple graphite pencils, use colored pencils of different hardness. You will also need ink and a pen - an extremely pressure-sensitive tool. The pen can be replaced with a rollerball.
Materials: black ink, pen (rollerball), ink, felt-tip pens, ballpoint pen, water jars, simple and colored pencils, eraser, Whatman paper and A-4 writing paper, rag.
Hatching
There are always gaps between the drawn lines. High-quality shading of any fragment has approximately the same length of strokes, the distance between them and the slope. The strokes are clear, even, without rounding.
Tushevkahomogeneous (fill)
There are no gaps between the drawn lines. While working on a fragment, the tool (material) does not come off the paper, the pressure remains constant. If “wet” material (material in the tool) is used: felt-tip pen, ink (ink) and brush, etc., then the term “fill” is used. The material is what is applied to the sheet: charcoal, graphite, ink, watercolor, etc. A tool is an object with which the material is applied. For example: ink is a material, pen is a tool.
Shading with gradation
There are no gaps between the drawn lines. While working on a fragment, the tool (material) does not come off the paper, the pressure gradually weakens or increases, depending on the effect to be achieved. High-quality shading is distinguished by soft transitions without pronounced “striations”.
Shade 6 hand-drawn squares with sides approximately 3x3 cm, similar to the analogue in quality of execution, but with any inclination of the strokes. Three - with a simple pencil, three - with ink.
Shade 3 squares with different materials
Many beginners in drawing often face the problem of incorrect shading. In fact, drawing books pay very little attention to this, although these are the basics. I collected materials on pencil shading from different sources: textbooks, video lessons and articles from the Internet, and tried to combine them into one article. We will discuss the theory first and then perform 2 practical tasks to secure the material.
Why is shading needed?
Hatching is necessary in order to give drawn objects shape, to indicate how light and shadow fall, and to give texture to objects. If you comply basic principles of pencil shading, you can draw any three-dimensional objects.
Basic principles of pencil shading
Wrong
- Cross hatching and shading should not be mixed. You should not mix these two techniques in one work, because... shading in some areas can create a sloppy feeling, as if you accidentally smeared part of the drawing with your hand. If you use shading, you should shade the entire drawing.
- Foreground and background. Give more detail to the foreground subjects, while the background can be quickly sketched with the side of the lead to show the lighting and overall tone. Hatching of a vertical background is hatched vertically, and a horizontal background is hatched horizontally.
- Make short strokes. Do not try to shade a long area from top to bottom at once if you have a large area. Choose the stroke module that suits you best.
- The more layers, the smoother the shading. If you are shading some white objects, be sure to take a harder pencil. It is better to make more layers with a harder pencil than fewer with a softer one, so it will be more accurate.
Now let's look at the main mistakes in pencil shading:
- Hatching along the same lines.
Shading should be done so that the seam is in the middle of the next layer. Do not try to shade a long area at once. The more layers of shading, the smoother it will be. Make more layers with a hard pencil. It is better to make more layers with a harder pencil than fewer with a softer one, because it will be neater.
Practical exercise #1
Practical exercise #2
Now try this exercise: take the simplest object (a pencil, a tube of toothpaste, etc.) and try to draw it as accurately as possible, applying the basic principles that we have covered. It's better to draw from life.
At the end of the article, I would like to advise you to watch a couple of videos that will help you understand what correct shading looks like visually using examples and how you can correct mistakes.
How to sharpen pencils and do shading correctly:
The main mistakes in pencil shading and how to correct them:
I hope this article was useful to you. Perhaps I did not take into account all the basics of shading, so I will be glad to see your additions and comments. Write comments!
where to start drawing a portrait of a person step by step? how to learn to build a person's face. How to correctly place penumbra and achieve the desired similarity in pencil portraits. How to shade a portrait correctly. The artists will tell PORTRET-ART WORKSHOP.
Most portrait artists working in the pencil technique worked in various schools, where they learned the skill of depicting a person. All artists, based on their education, created for themselves their own basis for how to work on creating a portrait. In this article we will share your own secrets the most common drawing technique.
getting started and building the head
The artists of our workshop work with mechanical pencils, because... they ensure cleanliness while working; unlike classic pencils, they do not need to be sharpened for a long time, they allow you to deal with small details much faster. To draw a high-quality portrait, we will need a “nag”; this is an artistic eraser with which you can correct your mistakes and not spoil the portrait. To draw with a mechanical pencil, we need leads. We recommend using softness rods HB, B, 2B, 4B and 7B (where B means soft and H means hard). Now we need to take a regular A4 piece of paper and place it under your working hand so that it covers the surface that you have already shaded.
First of all, you must study photography, namely general view head, how it is rotated relative to the horizontal and vertical. To draw a portrait of a person correctly with a pencil, we need to know some features of the structure of the skull. This can be seen in any anatomical atlas. Based on the shape of the head of the person you are depicting, you need to draw it onto the paper with light lines general outline hair, the oval of the face and indicate the line of the lips, nose and its height, eyes and eyebrows.
working with planes
Now that the general lines have been drawn, we can move on to analyzing the planes of the face. We must indicate the height of the nose with a plane (if desired, it can be shaded to see the volume, this can be done with all areas in the shadow), the plane of the cheekbone, which is closest to us, the plane of the lips and the plane of the eyes, connecting to the eyebrows. At this stage, we do not draw out the face with smooth lines; we try to very easily outline the geometric features of the person’s face.
face detail
At this stage of the work, we take the nag and, moving it along the plane of the sheet, remove the top layer of the pencil, that is, we make the lines drawn before almost invisible. This is the difference between drawing portraits from photographs and academic portraits; in the second case, the construction lines are drawn and will remain in the final form of the portrait, which is why it can turn out dirty. This doesn't suit us. After we have made the construction lines invisible where necessary, we begin to draw out all the facial features, round them and give the face a resemblance to the photograph. In order to achieve similarity, you can measure the sizes and their relationship to other face sizes, thereby selecting the optimal proportions. For example, how much width of the nose fits into the width of the face, etc. You can measure anything, there are no restrictions here.
start of shading
To begin shading, you must complete all constructions and erase all unnecessary lines in the drawing, because Once you start laying the tone, you will not have the opportunity to do it carefully. Uniform rules There is no such thing as shading; every artist does it in the way that suits him best. This may depend on how you are used to holding a pencil/pen, whether you are right-handed or left-handed, etc. We recommend starting shading from the darkest areas of the portrait. Since you can later build on them without darkening your skin, clothes and eyes too much.
halftone development
Next, we must move on to halftones, that is, give tone to the skin of the face, hair and clothes, if they are not black, since black clothes are most often worth emphasizing (even if the clothes are white, there will definitely be a penumbra on it to reveal relief and texture). At this stage, we should not wipe anything with nags (unless we have made a stain or smeared something). It is worth starting intensive shading of halftones (if you are right-handed) from the upper left corner of the sheet, so as not to smear what you have already done with your hand, and accordingly, if you are left-handed, you need to do everything in a mirror manner. At this stage, fine detailing of the background of the portrait is allowed.
working with highlighting
When you're done with the shading, you should have a nearly finished portrait, but it won't look 3D. Don't be upset, one of the most enjoyable stages in drawing a portrait with a pencil is the stage when you highlight the lightest places on the face. Most often this is the tip of the nose, the whites of the eyes, upper part cheekbones, brow ridges, lower lip and in some cases the chin. Also, with the help of a nag, you can draw folds on the lips and small wrinkles that will make your portrait more alive. Hair needs to be lightened at the largest breaks in the shape, then it appears shiny and alive.
darkening the depths and cleaning
After highlighting, you need to darken again the places where you want to show space, these could be: the neck, the edge of the hair, ears, folds in the hair, the background. With the help of this darkening, we will feel that the person we are drawing is not “glued” to the sheet, but is looking from there. This is very important factor creating a portrait with a pencil.
Our portrait is already ready. But you will definitely have some unnecessary strokes or stains from your fingers, because they will be stained into the pencil (by the way, in order to avoid a dirty portrait, we advise you to wash your hands several times and dry them thoroughly), so you should take the nag in last time and wipe away everything that is visually unpleasant to you. Even if a portrait is absolutely similar to a photograph, we always leave room for creativity; you are not obliged to redraw what you don’t want to draw in a portrait, you can create and come up with new clothes, hair color, eyes, etc. The photo does not always turn out successful in all respects, therefore, we think out, adjust and do what the photographer could not do due to the specifics of his work, namely, create the ideal image.
With love and trepidation, Workshop
1 pic. What is a stroke? A stroke is one broken line drawn on a sheet of paper with one stroke of the brush. The line can be straight or round, depending on the shape we are hatching. The strokes are superimposed closely one after another. When shading, different hardness and softness of the pencil are used. If there are none, then it is important to learn how to press the pencil differently (if you press harder, you will get a darker shade, if you apply less pressure, you will get a lighter shade). The stroke is applied according to the shape of the object or crosswise. It's important to remember this! So, we have a still life, where to start? In order to make it easier for us to understand how the stroke will be laid, we will make a grid of auxiliary lines for objects (I remind you, do not put pressure on the pencil), as in the figure. Thus, we will show how to cut objects. We draw the grid lines according to the shape of the lines of the objects.
2 fig. Before you start shading, you must understand that every object has a shadow side, and there is a light side, and there is also a falling shadow from objects! Pay attention to the picture. The light is indicated by an arrow in the upper right corner. Now look at how this light falls on objects - where is the shadow, and where is the light. And also in the direction of the incident rays of light, you will be able to see the shadow falling from objects. You can do some experiments with the mug at home. Very good! Now you can hatch. We will apply the stroke from top to bottom along the horizontal grid line on the left side of the light (see figure). Note that the shadow does not completely cover the shadow side, leaving the edge light. Be sure to place a sheet of paper under your hand, because... pencil tends to rub back side hands when applying a stroke. On the light part of the jug and mug at the edge of the line, use light pressure with a pencil to show a faint shadow.
3 fig. Well done, let's move on! Now I will tell you about the gradation between shadow and light. There is such a concept as penumbra and semi-light, pay attention to the picture. In other words, it is a smooth flow from shadow to light. There is one more concept that needs to be remembered - “reflex”. Reflex is the reflection of light rays. There is a reflex under the shadow itself (see figure). Speaking of a falling shadow, it has the property of dissipating, i.e. at the beginning of the object it is darker and the further from it, the lighter. So let's continue shading. Next, we continue to apply strokes along the vertical grid lines. Please note that the pressure of the pencil on the stroke depends on what? You draw light, half-light or shadow, if the shadow is stronger; half-light, reflex - weaker.
4 fig. This last stage, you're almost done! Here our task is to ensure that our still life is not transparent and rough! It is important to add density and realism to objects. How do we do this? Before this, we used a stroke along the grid (shape), now to compact it we can add a diagonal smooth stroke with pestles, as well as along the grid (if there is something missing somewhere). We shade the reflex like a half-light. Add a shadow from the handle of the mug and shade the surface of the table. For realism, you can more clearly outline the contours of the visible ellipse on the dishes and other lines (see figure). The still life is ready!
Types of shading.
To create volume and lighting in a drawing, artists use shading. With its help, the tonal elaboration of the sheet is carried out. Below I will talk about eight types of shading that are most often used in classical drawing:
1. Regular single-layer zigzag shading. The pencil moves left and right without leaving the sheet. A zigzag-like stroke is formed.
2. Applying two layers of zigzag stroke. The intersection angle should not be 90 degrees. With such an intersection, an ugly “lattice” is formed. The intersection of strokes should form “diamonds”.
3. Hatching, in which the pencil touches the paper only when a line is drawn. The pencil smoothly descends to the sheet, draws a line, and then smoothly comes off the paper. This type of shading allows you to connect strokes very softly and imperceptibly. The plane of the sheet is filled with strokes evenly, without joints or “seams”.
4. Stroke around the circumference. The pencil movements are the same as in hatching number 3, only in a circle.
5. Hatching, similar to option number 4. But the number of layers here can be arbitrary. The length of the strokes is short, which allows you to delicately “sculpt” complex shapes, for example in a portrait.
6. Intersection of two layers of stroke under acute angle. The stroke is not “zigzag”. After drawing a line, the pencil comes off the paper every time.
7. Hatching, in which the stroke lines intersect at different angles. Both the angle and the number of layers are arbitrary. This touch is well suited for tonal elaboration of complex shaped planes and crumpled draperies.
8. Combined shading at different angles. There is one layer, although during further work you can introduce additional layers. This type of shading is well suited for working out complex, geometrically irregular shapes, such as rocky textures.
When working on a tonal drawing, you need to remember that the stroke most often should follow the shape of the object. It kind of “fits” the shape. In this case, the tone saturation (the level of “blackness”) can be dialed in two ways: with the force of pressing the pencil and the number of layers of shading. In this case, the stroke should not be “dull”, that is, the paper should still be slightly visible through the lines of the stroke. Otherwise, there may be some “grubiness” of the stroke, which makes a bad impression.
Connecting stroke lines into a single whole.
In a drawing, a short stroke is often welcomed, which can be “laid” according to the shape of the depicted object. But how to work, for example, the plane of a wall with short strokes? In this case, the strokes are connected into a block. In the table below, I have given an example of how this can be done:
A combination of wide and sharp hatching lines.
One more important point in the drawing is a combination of working with a plane and the point of a pencil. The stroke can be “fluffy”, that is, wide and blurry. Or it can become clear and sharp. Hatching uses each of these approaches, both individually and in combination with each other. The table below shows combinations of sharp and broad strokes:
First way. With a broad stroke you can make the basis of the drawing - the first layer. And on top, in the second layer, use a sharp stroke and detailed work.
Second way. The juxtaposition of wide and sharp strokes creates an interesting texture. If the stroke is made short and multidirectional, then it can work through the mass of foliage in the crown of the tree.
Third way. Soft fabric materials, fur, foliage... are worked out with a wide, soft stroke. It conveys the materiality of such a surface well. A sharp stroke is used to work on objects made of metal, glass, plaster, etc. That is, where clarity and rigidity are needed.
In conclusion, I would like to say that there are different techniques maintaining a tonal pattern, large number varieties of shading, different approaches to work. But the key points described in this article are the basis on which work on academic drawing is based.
You can see how the above is implemented in practice using an example of my work in the “Drawings” section.
5 secrets of a beautiful touch.
During the course “I am an artist”, which I am currently teaching, a question arose “How to learn to hatch beautifully?” I think this is interesting not only to course participants, so I’m posting the answer here)
The discussion started with this picture:
Using this example, we will consider the features of beautiful shading.
5 principles of beautiful shading:
- Firstly, a beautiful stroke is done with confident and quick movements. I have already written about how to draw straight lines; they are needed not by themselves (“that’s how great I can draw a straight line without a ruler!”), but as an element of the stroke. In the figure these lines are very readable. To draw straight lines this way, you need to hold the pencil correctly. Lines drawn by a trembling, uncertain hand are unlikely to look impressive)
- The tone is developed by cross-hatching, increasing pressure and more frequent strokes. But first of all, it is important to cross the lines - look, even in the darkest place the paper shines through the shading. This gives an overall impression of cleanliness.
- No shading is used. I'm not saying that you can't extinguish at all. You cannot mix cross-hatching and shading in one drawing; if you rub it, then the whole drawing. Because when the graphite is smeared only in a few places, it seems as if it is a consequence of general sloppiness. This happens, for example, when, while shading, your hand moves across the paper and rubs the finished areas - these stains are then difficult to get rid of. It’s easier to avoid them by placing a clean piece of paper under your hand.
- The stroke is applied according to the shape. For example, in the figure you can see that bananas lie on a horizontal plane, and behind them there is a vertical plane. If a horizontal plane is hatched with vertical lines, it will rear up) Which, in general, is partly what happened in the lower right corner of the drawing.
- What is most carefully studied is what is in the foreground - there are the strongest chiaroscuro contrasts. In the distance, the tonal transitions are smoother, everything seems to be shrouded in haze - this is how an aerial perspective is shown.
- Shading of strokes must be done along the strokes, but not across. By shading along the strokes, you will achieve a more natural toning.
- For shading, not only simple shading is used, but also zigzag strokes.
And most importantly, you don’t need to be afraid of drawing the line incorrectly, going over the line, etc. Otherwise, you will feel constrained, and this feeling will certainly be transmitted to the viewer (if you decide to show someone a tortured drawing). To do well, you need to draw WITH PLEASURE and think less about the result).
Another important note: the characteristics of shading largely depend on the person’s character and temperament. It's like handwriting. So don't be discouraged if your shading style is different from other artists, and only compare your drawings to your own!
Learning to draw - Hatching with pencil and pen
In this lesson we will learn how to use a pen and pencil when shading.
The figure below shows a regular sketch of a face using a ballpoint pen, and an eye in close-up, depicted using smeared and soft shading with a simple pencil.
Here is a very ordinary illustration that shows the basic way of using a pencil when shading.
This type of shading is easy to achieve; all you need to do is move the pencil back and forth.
This type of shading is the simplest not only for a pencil, but also for a pen; it will certainly suit anyone.
Let's look at a few more shading techniques. To get a very dark background, take a look at the example on the left. If you press the pencil a little harder each time, you can make the tone darker. The area of the drawing we need can be painted in exactly this way.
A more rigid shading is shown in the example on the right. To do this, at the end of each line, we slightly tear the pencil off the paper. We do the rest as described earlier.
Here are a couple more examples of pencil shading. The picture on the left shows that each time we apply shorter and shorter strokes, we imperceptibly reduce them to nothing, similar to a cone. This can have a beneficial effect on most shading areas.
In the figure on the right, the strokes are depicted with movements in a circle. It is also sometimes suitable for use in small areas of fine shading, either when depicting fabric or for drawing other "special" structures. When using such movements, you can give the drawing a certain disorder.
Below is a sketch that was drawn with a simple ballpoint pen, next to it is a close-up of the shading I used on the cheekbone area. Here you can see in detail what types of shading I used.
In the image you can see how some lines are distinguished from others by deeper shading, to do this I pressed the pen much harder to make the tones appear darker.
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Drawing Basics: Pencil Drawing Techniques
This article will focus on drawing with a pencil. If you want to learn how to draw, but can't get started, now is the time to start learning. Take a sheet of paper, a pencil and try it. Let's start with the drawing technique.
Pencil drawing technique
There are two main drawing techniques - shading and pencil shading.
Using strokes (short lines) you can very successfully convey the tone of an object. Depending on the number of strokes drawn, you can get different levels tone saturation (the fewer strokes, the lighter the tone, the more strokes, the darker). By the direction of the strokes you can convey the texture of the surface of the figure. For example, horizontal strokes will convey the surface of the water well, and vertical strokes will convey the grass.
Basically, shading is done with short, straight strokes with approximately the same distance between them. The strokes are applied to the paper with a pencil torn off. First, one thin line is made, then the pencil returns to the starting line, and in this way all other strokes are applied.
Cross hatching can be used to enhance the depth of tone. For example, horizontal shading is applied to the oblique shading, darkening the tone, then on what came out, you can apply oblique shading in the opposite direction to the first - this will darken it even more. The darkest in this case will be the tone where shading in all directions is combined.
Feathering
Shading is one of the main techniques that can be used when drawing for beginning artists. Using gradation of tone, you can add volume to your figure. In general, shading is a special case of shading. After applying the strokes, using the properties of pencil graphite and a special shading tool, they are shaded (smeared) until a uniform tone is obtained.
However, the implementation of shading itself has a number of features.
With the help of such techniques, you can depict anything on paper.
10 common mistakes that beginners make
Most people who like to draw take their first steps on their own. And even if it's just a hobby, they still make various sketches. We want to write about 10 possible errors, which all aspiring artists probably encounter.
1. Wrong pencil
If your shadows aren't coming out well, check the markings on your pencil. Most likely it is too hard. It is recommended to draw shadows with pencils marked B, 2B and 4B, but not HB.
2. Drawing from photographs
Every artist begins to draw from photographs. But very often photographs do not convey enough facial features to good drawing. When a person's face is positioned from the front, it will be difficult to correctly model their face on paper, since the perspective from behind the head disappears. Try taking a photo where the person's head is tilted slightly to the side. This way the portrait will be more realistic and with best transmission shadows
3. Wrong basic proportions
Very often people begin to immediately pay attention to details, drawing them completely without sketching the entire drawing. This is wrong because you are not planning the correct proportions in advance. First, it is advisable to sketch out the entire drawing, and only then draw in detail the details.
4. Crooked features
We are used to looking at a person directly and aligning facial features when drawing. As a result, the portrait comes out quite distorted. When drawing complex objects, first try to outline guidelines along which it will be easier to build the drawing later.
5. Drawing of animals
Usually we look down at our animal. This makes the head seem larger to us than the whole body, and normal proportionality is lost. Try to distract the animal so that it turns its muzzle to the side, then the drawing will come out more truthful.
If you draw each hair or blade of grass separately, the drawing will come out disgusting. Try to make sharp sketches, going from dark to light.
Do not try to draw trees, flowers, and leaves with the correct shapes. Use outlines and penumbra for realism.
8. Wrong paper
Before you buy paper, test it on a sample piece of something light. The paper may be too smooth and the design will be faded. Also, the paper may be too stiff and the design will be quite flat.
9. Volume
When conveying volume, try not to use clear lines for the edges. They can be outlined by light lines of different tones.
Very often it is not possible to apply shadows evenly. Try to use the full color range of the pencil, going from lightest to darkest. If you are afraid to overdo it with the dark, put a piece of paper under the edge, and all the black will be on it.
At first it may seem that pencil drawings are too ordinary and dull. But with the help of a pencil you can convey a huge amount of emotions.
A small selection of video channels based on pencil drawing:
From the author: If you are interested in painting, drawing, composition, and art in general, then this is the place for you! By profession I am a Painter-Monumentalist. Graduated from MGAHI named after. Surikov. On the Art Shima channel you will find videos in which I draw and paint in oils, and videos with tips. Since I know many techniques, you can feel free to ask questions, and I will be happy to answer them. By subscribing to my channel, you can see all my new videos.
Interesting video lessons on any topic.
The work is more difficult, but with good description. If you really want it, it will happen.
Drawing technique: shading and shading with pencil
There are two main drawing techniques - shading and pencil shading. Most of those who went to art school will choose a second painting technique. She is the one who is considered correct technique drawing, but shading is not recognized at all. But there are also those who have not taken art courses and do not have art education, including me, but they also draw and very often use shading.
We will not figure out which technique is better and more correct, but will simply talk about these two drawing techniques.
Pencil drawing rules
As you already know, there are two ways to transmit tone - shading And pencil shading. Hatching is more suitable for drawing illustrations, while shading makes the drawing more realistic.
In drawing textbooks you can find many articles about the rules of working with a pencil, about the correct positioning of the hand, and about developing artistic skills.
By no means should you question all these rules, but, in my opinion, they are not suitable for everyone. In force different characters, artistic skills, desire for freedom in drawing - people are looking for those drawing techniques that are more convenient for them. They don’t want to force themselves into the rules. I think this is why many people do not use pencil shading, but shading, which many call incorrect.
Pencil shading
In the lesson “How to draw a person’s nose with a pencil step by step,” as in other lessons, I used two drawing techniques - first shading and then shading. Shading, as mentioned earlier, will help make the drawing more realistic.
There are basic rules for shading that will help you make it better. The first is to do it only along the strokes, which will give the shading a more natural look. Secondly, for shading you can use not only simple, but also zigzag shading. Third, don’t shade the drawing with your finger! Use cotton swabs or a piece of soft white paper.
Pencil shading
Using pencil shading you can easily convey the desired tone. Hatching in progress short lines(strokes), which makes it possible to obtain different degrees of tone saturation. In order to enhance its depth, cross hatching is used.
If you look closely, you can see that the darkest tone will combine shading in different directions: oblique, vertical and horizontal.
Pencil shading not only has the ability to convey tone, but will also help convey the surfaces of the objects in the drawing.
Relief shading
In conclusion, I would like to say a few words about relief shading. This type of shading is used when you need to convey the surface relief of the object being drawn. For example, lips in the lesson “How to draw lips with a simple pencil: step by step lesson“I drew with arched strokes.
As a rule, relief shading with a pencil is the use of non-direct strokes.
When I was doing a task on a bunch of textured spots, I was looking for types of shading with pencil and ink. Maybe it will be useful for someone else.
top left: hatching called lamb. It is performed with circular movements of the hand without lifting it from the paper.
top right: cross hatching.
bottom left: chaotic shading is done without lifting the pencil from the paper. It is created without any standards, just move your hand as it moves itself
bottom right: basket shading. First of all, make a few short strokes at a short distance from each other, then do the same only in the other direction and so on until the end.
What is your favorite type of shading?
bonus:
You can rub the lines with a piece of cotton wool wrapped around a match.
Old masters made special “shadings” from suede or soft leather for these purposes. The suede is cut into a trapezoid shape, the base dimensions are approximately 10cm. and 6 cm., height 6 cm.. Spread on the smooth side with skin glue, the plane is within the small side of the trapezoid. After this, it is rolled tightly into a roller, starting from the large side of the trapezoid and bandaged. After drying, the pointed ends of the roller are sanded with sandpaper. This “shading” will be enough to work for many years.
Nowadays such shadings are made from paper in the factory.
Exercise 1.
Take a piece of thin paper and, starting from the top, draw straight horizontal lines. Trying to leave a small, equal space between the lines, fill the entire sheet with these lines. Draw quickly, in one long stroke; the slower you draw the line, the more crooked it will be. Most likely, the lines will be very crooked at the top of the sheet and much smoother towards the bottom. It is clear that it is far from ideal, but if you get one or two straight lines, this is a good start. Now on the same sheet of paper, draw straight vertical lines from top to bottom, diagonal lines from right to left and left to right.
Exercise 2.
Using a vertical and horizontal line, divide the sheet into four equal parts. Fill these parts with horizontal, vertical and diagonal (right to left and left to right) lines.
Exercise 3.
Draw a square approximately in the middle of the sheet. Don't try to draw it with four perfect lines, you should draw the sides of the square right through, drawing additional lines until the square turns out to be a square. Write a circle in the square. Move the pencil loosely in a circle, from one point of contact with the side of the square to the other, the more additional lines you draw in search of the correct shape, the better. Shade the circle with diagonal lines from right to left and left to right.
Exercise 4.
Draw a series of small squares, approximately 3x3 centimeters. Try to keep the squares the same size and at the same distance from each other. Below, draw a series of circles of approximately the same size. Alternate rows, trying to get even columns of figures.
You can come up with such exercises yourself and alternate them as you like.
: put two points on a sheet of paper and connect them with one movement with a straight line. Gradually move the points further apart and place them under different angles, but it is important not to rotate the sheet. over time, move to three points, etc. Usually they end with five points to draw the correct star.
Do these exercises daily and also before you start drawing. Your movements will be more confident and professional.