When you understand how shading works you can begin to draw the illusion of depth (also known as three-dimensional). Simply stated, values (sometimes called tones) are various shades of gray. A broad range of different values is the primary ingredient of shading.
Shading is all about how you draw your lines. Check out the below value scales to see a few examples of shading.
Shading is all about how you draw your lines. Check out the below value scales to see a few examples of shading.
Here are a couple tips to consider when creating value/tone in your Art.
- Vary the density (placing lines either far apart or close together) of the shading lines.
- Vary the pressure applied to the paper with your pencils.
- Use different grades of pencils from hard (for light values) to soft (for darker values). Using various grades of pencils makes drawing value scales much easier. By letting your pencils do some of the work, you don’t need to press as hard with your pencil to achieve dark values and you have more control doing light values.