Contour Shading
Contour Shading
This my go at contour shading. This was the third or fourth one I did.
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Dan Garwood
A Plane that comes down faster then it goes up has absolutely no resale value! - Zig Zigler
A Plane that comes down faster then it goes up has absolutely no resale value! - Zig Zigler
Re: Contour Shading
Great practice!
You are off to a good start regarding your drawings, because you do care to understand the matter of figures, shapes, shadow vs light ...
I'm impressed.
You are off to a good start regarding your drawings, because you do care to understand the matter of figures, shapes, shadow vs light ...
I'm impressed.
*History isn't there for You to like or dislike. It's there for You to learn from it. And if it offends you, even better. Because then You are less likely to repeat it. It's not yours to erase - It belongs to all of us...*
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Mike Sibley
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Re: Contour Shading
Apologies for the delay. My migraines are back. I'll have to be brief, and I haven't time to clean up your image much.
CROSSHATCH
There are some inconsistent lines and spaces between them. Unfortunately, they always attract unwanted attention, so accuracy is important. It also forms the basis for other techniques, so it's one you need to be aware of. Consistency is vital, and this exercise was designed to show you that.
Any variance in the gaps between lines, the pressure you apply to lines, or the straightness of the lines is immediately apparent, as they always attract unwanted attention. Remember that - whether you are shading or drawing lines, patience and careful application is always worth the extra effort.
CYLINDER
There are two problems you need to address. First, your black vertical shading needs to lighten as it travels to the right. You've created a hard edge that blending will have problems with.
Second, your mid-tones also appear to just stop, leaving another visible edge. That will probably not blend well enough to destroy that edge. Instead, as you approach the end of each line, gently lift your pencil clear, so you feather the end to white.
CORNER BLEND
You have exactly the same problem here. Your lines of shading should be drawn to produce the darkness of tone that you require, but as you approach the end of each line, gently decrease the pressure until your pencil finally lifts clear of the paper. That way, your lines will fade (feather) to white. All of yours, just stop.
If you just stop the line, it will finish with a blunt square end, and that end will not blend away.
Second, if you shade up and down - draw each line one way and then immediately back up again (as you might have done) - the termination of the line will not only be blunt, it will also have a double layer of graphite. No amount of blending will smooth out the end of such a line.
These faults will result in your shading being in a series of steps instead of smoothly changing from black to white.
You've produced some good, strong tones, but the steps are glaringly obvious. Feathering the ends is all that is required to turn this into a smooth blend from dark to light. This video will help with that.
CROSSHATCH
There are some inconsistent lines and spaces between them. Unfortunately, they always attract unwanted attention, so accuracy is important. It also forms the basis for other techniques, so it's one you need to be aware of. Consistency is vital, and this exercise was designed to show you that.
Any variance in the gaps between lines, the pressure you apply to lines, or the straightness of the lines is immediately apparent, as they always attract unwanted attention. Remember that - whether you are shading or drawing lines, patience and careful application is always worth the extra effort.
CYLINDER
There are two problems you need to address. First, your black vertical shading needs to lighten as it travels to the right. You've created a hard edge that blending will have problems with.
Second, your mid-tones also appear to just stop, leaving another visible edge. That will probably not blend well enough to destroy that edge. Instead, as you approach the end of each line, gently lift your pencil clear, so you feather the end to white.
CORNER BLEND
You have exactly the same problem here. Your lines of shading should be drawn to produce the darkness of tone that you require, but as you approach the end of each line, gently decrease the pressure until your pencil finally lifts clear of the paper. That way, your lines will fade (feather) to white. All of yours, just stop.
If you just stop the line, it will finish with a blunt square end, and that end will not blend away.
Second, if you shade up and down - draw each line one way and then immediately back up again (as you might have done) - the termination of the line will not only be blunt, it will also have a double layer of graphite. No amount of blending will smooth out the end of such a line.
These faults will result in your shading being in a series of steps instead of smoothly changing from black to white.
You've produced some good, strong tones, but the steps are glaringly obvious. Feathering the ends is all that is required to turn this into a smooth blend from dark to light. This video will help with that.