Shading is the part that makes a drawing go from a flat contour drawing to a 3 dimensional illusion.
There are many options for shading and each option will change the style of your drawing. Here are some of the basic ones, you can try them on a simple sphere design as a fun exercise.
1.Cross hatching
With cross hatching you are drawing parallel lines, varying the direction of the lines and layering them to obtain different intensity of shading.
I like to start by the lightest area and then add layers of cross hatching until I reach the darkest area of the drawing.
Here is an example of a drawing of Gargoyles on Notre Dame de Paris’s roof.
You can also use cross hatching in your life drawings.
2.Hatching with parallel lines
Hatching with parallel lines is the same as cross hatching, except you are making all the lines go in the same direction. It is a bit more time consuming than cross hatching but can lead to interesting results.
3.Contour lines
Contour lines can be done in many different ways but basically the idea is to have the lines follow the shape of what you are drawing. You can use contour lines for shading as in this example:
or just to describe the shape as in this example:
Contour lines are working well on figure drawings. You also probably already seen many drawings of hands with contour lines.
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4.Scribbles
Scribbling or scumbling is a fun way to shade a drawing and it goes fast!
Scumbling or scribble drawings shading works particularly well for portraits and still life.
Strippling is fun but it is very time consuming. I recommend you start by testing this technique on a small size drawing until you get an idea of the time it takes 🙂
You can use different sizes of markers to make different sizes of dots when you are using the stripling technique.
6.Zentangles and patterns
You can also use any pattern you would like for shading including zentangle types patterns. Just evaluate how dark a pattern will be and fill the area corresponding to this shade with your zentangle pattern.
Originally from France, I have been living in North Vancouver, Canada for the past 20 years.
My work has been collected and exhibited extensively in Canada and internationally. I am also part of the Art Rentals and sales program of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Many of my paintings have been published in Art books and magazines (Artist Magazine, Watercolor Artist Magazine, Acrylic Magazine, International Artist Magazine). I wrote 2 art instruction books with North Light/F+W Books.
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I am an active member in the community, as a co-founder of the North Shore Art crawl, a co-founder of a weekly life drawing group, a board member of the North Vancouver Arts Council, and have been invited as a juror for public art, art grants and juried exhibitions. You can read more about my collaborations here.
