Shading with pencil

[PelleTM]

Can I post something without a picture here?

Otherwise, could a moderator please move this to the Lounge or delete it.

I am wondering about some techniques used for shading with pencil. Which pencils do you use? How do you work the shadow in, keeping it consistant? Which tone do you start with? How do you portray something that is colored in black and white, do you draw the colored areas darker? Also, when you draw from imagination, is there some trick for knowing where the shadows should be, or does it come from practise?

[Legato]

wow, lots of questions there! this would be much easier to show in real life, but of course, we are not blessed with that option.

Which pencils do you use?
hmm... i for the vast majority of my stuff use a standard #2 pencil via .5mm mechanical. if it matters, PhD makes great lasting stuff. if the picture is shading intensive, i use stuff like 6bs and stuff. im retarded in that area, and luckily the pencils i got say what they should be used for on the side (rendering, deep shade etc) a standard set should be ok, they are probably all the same. granted, i don't use them much.

How do you work the shadow in, keeping it consistant?
its important to start light, like getting cold, you can always put more on, but theres a limit to what you can take off. i guess i never really though about it beyond that... it just comes naturally after you do it enough. i guess good practice would be just starting off light and working dark on scratch paper... or maybe shading spheres or something...

Which tone do you start with?
i always start with the lightest... i mean... even the outlines are done light, mainly for erasing and changing, but... like i said above, shading is adding graphite, not taking it away (usually)

How do you portray something that is colored in black and white, do you draw the colored areas darker?
i usually just apply a tone i think represents the color in b&w... i mean, if your really into it, load the color into photoshop or whatever, and turn it into black and white and copy the tone, but i usually find it doesn't matter.

Also, when you draw from imagination, is there some trick for knowing where the shadows should be, or does it come from practise?
i have this really weird thing where i will always shade as if there was a light source straight up and to the right... i always do that, and its not a good thing, especially if i have a different one in the picture. im still working on it, but on the few pictures i go into with a light source in mind, it turns out ok. roughly sketch out everything your going to do before hand, and as you are shading, take into account whats going on

hope that helps!

[Swoop]

Phew alot of questions on a hard topic hehe :D

Here are my 2 cents even though i'm not pro.

Shading should always start off very light to lay down the basic shadows. As said you can always get them darker. It's impossible to go the other way.

I would start drawing my lineart with a hard pencil, so i dont get too much color on already there. Then take a softer pencil which is sharpened to get a detailed outline on top of that. Then i would start on shadows, where i again pick a hard pencil for starters, and then move darker and darker...

But it all depends on the look you want. Some people take a normal penvil and just hold it down to the paper on the side, to get it for a broad stroke for shadow. And some use crosshatching for shadows...

I reccomend www.portraitartist.org for tips on shading :D :D

[gekitsu]

wow, you ask a lot. :)

Which pencils do you use?
i use cheap faber-castell pencils in 2b and 5b mainly.
sometimes, i use a mechanical pencil (0.5mm) in grade b for details.

How do you work the shadow in, keeping it consistant?
usually, i start laying in the large value areas (like: dark hair, bright skin, middle-toned background..), then the shadow masses softly with a "wash" of the flat side of my 5b pencil (its chisel-tipped, so the flat side is quite large) just to see what goes where. all of this is done in relation to each other already: the bright areas are brighter than the rest, a middle toned area is not as dark as a really dark place... but everything is a lot lighter than it'd be in the finished drawing. with this rough plan, i work my way toward the true values...

Which tone do you start with?
as i said before: i lay out first the large scale value differences, and then the large-scale shadow masses.

How do you portray something that is colored in black and white, do you draw the colored areas darker?
thats a tough one :)
i do this if it helps the picture. if not, i stay away from it. then, i do this in a way that keeps the natural luminance of certain color hues in mind: not just because something is more saturated does it need to be darker in the pencil drawing - but since for example, red and orange of same value do look different - red looks somehow darker, just as yellow does look brighter than anything else, i might make a nose in a portrait darker if i want to accent its reddishness. thats all about intuition for me, though..

Also, when you draw from imagination, is there some trick for knowing where the shadows should be, or does it come from practise?
think of the 3-dimensional form you have sketched. imagine sun rays hitting it from a direction. of course, practising this with simple objects and a spotlight helps..
but you quickly will get an impression what is hit by light and what not - what casts shadows which hide other parts, etcetera...
basically, you simulate your light sources and your object in your mind and draw from there.

hope i could help a bit :)

[Signature]

Yeah Gekitsu said pretty much everything important. Check out the Loomis books.
There's a step-by-step tutorial for example:
http://www.fineart.sk/show.php?w=957

You need to know the object that you want to draw from memory well enough.
For shading it helps to simplify the forms and think about values for the planes.
The value for a plane depends on the local color and how much light it receives.
Darker objects have a smaller value range when it comes to the effects of the light sources that affect it.
http://www.fineart.sk/show.php?w=940

A good exercise is the basic shapes exercise in the Middle Class.
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8381
You'll notice how difficult it is to render simple shapes properly.
Of course it is a lot harder to get the light-shadow pattern of a complex object right ...
but knowing which simple shapes it consists of helps.

About converting color to grayscale ... you need to learn to see in values rather than colors:
http://www.digitalartform.com/values.htm

[Dished]

Ive got a question too if you guys dont mind.
About shading with the side of your pencil. How do you make it look a lot more smooth without smudging?

[Legato]

persionally, i keep using one side of the pencil over and over until it gets really flat. that lets me make the softest of colors, and than i go back to the other side and detail. rinse and repeat. this works for mechanical pencils also

[Signature]

When it is too grainy ...
- you either use a pencil that is too soft. When you draw small you need a harder lead.
- or you draw to fast/sloppily
- or you use the wrong paper. Somebody wrote Bristol board is good for sketching ...
On typing paper you have to draw big for good results.

[Joey-b]

i think this thread is usefull for everyone.. just 2 c how everyone works..
i really enjoyed reading this..
as for what i use...

uh.. 4h sketching
uh 2h possible shades
uh hb .. some lines
uh 2b more lines
and a mechenical pencil for sharp lines and details.. think its 2h and i have HB
and somewhere allong that i use an H and B pencil 2... :)

for the smooth shading.. most of the times.. i first flatten my point.. start with 2h pencil then HB over it.. and if necessaty i use my 2b pencil.. but that depands on the situation


not very clearly.. but im not that good.. so i couldnt give u any more suggestions