Category: Drawing Lesson

Create Form With Shading

This exercise looks complicated, but it’s not, so don’t panic. Work slowly and spread the steps out over a few days if you want to. Nothing has to be perfectly done, and your drawing skills will get a good workout no matter how this turns out.

You’ll need 2H, HB, & 2B pencils, a sharpener, and a kneaded eraser.

Make The Beginning Line Drawing

Draw a few horizontal lines an equal distance apart.

Draw a few vertical lines.

Now draw diagonal lines through the points where the horizontal lines cross the verticals.

Then draw diagonals in the opposite direction.

Add Shading

Fill each triangle with one value using one pencil in this pattern.

To keep the texture consistent, make all the hatching with a flattened pencil point. Make a flat tip by sharpening the lead and then running it back and forth over some scrap paper. To use it, bring the flat point directly down to the drawing without shifting your grip on the pencil.

Your drawing should look similar to this after you’re through. Some depth beginning to form, but the drawing is still pretty flat.

Crank It Up And Feel The Burn

Using the same pencils, gradate each side of the pyramids with the darkest part at the bottom. This time use a sharper lead. The smaller point will fill more of the paper grain than the flat point, and that will darken the hatch.

If you need to lighten a dark blotch or smooth out the gradation a little, pinch the kneaded eraser into a point and “tap“ the hatch until it lightens. If you rub the graphite with the eraser, it will smear the texture, and there’s no way to fix that.

When you’re done, you should see some very developed form that makes the pyramids pop out of the paper. If not, go back and darken the bottoms of the gradations more, and don’t pull any punches this time. Timid shading leads to washed-out drawings.