Shade Three Basic Shapes
The pyramid, half sphere, and cylinder shapes you will draw in this lesson are common shapes you’ll find everywhere. As a beginner, once you know how to create the shading required to draw them, you’ll be a long way down the path to drawing many similar things.
There is a video that goes with this lesson. However, the close-up images below are larger and clearer, and the written text is a good addition to my voice in the video.
Here’s a photo reference to print so you can draw along. (Just click the photo.)
There’s a supply list below.
Step 1 – Here’s my line drawing. I turned up the brightness on my computer screen and traced the drawing directly on my drawing paper from the image on the screen. Hey! I’m old. I get to take shortcuts, and you can do that, too, if you want to. :)
Don’t make your line drawing as dark as mine. I had to make mine dark so you could see it. To draw yours, use an HB pencil with light pressure.
Step 1 1/2 – Lighten the line with a kneaded eraser if necessary.
You can see how I lightened mine in a few places in this image.
Step 1 3/4 – Yes, I know you really want to start drawing. You need to know how to make a consistent texture throughout the entire drawing, though, or it’ll look like chicken scratches.
This is an illustration of the flattened-tipped pencil point that you will use. It’s simple to make. Just rub the pencil back and forth a few times on scrap paper to flatten it. Do this with each of your pencils (see supply list below), and you’ll get an idea of the range of value that each pencil can create.
Practice hatching with it to get a feel for the grip, pressure, and angle. The only thing you need to do consistently is flatten the point every time you change pencils. If you don’t do that, you’ll use the wrong spot and mess up the texture.
Step 2 – This first shading layer is just a light fill. Don’t make it much darker than what you see here. Just use it to get your feet wet, and then you’ll build darker layers on top of it.
Use the 2H pencil for the half-round sphere, the cylinder, and the front of the pyramid.
Use the HB for the left side of the pyramid.
Use the 2B for cast shadows.
Step 3 – Shading with highlight and shadow creates form.
While looking at the pyramid, sphere, and cylinder, use various grades of pencils to shade the shadows on their bodies. Look for shadow and highlight “shapes” and draw them, or draw around them as you work.
Check to see which pencil you need to create the correct value. You ought to have a palette of values to choose from on the scrap paper by now.
Keep all the values lighter than reality. It’s always easier to darken than lighten.
Correct any mistakes with taps from a kneaded eraser shaped into a point. This will blend well with the texture, and you can hatch over it again, too. Don’t drag the eraser, or it will smear the graphite, and that’s very hard to fix.
You should see some form starting to appear, and that’s always a magical moment. Take a moment to appreciate how shadow pushes the form down into the paper’s surface and how highlight brings the form forward. Amazing!
Shape-4 – Refine the hatching.
Now work to bring the shading closer to its actual values. If your hatching has been very loose, fill between the hatch lines to get a more consistent texture. This will darken the values.
For the thin, dark shadow lines around the bottoms of the shapes, turn the flat point of the tip of the pencil to the sharpest side and draw with that.
Pay special attention to shadow and highlight edges now. They can be soft and hard, and anything in between. Hard edges end abruptly, like the tall side highlight on the right side of the cylinder and the small round highlight on the top of the sphere. There are many soft-edged shadows on the sphere and cylinder, as there are on all curved surfaces.
Here’s a workshop that targets soft and hard edges if you want to see more examples.
Shape-5 – Finishing touches.
Compare, compare, compare as you work. Here is your mantra: “is this lighter than, is this darker than?” Repeat this to yourself over and over again. Peacefully contemplate each part of the whole, and then contemplate the whole.
Hard lead over soft darkens slowly as it fills in the gaps in the grain. Take your time. Finishing deserves all your attention.
Relax a bit, and remember this; the values don’t have to be exactly right, as long as they relate to each other similarly as the reference does.
Attention art teachers: I’m not an art teacher. I’m an artist who teaches – huge difference. In this video, I call the “sphere” a “ball” and the “cylinder” a “column.” So I don’t want to hear from you ’bout that, mmmkay?
I used Palomino pencils to draw the shapes in this video. They’re very good sketching pencils, but you have to buy a 12 pack of each grade, and now they are hard to find.
Derwent Graphic pencils are more finely graded than Palominos, meaning that you won’t have to touch-up your hatching quite so much if you use them judiciously.
The Derwent links and the rest of the art supplies below, take you to Dick Blick, and I’m their affiliate. I get a small commission when you buy from these links at no extra cost to you. If you do that, thanks!
Derwent Graphic 2B
Derwent Graphic HB
Derwent Graphic 2H
(If one is out of stock, get the next softer grade.)
Canson Classic Cream Drawing Pad
Kum Long Point Pencil Sharpener
Draw well, draw with happiness, and never stop!
Carol