Inspired Shading with Michael

Do you want to add dimension to your drawings and make them pop? Click the video below, as Workshop Coordinator Michael walks you through shading and blending exercises along with a special activity from two recently released coloring books.

Building on my first lesson, these next activities are great for drawing, coloring, and shading. I’d like to share some techniques that fuel my love for drawing. For me, blending and shading are relaxing and meditative. Before we get started, let’s look at two works for inspiration:

M.C. Escher, Hand with Reflecting Sphere (Self Portrait in Spherical Mirror), 1935, M.C. Escher Foundation

M.C. Escher, Swans, , 1956, M.C. Escher Foundation

For each of these artworks:

• What do you notice?

• Where might you see lighter areas and darker areas in the artwork?

• How might the contrast (difference between light and dark) add a 3-D quality to these artworks?

M.C. Escher (1898–1972) was one of the first artists to inspire me for his use of pattern, depth, transformation, perspective, and dimension. You can click either of the images above to see more of his work. To get us started on adding more dimension through shading, here are three introductory exercises.

First, let’s talk about how to hold a pencil. Using the point of the pencil and holding your hand closer to the front will allow you to get sharp clean lines. Using the side of the pencil and holding it more at the back of the pencil can give you wider lines for coloring and shading.

Mapping out your shades/values

Create five boxes and shade in each box with a different shade or value, which is the lightness or darkness of a color. Organizing from light to dark, and a few in between, helps me feel comfortable and prevents me from getting overwhelmed.

Creating Contrast with a Cube

1. To draw a cube, start with a square.

2. Draw a second square up and to the right of the first one.

3. Use lines to connect the corresponding points of each square.

4. Erase some of the lines, and you are left with a cube!

5. Now, thinking bout your shades/values from the first exercise, shade in the right side of the cube.

6. On the top of the cube, use a shade/value that is a little lighter than the right side.

7. You can add a shadow to the right of the cube, and finally…

8. Add a slightly darker value in the shadow closer to the cube’s edge.

Shading a Sphere

1. Start by sketching a circle as best you can. It’s okay if it’s not perfect.

2. Fill in the circle with the lightest value.

3. Then, start to go to the edges with a slightly darker value, softly fading out as you move to the middle of the circle.

4. Then go back in and shade the edges with an even darker value, slightly blending into the previous one.

5. Next is my favorite part: add a highlight with the eraser inside the center of your shaded circle. Here’s a tip: You can use your finger, a Q-tip, or a napkin to create softer blending.

6. To make it pop even more, create a shadow to the right of the sphere with a darker value.

7. Smudge the shadow as well, and then add a little darker value to the edge closest to the sphere.

Exploring a Pattern

1. Create a series of lines that go in all different directions within an outline (square, rectangle, etc.).

2. The lines intersect and create shapes.

3. Shade in the different shapes you can see with different values.

4. Here is an example of using shading on a very special coloring book page I’d like to share with you.

This is an image by Devon Tsuno from a very special coloring book, Humanidad con color, which was created for the amazingly supportive organization, Border Kindness. A group of artists created this coloring book, which will be delivered along with art supplies, to kids having difficulties with quarantine and isolation in Mexicali.

You are welcome to share and print the images from the coloring book as well. Click on the picture to see the instagram post with images.

In addition to this coloring book, I invite you to explore another coloring book, made by my friends, called Nothing Beats Creativity. Click on the image below, and you will be able to access the PDF.

I invite you to visit either site and get a coloring book page to explore your new shading techniques. If you can’t print one out, you have a couple options. First, you can always use a screen for tracing (turning off the lights helps), as long as you have permission from the owner of the laptop/tablet/phone and are very careful. Or, if there is a picture you have wherever you are that you would like to use for line work, you can always hold it up to a window and trace it that way.

Try out some of your new shading techniques on these coloring book pages!

You might use them to to create contrast in a pattern, or you might use them to add dimension and depth to the image! I’ll leave you with this image for inspiration and, if you enjoyed learning about shading, click here for even more tutorials! —Michael