#I AM THE SHADOW YOU ARE THE LIGHT SERIES#

Now I’m the first one to be drawn to my sketchpad whilst enjoying a brew in my lounge, but note the word ‘sketch’. To make something look three dimensional, you need the light to do the work for you – rather than your pencil. Just by the nature of the lighting setup we have in our homes, it makes it really difficult to achieve a dramatic drawing successfully. There’s multiple lights coming from above, window lights and maybe lights from a t.v or reading light. The problem is most of the time at home, you don’t have one single light source, you have a comfy chair, a cup of tea and 10 minutes to sketch your dog. You might find it isn’t your drawing technique that’s wrong, but your lighting… How does light behave when it hits a form?

#I AM THE SHADOW YOU ARE THE LIGHT SERIES#

In Part 1 of this 3 Part series ( Part 2 – Drawing shading demonstration) we look at the theory, the drawing and then paint a simple form focusing on shadow, light and edges. The theory seems simple and the changes in technique small, but applying the principles of how tone, light and shade work, will improve the illusion of form in every drawing you do – regardless of the subject.Īnd the exciting part about it is, once you ‘get’ lighting, the principles never change. If line drawing creates the proportions, handling of tone creates the form. Whilst these all play an integral part, the most effective method of making your drawings appear three dimensional, is understanding how light logic works. Is it the proportions? The perspective? Perhaps the composition? Cezanne, Oil on Canvas, still life with seven apples, 1878Įver felt frustrated having worked so hard on a drawing – only to find it still looks ‘flat’?

I am the shadow you are the light