Here i am again! It’s Friday and the last day of class this week. ๐
Today we focused on how to shade and shadow an object.
The most helpful advice I can give you is this,
Make your objects local color the base color
Make a shadow out of burnt umber and a dark blue, water it down so it is a little translucent
Make the objects shadow a color that would be the compliment of the source light (that’s how it occurs in life!)
Make your highlight out of your local color, add white and some of the source lights color
To create the “zinger” or hot spots you take white and the color of your light source and apply them sparingly
Then you add bounce light (from surrounding objects or surfaces) in your shadow. The most important part is that they appear in the shadow of your object. It’s best to do this with dry brushing, without thinned paint
The last step is to add the cut line, or line of shadow that occurs at the point where the object hits the surface, or is touching it’s cast shadow, this line is a very dark color, even black.
Follow this and you will have spectacular shading! ๐ sounds simple… But once you try to do it with a fled sashes and ditches to get just the smallest line ever – you discover that it can be quite the challenge. My favorite discovery was learning about the bounce light, that small addition really makes your painting come alive! I saw examples in the studio and I was marveling at how the artist included pops of color in their shading, and it went together so perfectly. Now I know how it’s done ๐
Alright world, I’ll see you again on Monday!