2-8-15_2

Observational Drawing

Week 3: Assignment 2 Discussion

By Wednesday, February 4, 2015, complete the following exercise:

Create a value scale of 10 to 12 values using the HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B drawing pencils. Then, on the same piece of paper, draw a sphere with a cast shadow using as many values from the value scale as you can.

• Begin by lightly sketching in the geometric shape of the sphere and of the cast shadow using an HB or 2B pencil.
• Then, block in the darkest tone or the core of the attached shadow first and render it black using a 4B or 6B pencil, working to soften and eliminate the initial sketch lines of your geometric shape.
• Next, gradate the tone out toward the lighter areas using a smooth gradual transition, or halftone, from the core, or darkest area, of the shadows to the extreme highlight, or the area closest to the light.
• Add a light value to the background around your sphere to allow the contour edge of your highlight area to be defined from the background. Leave the white of the paper to show through for only the most extreme highlight areas; the rest of the composition should have tone.
• Try using a chamois cloth, Q-Tip, or eraser to pull tone out from the darkest areas to create a smooth, gradual blend from dark to light.
• Define the reflected light, or light that bounces off the surface plane and reflects back onto the edge of the sphere where the form and the cast shadow meet.
• Focus on allowing the values to bend and slightly curve to define the rounded form of the sphere.
• Fill in the cast shadow with a gradual blend from dark to light. The darkest part should be closest to the bottom of the sphere. Consider the tonal variations in a cast shadow, and feather the edges to indicate translucency, as opposed to a solid-opaque object.

Written Discussion
Write a one- to two-paragraph response that addresses the following discussion questions:

1. Why it is important to use the entire range of values when shading?
2. What are some key considerations when approaching shading on a realistic rendering?
3. In your opinion, what is the hardest or most confusing part of shading?

My Work:

I believe it is important to use all of the values when you’re shading so that you can add depth to your design as well as set a relative “space” between the subject and its surrounding. Some of the key considerations when I was approaching this assignment that I had to keep were to remember that the shadow isn’t another dimension, but an addition to the existing plane. I had to remember that even though the shadow is 2-dimensional, the way it falls on the table and across the ball were different and they couldn’t be drawn exactly the same because it was different depending on where it was and how close to the subject it happened to fall. In my opinion, the hardest part of this assignment was remembering to not press the same amount of pressure on the pencil when I wanted a different value and to use the pencils in different ways, holding it different depending on the type and thickness of line I wanted. I think that I did alright considering all the trouble I was having trying to get the shading values correct.

Instructor Feedback: 

Hi Bridgette,

Thank you for posting your sphere! I've recorded a VoiceThread video ( under the introductory prompt on this page) for you.
https://voicethread.com/share/6520581/
The top video is the lecture. The bottom video contains your feedback. You are Tenth on this recording. Please feel free to post questions or comments if needed. Thank you,

Pat