Howcast

How To Draw Shadows

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Dogear

You Will Need

  • Ball
  • Light source
  • Pencil
  • Paper
  • Eraser
  1. Step 1

    Arrange ball and light source

    Place a ball on a table where it will receive direct artificial or natural light from a single direction.

  2. Tip

    Mark your paper to indicate the direction of the light source to help position shadows.

  3. Step 2

    Examine light tones on the ball

    Look closely at the ball and identify the shadows, highlights, and mid-tone areas.

  4. Step 3

    Draw ball and shade

    Draw the ball and shade it gray. Look for shadow shapes on the ball and shade these areas with the darkest tones.

  5. Tip

    Use the side of your pencil lead to add tones, applying or releasing pressure to control tone levels.

  6. Step 4

    Add highlights

    Create highlights on the ball by erasing to define the light areas you observe.

  7. Step 5

    Add cast shadow

    Draw the ball's cast shadow created by blocked light, and then shade it lightly. Now that you know the secret to shadowing, remember, life is not all black and white.

  8. Fact

    Did you know? Shadow puppetry is an ancient performance art in which two-dimensional figures cast shadows onto a lighted screen to tell a story.

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