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Raising a new Generation of Leaders

RENDERING TECHNIQUES: Shade,

Shadow Casting and Value

VISUAL COMMUNICATION
ARC 112
Ekhaese, O.N.E.
COPYRIGHT 2015
 INTRODUCTION
Artists of the Renaissance were concerned with showing depth and
volume unlike the artists of the Middle or “Dark Ages.” Renaissance
artists manufactured the term “Chiaroscuro” to describe how light
and dark can imply depth and volume. The word Chiaroscuro is a
combination of two Italian words that mean light and dark. (chiaro
(clear, light) + oscuro (obscure, dark)

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 USING VALUE TO CREATE DEPTH
 General principles
 Know your light source or sources’ strength and direction.
 Value contrast of objects in space will become closer in value to the
background’s value as they recede in space.
 Use different value schemes to define different levels of space.

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 VALUE

Value is describing relative light and dark in order to

capture illusionary volume, mass, space, depth
A simple Value Scale shows figure-ground relationships
Figure-Ground is the condition in which backgrounds tone
or hue changes the visual impact of the figure resting on it.
The same hue or value appears to be a different depending
upon the contrast of tone or hue of the background upon
which it is placed. Conversely, two different tones or hues
appear to be the same when placed on contrasting grounds.
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VALUE

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 VALUE STEPS

1 The darkest tone is as near to BLACK as you can get, this is your darkest shade. Don't try to
achieve this tone in one application, build it up in layers.
2 DARK GRAY, this represents the shadowed side of an object as it recedes from the light. On
the ball, the light is coming from the upper front. The shadow is seen around the lower side.
3 MEDIUM GRAY, This is called a halftone, because it is seen halfway between the light area
and the dark area. The mid gray, the tone that represents the actual color of the object without
the effects of either direct light or shadow.

4 LIGHT GRAY, This is the hardest element to see, but it is probably the most important one
to have in your art work. This is reflected light. It is light that bounces up onto the ball from the
table. It separates shadow from cast shadows.
5 WHITE, This is the lightest part of an object where the full light falls directly on to it. It is
where the light is the strongest and is called the highlight.

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 STEPS
STEP 1 Add a light source STEP 2 Trace shape VERY LIGHTLY STEP 3 Now lightly
fill the shape using a sharp color pencil. STEP 4 This will be the first of a many layers
which will build up to the required value.
STEP 5 Start with the lines closer together and gradually increase the distance between
them, slowly reducing the amount of pressure on the pencil.
STEP 6 Don’t try to achieve this value in one application. Build it up with soft layers.
STEP 7 Creating three dimensional shadows is all about being subtle; gradually
blending light and dark
STEP 8 Pressure and layering is what determines what shade your pencil will draw.
That slow change in shade is what you need to create our shape.
STEP 9 Your pencil is extremely sensitive to your touch.
STEP 10 When you learn to control that pressure and layering, Your shading quality
will do new and interesting things

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 THE BLUR TRICK
Squint your eyes to blur edges of shapes and tones in space.
Tones will then blend and reveal value patterns and value schemes.
This will allow for quicker layout and assessment of space in terms of value.
There are two types of shadow: Cast and Form
Cast: When an object blocks a light source it casts a shadow. A cast shadow
is not a solid shape but varies in tone and value. The farther a cast shadow is
from the object which casts it the lighter and softer and less defined becomes
its edges.

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 UNDERSTANDING LIGHT THROUGH SHADOW

• A form shadow is the less defined dark side on an object

not facing the light source. A form shadow has softer
less defined edges than a cast shadow. Form shadows
are subtle shadows essential for creating the illusion of
volume, mass and depth. The changes in form shadows
require careful observation – squinting at the subject to
see value definition affected by figure-ground making
value relationships clearer.
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UNDERSTANDING LIGHT THROUGH SHADOW

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 SHADE
• Light-material interactions
cause each point to
have a different color or shade
• Need to consider
Light sources
Material properties
Location of viewer
Surface orientation

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 SHADING

shows changes from light to dark or dark to light in a

picture by darkening areas that would be shadowed and
leaving other areas light. Blending of one value into
another is sometimes called feathering. Shading is often
used to produce illusions of dimension and depth.

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 TYPES OF SHADOW – CORE,
MIDTONES, REFLECTED LIGHT
“Shadow edge” or “core shadow”. The edge where the light is blocked from the light
source is the darkest value on the dark side. The core or darkest value blends into the
middle tones from the shadow edge on round subjects.
The variable values blended form the shadow edge on the dark side. Again, the dark
middle tones are darker than any values on the light side. The human eye can trick the
brain into believing the lightest values on the dark side are the same as the darkest values
on the light side. If the artist is confused about lights and darks, the rendering is less
understandable.
Reflected light: If the object being painted is sitting on a white table, the light from the
table reflects back onto the object and makes the shadow side lighter. If the object of the
painting is resting by something black or dark, the middle values will become a dark
reflection. The concept also holds true when the object of the painting is sitting on a
colored surface

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 CAST SHADOWS
 When the source of light is blocked by an object it casts a shadow. The length
and shape of the cast shadow depends on the placement of the light source.
Long shadows are cast from a side light source (as from the sun in late
afternoon or early evening), and short cast shadows are cast from over head (as
from a noonday sun). The shape a shadow casts depends on the shape of the
object casting it and how close the source is to the object.

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 CAST SHADOW VOCABULARY
The vocabulary used to describe cast shadows in art come from shadow
descriptions in astronomy. The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are the three
distinct names given to the description of shadows cast by heavenly bodies. The
umbra is the darkest part of a shadow considered the absence of light. The
penumbra is a lighter outer shadow where the object is only partially obscuring
the light. The antumbra is more obscure. When it is visible it seems to extend out
from the penumbra in a lighter and less distinct way.

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 LIGHT SOURCE, CAST SHADOW, AND THE AXIS

• The distance of the object from the light source affects

the appearance of the light and dark side of the object.
The closer the object is to the light source the smaller
the light side appears to that of the dark side. In
addition the light from the light source may appear
more cone shaped than a light source from a distance.

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 LIGHT SOURCE, CAST SHADOW, AND THE AXIS

• The Axis divides the light side from the dark side and
defines the angle of the light….

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 Light Source and Shadow
The shape of the shadow is also affected by the light source. When
the light source is from anything but the sun, like a light bulb, the
shadow widens the further it is from the object. The sun,
meanwhile, casts a “straight” shadow in that it remains true to the
objects shape
More Than One Light Source
A shadow is made for each light source present in a scene. If you
are inside a room, for example, and there are two lights on, you will
cast a shadow from each light source
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LIGHT SOURCE AND SHADOW

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GLOBAL EFFECTS

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SHADE AND SHADOW

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 Natural Light – Daylight & Shadow
Cast shadows of irregular shapes and in natural sun
light are open for interpretation because of the constant
changing sunlight. As you work on location, the sun
will continue to advance and change while you are
drawing. Note the place you want the sun positioned
and keep that constant, to avoid a confusing spread of
shadows. The nature of shadow is affected by weather,
sunlight, moonlight, or artificial light.

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NATURAL LIGHT – DAYLIGHT & SHADOW

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THANKS FOR LISTENING

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END

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