Does any of you artists out there have any tips on shading?

Question

I need some help with my art project- shading. My shading suck so GIVE ME TIPS PLEASE!!!! Thnx a bunch

Answer 1

I think more info is needed her. What are you shading with. Water color, oil, crayon, pencil. As a general rule if you want something lighter to show up you put something darker next to it. If this is pencil then you can use more in the areas you want darker. If you can be more specific it would help a lot. Is this for a background or on an object for instance.

Answer 2

I used to teach a collegian level studio class on pencil shading. What it comes down to, is that you need to stop thinking about the subject as a 2D object, and start imagining it as a 3D object.

There is a Technique I call Rain Spray.

Imagine your object as a 3D, real object. and imagine that "light" is spray bottle full of water.
Around your subject, you can angle that water to spray from different directions. If you spray water on the object from different angles, different spots become saturated, some moist, and some not getting wet at all.
In shading, the most wet areas would be the darkest shaded. The moist, lighter, scaling up to the dry, which has no shade.

As far as pencil holding, I would suggest using a HB pencil to shade using different pressures your first time over the picture so it can be easily erased in-case of a mistake. Once you get the shade the way you like it, then move to other pencils such as a 3B and 4B pencil.

Answer 3

Your question is a little vague, it all depends on what you are shading -

- I can tell you to think about where the light is coming from on whatever it's hitting that you are drawing...if you aren't sure, then pick a direction and stick with it on that piece. Where would the shadows fall...and make sure there is enough contrast. Some artists squint their eyes while looking at a piece, to see if there is enough contrast...if, when you look at it with your eyes squinted, and it all looks to be the same tone, then there is not enough contrast. Darken the darkest areas, then lighten the most light areas so you'll have a range of dark shadows, midtones, and light.

- if it's not really the shading but perhaps blending that you need help with, try tissues without lotion and a chamois. Chamois is fantastic for skin tones. Buy it in a decent size and cut it into 3x5" sections. Wrap it around your finger and push/blend the pencil around until you achieve a smooth look, if that's what you are looking for.

Answer 4

If your talking about painting, then you create shades by using the complementary color of the object you want to shade.. For example, if your object is orange, use blue to shade. It works.
anyhow, check this website out for shading tips,
http://www.learn-to-draw.com/members/drawing-basics/0119.htm

Answer 5

you might want to try going to an art website like www.deviantart.com and viewing some of the art there with shading to help you. you can also find tutorials online.