Hatching lines can be horizontal, vertical, or at an angle. Follow the angles and curves of objects with the shapes of your line to simulate a three-dimensional form. For example, shade a round object with curved lines rather than straight lines.
Draw the cross-hatching lines close together to make a densely shaded area on your drawing or spread them apart to make it lighter. Use hatch marks without a second layer to make a lighter shadow.
Instead of dots make short lines that overlap to make shading in a more Impressionist style. Stippling works great for shading with a thicker marker.
Art pencils have varying degrees of hardness and are labeled with a number and either the letter B or H. Soft graphite is labeled with the letter B and gets softer with a higher number. Hard graphite is labeled with the letter H and is more difficult to use for smooth transitions the higher the number goes. A standard number 2 pencil has an HB hardness, which is a medium between hard and soft graphite. Practice shading on simple polygon forms, like cubes and spheres before jumping in to shade your drawing.
Work from real life or a photograph to understand how light affects the object you’re drawing. Move lights if you can to play with different shadow angles. People looking at your drawing will be drawn to the lightest areas of the drawing. Determine the area that you want viewers to focus on and make it the brightest.
Only use the values in your scale as you shade in your drawing. Use the same type of paper your drawing is on. Different papers have different textures and affect how the shades look. Aim to have smooth transitions between each of the squares rather than having drastic changes in value. The square next to your lightest shade shouldn’t be too dark.
Don’t press too hard with your pencil since it will make your marks more difficult to erase later on.
Your darkest shadow is called the core shadow. Rounded shapes will have reflected shadows on the opposite side of the light source. These shadows are lighter than the core shadow but darker than the highlights.
Add white pencil or pastel to make solid white areas that pop. Use this sparingly so it isn’t too overwhelming. Certain materials will reflect light in different ways. Objects with metallic finishes will have a brighter highlight while objects with a matte finish will look duller.
Smudge sticks can be purchased at any art supply store or online. Don’t use your finger to blend values. Your finger gives you less control than a smudge stick and the oils from your skin could affect your drawing over time.
Look at a photograph or a still-life to see how your light angle affects the drop shadow. The hardness of the edge of your drop shadow depends on the strength of your light source. Brighter lights will cause a harder edge while dim lights make the edges softer.
