THE VALUE

OF
SHADING
By: LaJuan Bowen

What You Will Need!

Graphite pencil set going from 2H to 6B

or higher
Sketch book (8x10 or larger preferred)
Kneaded eraser
Rubber Eraser
Tortillion, q-tips, paper towel (more of a
personal preference for whichever one
you like)

Optional: Pencil, crayon, or vine charcoal

Whats the
Value of
Shading?

Value is the contrast of

dark and light.
Understanding value helps
to understand how to
manipulate dark and
light. This is key to
knowing how to give
objects an illusion of
space, and making them
look realistic!

ACTIVITY
TIME!
-Lets practice some value
with some value scales!
Start by making scribbles
with your pencils (to see
the different values)
-Draw a rectangle with 6
or 7 sections.
-Leave one square white,
but the others different
shades of gray and one
black.
*Tip: A 2H pencil will give
you a different shade
than 2B and likewise

**You can try blending them to

smooth out your values!
Also, this picture is in ink but
same concept**

Dont worry if your value strip is not

perfect The activity was purely to help
you get a little practice with your pencils,
and a better understanding of value.
For more on understanding and drawing
value scales, you can watch this video:

Choose a
shading
technique
There are many
different ways
to shade. For
example,
hatching and
cross-hatching
lines, blending,
stipple (which is
basically a lot of
dots). Feel free
to choose any of
them to do for
this activity!

**Looks an awful lot like the Value

scale I showed earlier! Refer to it
as well! **

Starting Of

First draw a circle

Next, think about

where you want your
light source. An easy
way to think of this
is to imagine a lamp
light on a sphere.
The light source
would be where the
light hits the sphere.

Add Some Graphite!

Next, start adding

some slight
shading opposite
the light source.
Going with dark to
light or light to dark
shading is a
personal
preference.
Also, DO NOT worry
if your circle is not
perfect.

Light Source

As You Shade

As youre shading, blend

the layers of graphite
(and charcoal if using
charcoal) as you go.
It helps to go from light
to dark when shading
Keep in mind where the
light source is, and how it
affects the objects shade.
Also, some objects will
have a reflection of light
(see the example) Just
pay close attention!

Shading the Shadow

After you have your

transformed circle
shaded, begin to
concentrate on
your spheres
shadow.
This will be a fairly
dark part, and will
help give your
sphere

lusion of Space

Illusion of Space

o
o
o
o
o
o

Illusion of space is
what helps a piece
look realistic, or 3D.
Some major ways to
achieve depth are:
Overlapping
Shading
Placement
Size
Value and focus
Linear perspective

Your Choice
Since we covered
one on the list of
Illusion of space, I
am leaving it up
to you to attempt
at adding an
object(s) to your
drawing going off
of one of the
techniques listed.
*Not required, but
preferred*

I hope you
were
listening
because

QUIZ TIME!

What to do:

Just use a piece of sketchbook paper, and

write down the correct letter for the
correct answer or fill in the blank. When
done, turn them over. The answers will be
at the end of the quiz, so that they can
be used as study guides.

Ready? SetLets begin!

1. What is Value?

A. An object
B. Something important
C. A technique involving lines
D. Contrast between dark and light

2.What were the shading

techniques mentioned?

Some examples of shading are hatching,

____________, blending, and _________ .

3. When shading, whats an

important factor to remember?

A. Dark to light coloring

B. Where the light hits the object
C. Light to dark coloring
D. What the space around the object is
like

4. Illusion of space helps make

an object

A. 3-Dimensional (realistic)
B. Darker
C. Seem larger
D. Lighter

5. Ways to achieve depth

Some ways to achieve depth are

overlapping, ________, placement, size,
_________, and ______and focus.

Quiz Answers

1.D
2. Some examples of shading are
hatching, cross hatching lines, blending,
and stipple.
3. B
4.A
5.Some ways to achieve depth are
overlapping, shading, placement, size,
linear perspective, and value and focus.