How to Draw With Dramatic Shadows

How to draw with dramatic shadows 

Spectrum art lesson 12/13/12

We will practice warm ups with:
     1. Shapes like the letter "Z" using the side of the pencil.
     2. Figure 8s keeping our fingers and wrist relaxed.
     5. Shadow bars going from dark to light to dark and back to light.
     4. Bricks in a pattern.

In this lesson we set up a table lamp on a subject so it cast strong shadows for the students to sketch. The first subject was shadows falling across the table surface at an angle. The subject matter included paper tubes which have shadows inside and shadows outside, a ball that has a round graduation of shadow, and a box that has a shadow in solid, a bowl and a few other items of interest.. The students observe how the shadow is not flat meaning there are subtle shades with lights and dark areas inside the shadow.

The second subject is complex and consists of a figurine and candlestick and other irregular shapes. The lamp is situated so the light is cast on the background against a surface, such as a wall, giving the subject a reference place in space.

The third subject has a lamp will be placed directly above some objects to case shadows below. The object will be a figurine, a ball, a wooden bowl.

Warm ups for this week 

These examples were not the ones used in class but I hope it gives an idea of what we were trying to do in drawing.

Example of Shadow From Above Lighting

Note in the example of the light from above the shadow falls directly below, seen best on the bowl, the ball is a little forward of the light and the shadow is cast forward, the box is a little to the left of the light and the shadow is tilted to the side.
Note the shadow within the shadow on the ball and the bow.
Pay attention to the reflective light.

Example of Shadow From Side lighting

In the example of the shadow from the side the shadow stretches across the table top. The shadow on the bowl is inside as well as beneath. The ball is inside the shadow of the bow. The shadow of the bowl falls across the box. The shadow of the ball and bowl has a dark "foot," the area where the bowl and table touch. The shadow of the ball stretches across the table top and gets fuzzier at the furthest edge.

Example of Shadow Against The Wall

In the example of the shadow against the wall we see many shadows. There is allot of reflected light bouncing back and forth giving shadows inside shadows. In our example the shadow against the wall is darker than the shadow on the table except for the edge where the bow sits on the table. Note the reflective shadow between the box and the bowl.