Drawing Fundamentals: Realistic Shading & Illustration Techniques

In this part of the " Drawing Fundamentals Made Simple" series, we're going to demystify the shading process and show you exactly how to create beautiful, realistic drawings step-by-step.

We'll begin by breaking down the different elements of a drawing and how they come together to create the illusion of form. You'll learn about the value scale and how to manipulate it to create different effects in your art.

Then we'll go through exercises to help you develop good pencil control and be able to create the entire value range from light to dark.

Next, you'll learn about the different types of edges and how to use them in a drawing.

We'll analyze master artworks so you can see how to apply these concepts to your art.

After that, you'll learn all about how light works and how to use this knowledge to create dynamic drawings. We'll use diagrams and animations to help illustrate the concepts and you'll come away from this section with a deep understanding of the theories behind realistic shading.

Then, we'll put all the principles and concepts into practice with step-by-step exercises. We'll begin with drawing and shading basic forms like the box, cylinder, and sphere. Once you're comfortable with the basic forms, we'll move on to drawing more complex still-life objects like a book, a cup, and an apple.

I'll carefully walk you through the entire process from constructing the lay-in, all the way to a rendered finish.

This course was designed for the complete beginner. We'll start out with very simple concepts and gradually build on them until by the end of the course you'll have the skills to draw and shade any object you see.

Whether you work with traditional media or digital software, the shading skills you're going to learn in this course will be indispensable to anything you do as an artist.

This course is part of the Drawing Fundamentals Made Simple Series.

Be sure to check out the other courses in the series so you don't miss out on any important skills:

• Drawing Fundamentals Part 1 - Basics Skills & Drawing Accurately
• Drawing Fundamentals Part 2 - Perspective Basics & 3D Sketching
• Drawing Fundamentals Part 4 - Dynamic Shading on Toned Paper