The First Element - Line (Part Three)

M A T E R I A L S - P A R T T H R E E

W A T C H V I D E O

What we refer to as value is, simply, the presence or absence of light. So, when shading/adding value to an object there's something I always want you to ask yourself:

Where is the light source?

And, furthermore, what planes are being affected most by said light source?

The position, brightness, and distance of the light source are all important determining factors in how the objects around the light will appear/be lit.

Light sources come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and lumen strength (brightness). From the tiny LEDs on our phones to the gigantic star we call our sun, light sources are everywhere.

You are not expected to fully understand how light works right now. Light is a confusing and nuanced topic that deserves an element all for itself! For now, just keep in mind that value is the presence or absence of light.

A Brief Intro to Value

A gradient is a range of values or colors that go across a plane. Rendering is the practice of placing one or many (sometimes thousands of) gradients across all the different planes of an object in order to breathe life into it.

In essence, we make these gradients by creating line strokes that intersect, layer, and blend together in a way that creates the illusion of light and darkness.

The shading technique that illustrates this concept most clearly is hatching as it builds up value by placing one line next to another, then another, then another, and so on.

I don't want you to focus too much on all these shading methods. Take them in. Play around with them a bit if you want. Then forget about them. We'll talk more about contours (the lines that follow the shape of an object) and rendering later on.

"BUT, BUT, IF WE'RE PAINTING CAN'T WE JUST MIX DIFFERENT VALUES, HOW DOES THAT WORK?!"

Let's not think about that right now. I need to make sure you can draw properly before opening up the can of worms that is painting.

Rendering: The Creation of Gradients

Assignments

Technical

Value Scales & Hatching

Hatch It Up

Creative

Remember: the idea isn't to execute these exercises to perfection. Do them to the best of your ability and move on to the next part. You'll have plenty of opportunities to improve in later exercises.

If you've taken an art class in school, chances are you're already very familiar with value scales. Following the format below, create three scales using the listed methods. Each 'box' should be distinct and progress from the darkest value to the lightest.

Afterwards, copy the example drawing and attempt to shade it in accordance with where the light is.

Take a blank piece of paper and place two small circles anywhere on the page. These will act as your little balls of light.

Now crosshatch your way around the page. The only rule is that there should be very few hatches next to your lights and increasingly more away from them.