forum For the Top Notch artists!

Started July 13, 2019 by @4lagoon4 group

tune

How in the world do you guys know where to place the lighting and shadow on a drawing? I’ve tried many times but it always turns out wonky. 😅

I'm by no means a "top notch artist", but I can try to help you out. Basically imagine your light source—is it the sun? A lamp? A phone? Anything that light touches will be illuminated, whereas anything behind the light or blocked (say by an arm, folds in clothing, a half-closed door) will be significantly darker. The farther away an object is from the light source, the darker it will be. Unless, of course, it's in the direct path of the light source in which case it would be a lighter shade of shadow. Hopefully that makes sense? Also, the positioning of your light source has a huge play in it. If the light source is above a person and they have a hand in front of their face, the shadow will fall much lower than it would if the light source was right in front of the hand. If the light is on the right side, the shadow would be on the left—and vice versa. Let me know if I explained this okay or if you still have questions!

Okay, I kind of get it, I usually get stuck on clothing. Like where there would be folds and creases. ^_^'