The Shading Course
Welcome
Module 1 - How to Separate Light & Shadow
Module 2 - How to See Light Effects
Module 3 - How to Control Values
Module 4 - How to Organize Values
Module 5 - How to Create Realistic Shading
Module 6 - How to Use Light Probes
Module 7 - How to Show Form
Module 8 - How to Invent Shading
Module 9 - How to Use Maquettes
Module 10 - Bringing it all Together
Community + Feedback
Newest
cindygs
4mo
Romain Decotte
4mo
Here’s my 5-tone value study. Took a tad longer than anticipated 😅!
Karlo H.
6mo
I think I should have worked with a smaller drawing, it would have been easier to keep it clean.
biancaesteban
6mo
Kwame Alexander
7mo
I decided to challenge myself and do this in graphite. It's clear that it got away from me pretty early on (stupid proportions!), but this is actually much better than I expected. I'll probably take another try at it.
selenitis
7mo
Bradley Forbush
7mo
I admire the smooth value tones acquired with photoshop, but I chose to use charcoal pencil on smooth newsprint for this assignment b/c I work with this medium a lot. Consequently it took a long while, and though accuracy wasn't important I tried to maintain some. It challenged me very much to try and keep the 5 values consistent & even. Because the paper value is dark my #2 barely shows. I was tempted to darken all the values accordingly but didn't. I especially struggled with translating & assigning values #3, #4, and #5 in the dark section of the image on the left. All of that said, I learned a lot from this study. (I can't identify the charcoal pencil b/c it was worn down to the nub, and I didn't have another like it in my supply kit.) Comments appreciated and thanks for those of you who give feedback.
Chris Bodary
8mo
ivat
9mo
Katelyn Brown
1yr
1yr
Nice work, Katelyn. It would look even better if you adjusted the shadow value on the face (value #3) to be a little lighter.
Sharntel Davey
1yr
This was my second attempt, down to 35 minutes. I will try again to aim for closer to 20 minutes. I like how you set up these photoshop files for us, thank you.
Tony Vu
1yr
Looking good!
flugmodus1
1yr
1yr
Throw your images into the median filter and see if you notice any value choices you'd adjust: Photoshop Filters > Noise > Median or https://www12.lunapic.com/editor/?action=median
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Henri Gerrits
1yr
A 5 value study
1yr
Very good! The background on the left could go darker to match the darkest value group.
Félicia Gagnon
1yr
That was challenging. Still not sure what to make of the area below the chin. Also, I'm just realizing now that we were allowed to soften the edges in a few places... Oupsies.
1yr
You did well! The edges in a value study are better too hard than too soft 👍
gasyadocro
1yr
this is amazing👏😮
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Tony Vu
1yr
I did some more value studies this morning. I have also recorded myself doing the first and second studies to determine whether there are any errors in my way of doing things.
For my third value study, I didn't use the filter options.
Value Study 1 - https://www.loom.com/share/fd6329e8bbff46a1995f7928b8aa3730
Value Study 2 - https://www.loom.com/share/b2b7d5061cad4221a7b34fda87ff8563
1yr
Right on @Tony Vu!!
So awesome to see the recordings!
You're doing great.
Your value choices are pretty good overall. In the first image, the reflected light is a bit too bright. In the second image, the form shadow is a bit bright and the ear stands out a lot.
The third image is tough. Very soft lighting. You went too dark in the eyes and eyebrows.
Well done for staying zoomed out! You're not getting lured in to add details. 👍
A few things to make your process more fluid:
- Use a bigger brush more often. You can press ctrl + alt, then drag your brush left to right to change brush size on the fly. Or set keyboard shortcuts for increasing and decreasing brush size.
- Work big to small. On the second video, you could move much faster by filling the entire shadow in with one average tone with a big brush, and then adding the darker shadows on top with a smaller brush.
🙌
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Laura Barr
1yr
1yr
Keep the drawing in your value studies _much_ simpler. Proportions can be way off. The purpose of a value study is purely to make a map for yourself that shows the broad value distribution in the picture. This will save you many hours when you are shading a work.
The only thing that matters in a value study is to choose the value relationships between 4-5 value groups.
Brayden Copley
1yr
Not totally happy with this, but will try to practice this some more in the future. I suppose I should give myself some grace for a first try.
1yr
It's a really solid start! Give yourself 10 minutes and make a few key changes.
Tony Vu
1yr
I did a few more 30-40 minute value studies. I used the filter tips from Dorian, as to not worry about proportions.
gasyadocro
1yr
I did 2 tris. I know this is just beginning. I feel like I don’t get the concept of effect enough. But anyway, I submit as I committed.
1yr
Good effort, Gasy. I think the first try works the best, especially the way you organised your values in the planes of the face. It's only missing the large triangle of the core shadow in the neck!
Tony Vu
1yr
I did some extra 5 value studies. I'm most happy with number 2
1yr
You've got the hang of this, Tony. :) In the final image, try using a darker value for the the shadows of the lips.
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About instructor
Former program director at Barcelona Academy of Art. Passionate about teaching solid craft and exploring the inner game of art.
