How important is shading in pencil drawing, and how can I achieve the best effect?
Answer Hi Annie, Thanks for the question. Shading is actually what makes a drawing come to life, it makes the drawing three dimensional. Most cartoons have no shading and look very flat. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just a different look. Shading is achieved by soft short strokes on parts of the object that has less light. Try to have at least three different values (shades of light)in your pencil drawing: the darkest value, a medium and then the lightest. Of course the more values the more realistic the drawing. You can find lots of books on shading at your local library. I’m sure the internet is packed with free instruction on shading, I’ve found wonderful things on the internet about colored pencil drawing. The difference between an artist and a non-artist is the artist is observant. See what you are looking at. Look at any object and notice how even though it’s all one color, the sides are a different value. Just remember: you get good at what you practice. Relax and enjoy
