Arts

Controlling light in a picture is most important part of drawing. This lesson will teach you how to place a light source and how it affects on object on a picture.

1. Draw a circle. Don't worry if it looks like an oval. It shouldn't be perfect.
2. Figure out where the light source is and what direction the light is coming from. It's very important for drawing a three-dimensional picture. You can play with a pencil holding it under your paper and moving it in different directions and watching for a shadow. A shadow will form on the ground beside on object. For the our lessons let's make an agreement that our light source is a single sun slightly above and to the right of an object. It's time to turn your circle into a sphere. Draw a little sun nearby the circle.
3. As we already know, an object casts a shadow right next to it onto the ground in opposite direction from the light source. Draw the shadow beside the sphere you made. No worries about the mess - it's just practice.
4. For creating the "pop-out" illusion of a three-dimensional drawing we need a blended shading. On the circle opposite the light source scribble some shading. It should be a bit darker on the edge farthest from the light source.
5. Do you know a finger can be a handy art tool. Just smudge-blend your shading with your finger. That's it. you just made a three-dimensional sphere. Easy as pie.