Overlapping is a technique that creates the illusion of one object being in front of another object. This is done by using a closer object to block part of a farther object from view. Examine this example and see if you can tell which shapes are close and which shapes are farther away.
The triangle appears closest. Why? The rectangle appears farthest away. Why?
Using a pencil and paper, draw ten to fifteen shapes that overlap. Keep going until you are comfortable with overlapping then try the next project below.
Drawing Forms
Drawing space and form are very important tools for artists. They create depth and thickness in an otherwise flat drawing or painting. Space is the illusion of depth or distance back into a drawing, for example, mountains in the distance or the far corners of a room. Space can be created by overlapping shapes but it can be more realistic when overlapping forms. Remember, overlapping is when one object crosses over and blocks out part of another object. A form is an object with three dimensions; height, width, and depth. The difference between shape and form is that shape is two dimensional and form is three dimensional. However, forms can be drawn by starting with a simple shape and making small changes to that simple shape. In the example below you can see how to change a triangle into a cone and a pyramid and a square into a cube.
Cone Pyramid Cube
To draw a cone; draw a triangle and change the bottom line into a line that is slightly curved.
To draw a pyramid; draw a triangle that has a pointed bottom, then add another line that connects the top of the triangle with the point in the bottom.
To draw a cube start with a square and overlap another square slightly off to one side and slightly higher or lower. Then connect the corners with diagonal lines. Diagonal lines are lines that are tilted up on one side.
Try drawing ten different forms that overlap each other. Examine the example below. If you need to begin by copying the example you may do so but as you continue the drawing start adding your own different forms.
Once you are comfortable drawing forms this way you can try the shading project below.
Shading
Shading is a very important drawing skill to master. Shading is what artist's use to make forms appear solid rather than just outlines. Shading also tells the viewer where the light is coming from and creates more realistic depth or space. Remember that a shape is flat but a form has depth or thickness.
Effective shading is all about value. Value is lightness or darkness. Dark values are created by using a pencil to block out the white paper. Middle values (grays) are made by blocking out less white paper. The more paper that shows through, the lighter the value. When more paper is blocked out the values are darker.
There are some basic rules that you can follow to help develop your shading skills and most of them are based on things you might have learned in science class.
1. Light cannot pass through a solid object.
2. Shadows occur on the side of an object that is furthest from the light (opposite side).
3. Solid objects cast shadows onto other solid objects. (we will look at this in the next lesson)
In the example below simple shapes have been changed into forms. Shading has been used to make the forms appear solid. The arrows show the direction the light is coming from. Notice that the shading is always on the side opposite the light.
Cone Pyramid Cube Sphere
The example above shows four different types of shading.
Hatching - lines that are parallel are placed along the side of the form that is in shadow. It helps to curve these lines when the surface of the form is curved, as in the cone above.
Cross Hatching - lines crisscross to build up darker values.
Stippling - dots are placed close together to make dark values and further apart to make lighter values. This is an effective shading technique to use on rocks, concrete, or other bumpy textures. (texture is how rough or smooth a surface is)
Chiaroscuro - [kee-ahr-uh-skyoor-oh]- This is often called blending and is done by smearing the pencil so it changes smoothly from dark to light.
Examine the example below. Try drawing and shading your own cones, pyramids, cubes, and spheres. Make them different sizes and experiment with putting them up high and down low in the drawing. What happens when you put objects up high? What happens when you put them down low?
When you are comfortable you can try the next project below.
Cast Shadows
Cast shadows are another important part of shading and create a relationship between two objects and the source of light. Cast shadows, as mentioned in the earlier shading lesson, are shadows that are made by an object but fall onto another object.
Cast shadows create the illusion that an object is resting on a surface, like a toy ball on a table or the floor. Cast shadows are almost always horizontal (left to right) and take on a shape that is similar to the form that creates them. For example; a pyramid or cone will make a cast shadow that is triangular. A sphere will create a cast shadow that is elliptical (oval).
Examine the cast shadows in the example below. Compare this example with the example above. Notice how the cast shadows make it appear as if the forms are resting on a tabletop or other smooth flat surface. Also notice how the values are slightly darker where the cast shadow touches the form creating it. This is an important part of realistic cast shadows.
