Tips for simple shading and sketching

How to draw and shade shapes and simple structures

hey~ and so.. Fundamentals of sketching!~:

-paper

        -pencil/ pen

( You don't need much skills to learn how to sketch or shade something, common sense is pretty much all you need(: hahaha)

All you need to do is take note of the direction the light is coming from and you can hardly go wrong:)

These rolled paper felt sticks are called stumps that helps to blend your shadings to give a better gradient to the contrast. yep, they can be bought at art friend at a reasonable price say about $1.93 cents? yup. haha

If you're gonna sketch something like a cube, cuboid or any object that has a standard shape, (buildings, walls boxes, streets.. etc.) then perspective is very important! or it'll all look distorted and flat

So to begin, mark 2 points on the paper, or if you want a wider perspective it can be further apart. 

For this example, it shows the diagonally top view of the box

Connect the corners and choose the length and width of the box. make sure the verticle lines are parallel, and join all the points to the two points

Erase off the guide lines

To shade a transparent box, make the lines that are closer thicker than the lines at the further end of the box. you can shade or blend the corners with the stump

To shade a solid opaque box, erase the lines on the other end of the box. Shade the areas further from the light

Shade or use a stump to blend the colors of the shadow

To shade a sphere, start with a plain circle

Shade and darken the opposite end of the light, take note of the contour of a sphere and shade accordingly:)

To shade a cone, start with a triangle with a slight arc as the base

decide on the direction where the light comes from and darken the sides that are further from the light

For any other curved surfaces like poles etc. you can start with a simple rectangle

Simply shade the parts where it is further from the light source

Before you know it, you can shade anything you want! All that matters is the gradient of the shadings and the darkness to enhance the shape. there is no right or wrong to art. Anyone can do it! 

Please do post your own sketches and drawing as comments:) your response is much appreciated:))

Whoo!~