Course Highlights


Lighting

Now that placement and point of view have been considered, lighting is the final element that plays a vital role in the over all impact of your drawing. Lighting, if incorporated into your drawing properly, draws attention to the focal points and creates the desired mood. Light can be characterized in many different ways but one key characteristic to lighting is the degree to which it is hard or soft. Hard light creates greater contrast and hard edged shadows and highlights whereas Soft light creates softer, more diffuse shadows that blend subtly with other mid tones. Soft light is commonly used to create a peaceful, neutral setting for the drawing. It is also often used when drawing people as it softens the appearance and masks common imperfections. Hard light is often used to create a dramatic or moody effect. The best natural source for both types of light is the sun. Most household light bulbs give off soft light because the white frosting on the bulb acts to diffuse and soften the light, however a bulb with clear glass will give off hard light as there is nothing to act as a diffuser.

Soft Light




Hard Light




Working with Natural Light

In the morning, there's a soft horizontal light which creates long cast shadows. With the overhead light of high noon, cast shadows almost disappear, colors are washed and subjects flattened. Around mid-morning and mid-afternoon, diagonal light is cast providing an interesting range of shadows and opportunities for contrasting tones. Finally at sun set, a warm, softened horizontal light is once again cast. As you design your composition, study it at different times of the day and make rough sketches to see which angle and type of light gives you optimal light and shadow conditions.

Using a Viewfinder

Depending on what you are looking to draw, a viewfinder frame may or may not come in handy. For still life drawing, the artist will typically arrange the subjects personally, however if drawing an urban or natural landscape, you might find a viewfinder frame extremely useful for guiding your composition as it helps to isolate a suitable subject and the framing of that subject.

There are two types of viewfinder frames. One is fixed in size, made by cutting a 3 inches x 5 inches rectangle out of an 8 inches x 10 inches piece of cardboard. The other style offers more flexibility and is just as straight forward to make. Simply cut two L-shaped strips of cardboard and attach them together with paper clips to form a frame. The paper clips can be repositioned to adjust the size of your viewing area.

Fixed 3 inches x5 inches Viewfinder




Adjustable Viewfinder



By holding the viewfinder before your eye, the viewfinder frame blocks out distracting elements and allows you to focus on framing an individual object or group of objects. For a more effective viewfinder frame, make a frame that is darker than the image or scene you are drawing from. If a viewfinder frame is not an option, your own hands can work perfectly well as a frame. Just touch your index finger on one hand to your thumb on your other hand and vice versa to form a basic rectangle.

Final Note:

There is no question that rules and guidelines are very helpful when learning to draw but do not be afraid to break them from time to time and explore your own unique style. When it comes to compositional skills especially, with some experience under your belt you will find that most good compositions are derived from observation and instinct. Beware of relying too much on mathematical and geometric formulas.

Other pages of interest

Lighting
Eye level drawing
What are focal points
Drawing attention to focal points
Leading the eye
What is the rule of thirds

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