How to draw a cylinder with a pencil with a shadow step by step? Step-by-step instructions and recommendations. Drawing geometric shapes How to learn to draw geometric shapes

Drawing a person can be the most vivid and profound experience in an artist's life. Today we have prepared for you tips from the famous Italian artist Giovanni Civardi from the book “Drawing the Human Figure”. Let this knowledge become a source of inspiration and creative stimulation, helping to convey moods and memories in the form of a drawing.

You can draw a human figure and a portrait using any materials - from pencils to watercolors. The pencil is the most common tool due to its low cost and versatility. Charcoal is great for making quick drawings with strong tonal contrast and is less suitable for fine detail. For ink, thick and smooth paper of good quality is recommended. Mixed media is the simultaneous combination of different materials in one drawing.

Experiment to find your own techniques that will bring out the most expression, and try to take advantage of random effects.

Basics of plastic anatomy

Artists study anatomy with the goal of meaningfully depicting the human figure. To reproduce it reliably, you need to not only see, but also understand what you are drawing.

Thanks to knowledge of anatomy, the image becomes more convincing and alive than nature itself.

In general, the shape of the body is determined by the skeleton as the main supporting structure, the muscles that cover it, and the upper layer consisting of fat. It is useful to learn and remember the relative sizes of the articulating bones and their proportions relative to each other and the entire skeleton, because without this information it is impossible to “translate” a figure onto paper and acquire the skill of logically and consistently depicting it.

Below are the main bones of the skull and neck along with skin, cartilage, fat, muscle, hair and more in layers.

Skeleton of the male torso, enclosed within the contours of the body, in the frontal, lateral and dorsal planes. These drawings will help expand your understanding of body shape.

Upper and lower limbs in different planes. As in the previous figure, the skeletal structure is shown within the outlines of the body.

It is important for the artist to consider three main aspects of muscle: its appearance (shape, size, volume), location (where it is located relative to the skeletal structure and neighboring muscles, how deep or superficial) and its mechanism (function, direction of muscle pull, corresponding changes in shape and etc.).

Proportions

To make the drawing believable, it is necessary to take into account the proportions of the body and head. The height of the head from forehead to chin is often taken as a unit of measurement to determine body proportions. The height of a standard figure is approximately 7.5-8 heads. Remember a few more proportional relationships: the head fits three times into the total height of the body and neck, the length of the upper limbs is also equal to three heads, and the lower ones - three and a half.

Despite the differences between individuals, they can be divided into three main groups of types with similar characteristics within each - ectomorphs, mesomorphs and endomorphs.

Hands and feet

It is easy to understand why the hands and feet, with their structure and the variety of possible gestures, are considered the most difficult parts of the body to convincingly reproduce, both in drawing and in painting and sculpture.

Drawing your hands and feet is the best way to study them in as much detail as possible. You will be able to make sure that the resulting studies are quite decent, comparable to facial drawings, and maybe even more expressive.

First, a quick (but diligent) sketch is made in the desired angle and pose, then, using its “geometrization,” the necessary anatomical information and volume are conveyed, after which details and individual outlines are clarified.

Just as for the head and body, knowledge about the structure of the bones of the feet and hands will be useful.

Draw your own hands and feet in different positions. You can use a mirror. Take different objects in your hands and convey the dynamics and mood of the gesture in the drawing.

Head, face, portrait

The main interest for the artist has always been the face and figure. A portrait is not simply a reproduction of physical features for the purpose of recognizing a particular character. This is a story through facial expressions about his personality, thoughts and emotions.

We described in detail how to draw a head and facial features in the article.

Sketches of a man in a sketchbook

A sketch is a quick, spontaneous drawing from life, completed in a short time with a few informative lines. Drawing people in natural settings, who are not posing deliberately and probably have no idea that they are being looked at and depicted, will seem difficult at first. But there is no real reason to be afraid or lost - it is unlikely that anyone will pay attention to what you are doing.

The ability to imitate strangers in any pose and under any circumstances is important for developing technical skills and value judgment. And, of course, regular sketching practice will sharpen the gift of observation and interpretation, teach you to look deeper and make quick, confident, understandable and accurate decisions.

Some quick tips on how to sketch from life:

  • Get into the habit of always carrying a pencil and a small sketchbook - one that can easily fit into your bag or pocket - with you in case something catches your attention or seems interesting.
  • It is worth striving to increase observation and the ability to isolate the main thing and at the same time coordinate visual perception, value judgment and hand movements while drawing.
  • Don’t try to reflect on paper everything you see in real life. Given the limited amount of time and the risk of the model changing her pose at any second, focus on what matters most.
  • To learn to use your memory to reproduce the sequence of basic phases of movement, you will need maximum concentration in observing people.

If you're still nervous about the idea of ​​drawing people from life (keep in mind that if someone notices what you're doing, some might be flattered and others might walk away in displeasure), drawing statues can help you mentally prepare for it and gain some confidence. and sculptures in museums or monuments in public places.

Find out if you can do sketches in the museum, and if so, feel free to go there and sketch the sculptures from different angles.


This is how drawing is taught in Paris - in the courtyard of the Louvre with sculptures.

Drawing stages

If you're drawing a full figure (clothed or naked), you can first draw a few quick, light lines to outline the space it will occupy on the piece of paper (maximum height, maximum width, etc.). Then outline the main body parts (head, torso and limbs) taking into account relative proportions.

Finish the drawing with significant outlines, shadows and details that cannot be omitted. Erase the construction lines if necessary.

In the book “Drawing the Human Figure,” each section is analyzed in as much detail as possible; there are detailed images of the human skeleton in different planes. It is described in detail how to draw the figure of a man, woman, child, elderly person, how to depict nudes and a person in clothes.

This lesson is part of the initial set of tasks in. WITH drawing geometric shapes acquaintance with the basic laws and rules of academic drawing begins.

For production, one, two or three geometric shapes are selected, for example, a cube, a cylinder or a plaster vase with a simple cross-section. Objects are depicted on a white object plane, against a light background. The emphasis is on the image of the figure, excluding the elaboration of the surrounding space. Lighting is installed above and to the left of objects for a visual structure of classical volumes and a greater difference between light and shadow, which in the first stages of training is of great importance for analyzing shape and transmitting tonal gradations on a sheet.

The purpose of drawing geometric shapes.

  • Learn to arrange objects on a sheet of paper;
  • Master the basic skills of constructing and shaping objects on a plane;
  • Get an idea of ​​the perspective location, shortening the horizon line;
  • Acquire the skills of working with a pencil, putting a stroke on a form, using tones and halftones, and competently conveying the layout of plans.

To work with subsequent tasks of the program, all the techniques used here will be useful. The main result of this task, of course, is the ability to arrange objects in space. Your drawing will become a reflection of the space on the sheet, where everything is subject to the immutable laws of composition and the location of light and shade on objects.

Examples of drawings of simple geometric shapes made by students of our school.

This is a basic and important task, where, using a simple example, without cluttering objects and tones, the design and principles of constructing the key form that underlies most things - the cube - are clearly demonstrated. This simple geometric figure contains the basis for creating any object.

The work has been completed.

Having learned to correctly construct and depict the corners, edges and planes of a cube, accurately depict perspective contraction, correctly identify vanishing points, and model volume and shadows with strokes, you will be able to intuitively imagine the designs and volumes of any objects. It is not for nothing that the basis of three-dimensional modeling of complex structures is always a cube, as the basis for creating any subsequent form. And for drawing, a cube is the embodiment of a three-dimensional image; when drawing it on a sheet of paper, lines show the vertical as the height, the horizontal as the width and the third line as the depth, which reveals the space, making the object three-dimensional.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this task. Don’t be put off by the simplicity of the production, as it contains the fundamental principle of creating works of art: from simple to complex.

If you are new to fine art and want to learn how to create easy 3D pencil drawings for beginners, then our article will help you understand the first basics.

3D paintings have taken the art of painting to a whole new level. Many modern artists are creating mind-blowing 3D drawings that literally burst out of the surface of the paper through the use of shadows, impeccable perspective, and the use of multiple sheets of paper to create a more complex composition.

You can learn to draw just like these masters, but first you need to learn more about the basic principles and techniques. We will help you with this.

Basic principles

The first point that needs to be mastered when drawing three-dimensional images is how to correctly cover the place on the sphere that is farthest from the light with shading.

Those points on which the light falls should be the lightest, and the surface of the object should become darker the further you move from the light source.

If you plan to take a photo of your drawing, as many artists do, you should pay attention to the actual light source where you are working. See how it affects the object you are drawing. This can enhance the impression that the object in the drawing is actually in the room.

Don't forget to work out how different textures (stone, brick, leaves) look depending on the lighting.

This is not such a difficult thing when you remember its basic rule: objects that are closer to the viewer are depicted larger than those that are further away.



If you want to visually check this rule and make sure it really works, just find a long street, stand at the end of it in the middle and look in the opposite direction. The width of the road will gradually decrease towards the horizon.

When you draw your 3D picture, think about how the viewer will be positioned, how will he look at it - from the side or from above?

Going beyond the sheet. Some artists use their hand as an addition to the drawing. The fact is that the hand interacts with the drawing and adds a sense of reality, complementing the 3D effect.

At first, in some photographs it is clear that the master seems to be holding his image with his fingers... But only then we see that this is just an illusion.

Some craftsmen choose a real glass or pencil to interact with the picture. They place them in some way next to or even on the depicted objects. And sometimes it’s not clear where reality is and where creativity is!



Drawing 3D shapes

If you want to learn how to draw 3D pictures realistically with a pencil, then you should start with basic three-dimensional geometric shapes. Once you understand the principles of drawing multidimensional shapes, you can apply what you learn to any object.

In our lesson we will look at how to create, step by step, three-dimensional pencil drawings of such shapes as a prism, pyramid, cube, cylinder, sphere and cone.

Both of these shapes are based on triangles.

When drawing a prism, start with a regular isosceles triangle and a small point somewhere off to the side (a point on the horizon). It doesn't matter which side you chose.



Start building two dotted lines from the top of the triangle to our point and from the corner of the base, which is closer to it. Determine how long the prism will be. Remember that its farthest visible edge will be parallel to the side of the triangle relative to which the prism was aligned.

To create a pyramid, draw an equilateral triangle with its base dotted. From the vertex, construct a vertical segment down. It should fall just below the dotted line.

Connect the bottom point of the segment diagonally with the corners at the base of the triangle. It’s okay if the angles are not exactly identical, it will even add realism.

This figure can be depicted in several ways, below you will see two of them.

Method 1. Draw two squares of the same size. One should partially overlap the other, how much is at your discretion. Connect the upper and lower corners of the two squares, thus forming the edges of the figure.

Method 2. The drawing principle here is reminiscent of the approach we used when depicting the pyramid. Only this time you need to make three equal parallel lines. The two lines on the sides should be at the same level, and the one in the middle should be lowered a little lower.

Connect the top points of the three lines with diagonals, do the same with the bottom points. Draw lines through the top points parallel to the top edges of the cube closest to you. At their intersection a point is formed - the far corner of the cube.

Cylinder

Start with an oval. Don't worry if you don't get it straight the first time. Train!

If your oval is vertical, then draw perpendicular horizontal lines from its extreme points above and below (if the oval is horizontal, then vice versa). Carry them out as long as you need, depending on how long you want the cylinder to be.

Connect the extreme points of the drawn segments with a curved line that follows the roundness of the oval. To make sure that the top and bottom of the cylinder are the same shape, try turning the design upside down or 90 degrees. This will change your perspective and any inconsistencies will stand out.

There are several different in complexity ways to depict a sphere. But in any case, drawing a sphere will start with a simple circle. Draw it by hand or trace an object, such as a glass.

To make the circle look like a volumetric sphere, you need to correctly shade its surface and define the shadow areas. First, the brightest place of the ball is determined, where the light falls. Then intensive shading begins on the opposite side. There the shadow will be darkest.

Gradually move towards the lightest area, reducing the intensity of the color until you end up with the lightest color. Try to ensure that your strokes follow the shape of the ball and are not sharp or perpendicular.

To ensure that the transitions from shadow to light are minimally noticeable, shade the surface of the sphere with your finger or a special blending brush.

This figure is a cross between a cylinder and a pyramid. So, let's use our knowledge about both figures and apply it now in drawing.



When trying to draw any shape in 3D, straight lines are important. To do this, especially at first, use a ruler or some other flat object made of durable material (so as not to sag) with a straight edge.

Be careful about the angles and placement of the lines. For example, shapes such as a cube have right angles and parallel lines at their base. And the angles of a cone can be different.

Compare angles using a pencil. If you want to achieve a really technical drawing, then use a protractor. Pencils and erasers are your friends. Whenever possible, draw with a pencil to get the right angles and lines.

So, you have learned how to draw 3D drawings for beginners with a pencil step by step, basic geometric shapes that are the basis for various objects. Therefore, you can apply the acquired knowledge in drawing many objects.

It's very easy, but it's far from true. To depict volume and shadow, you need skill and accuracy in your work. Let's look at how to draw a cylinder with a pencil.

First option

There are many options for drawing with a pencil, we will analyze one of them step by step. To work you will need a pencil, preferably medium soft, an eraser and a sheet of white paper, you can take A4 format.

Progress:

  1. Draw two parallel lines. At the top and bottom, connect the segments with ovals. Since this is a drawing lesson, do not use any rulers, try to place your hand right away, so that in the future it will be easier to draw various objects.
  2. Make two perpendicular lines in the upper oval, and draw a line down from the middle.
  3. Also draw two lines below.
  4. Outline the outline more brightly and proceed to the shadow.
  5. Select the right side for a darker shade; on the left side the cylinder will remain white. The shadow must be applied carefully, shading the pencil. The shade should change very smoothly.
  6. Draw the shadow of the cylinder. Since it’s darker on the right, we depict it from the front.
  7. There is no exact length, since at different times of the day the length of the shadow from objects is not the same.
  8. In this case, we take about a third of the height of the cylinder. Draw two parallel diagonal segments and connect their vertices.
  9. Paint over the shadow.

The work is ready. This is one of the simplest options, since we did not use perspective and only depicted one cylinder.

Second option

In this master class we will look at how to draw a cylinder with a pencil at a more professional level, so if you are unsure of your abilities, it is better not to take on the job. Also, this graphics technique is not suitable for small children.

To work you will need:

  • paper, and for beginning artists it is better to purchase a special medium-grain paper, which is much more pleasant to draw on;
  • several pencils with varying degrees of hardness;
  • eraser;
  • a stick to rub the shading (you can just roll the paper into a cone and rub it with it).

Advice before starting to create: create a sketch with thick strokes, as they are easier to erase later.

Let's move on to the work itself, how to draw a cylinder step by step:

  1. Mark a sheet of paper. This is necessary to correctly determine the location of the figure.
  2. We make markings. To do this, draw two vertical lines by hand, lightly pressing the pencil. Then two horizontal ones - top and bottom to connect the rectangle.
  3. Next we draw a pair of ellipses (bottom and top) - this is the base of the cylinder. To make them the correct shape, you should mark two points at the same distance from the center of the top and bottom lines in both directions, and then draw a figure.
  4. Let's move on to toning. Let's assume that the light source is located at the top right. And, starting from this, we will draw the brightest and darkest places.
  5. The darkest part will be the front side, just to the left of center. Now we move on to shading, it is desirable that the strokes repeat the shape of the object.
  6. All that remains is to draw the shadow of the cylinder, let’s make it small and in the form of a cone mirrored from the cylinder.

The work is ready. To hide the brightness of the shading, take a rubbing stick or paper and smoothly move with small movements across the sheet until we achieve the desired effect.

It is best to hone your skills by drawing a real object, so it is wiser to take an object as a basis. In the shape of a cylinder there are many things around you, such as a glass.

Multiple cylinders

Now let's look at how to draw a cylinder with a pencil with a shadow if we want to display several objects at once.

Step by step drawing:

  1. Draw two anchor points.
  2. Step back down a certain distance and draw an ellipse.
  3. Now draw two vertical lines up and draw an ellipse there too.
  4. Erase the extra bottom line, you will get a kind of saucepan.
  5. Now place two parallel points behind the figure.
  6. Draw an ellipse and two lines down from it, one line only to the first figure, and the second to the desired length.
  7. Draw a bottom curved line to close the second shape.
  8. Draw the third cylinder on the other side in the same way.
  9. Now we draw the shadow. It will be on the right, so on all figures we paint the right side with denser shading.
  10. Using small strokes in the form of a rectangle from the beginning of the curved line, draw the shadow of objects on the surface.

Your work is ready. We looked at how to draw a cylinder with a shadow, with several elements in the picture.

Using the same principle, you can draw many turrets at your discretion, the main thing is not to use a ruler and not go into the first figures, so that the work turns out to be three-dimensional.

Drawing a cylinder on the table

Now let's look at how to draw a cylinder with an environment. To draw everything correctly, take a real object and place it on the table. And adjust the light so that the shadow falls beautifully on the table, but is not too short or long.

The most accurate drawing can be made on a tablet by stretching a sheet of paper over it. The suitable size of this device is 30 by 40 cm.

Let's move on to the process of creating a drawing:

  1. Decide on the location of the figure and draw “invisible lines” for the future cylinder.
  2. Construct a cylinder by first drawing two parallel lines, then an ellipse at the top and bottom.
  3. "Invisible lines" will also be required for the correct placement of light and shadow. Draw invisible edges on the front side of the cylinder so that you understand which areas will be darker and which will be lighter.
  4. Hatching is done according to the shape of the figure, in small lines, so that later it is easier to smudge the strokes.
  5. Fill in the pre-drawn shadow. It should be darker.
  6. Now you need to draw the plane of the table and the back wall. Moreover, the back wall will be darker than the table, but lighter than the main shadow of the figure.

Thus, you can draw a three-dimensional figure very carefully and slowly. It doesn't have to be a cylinder; you can take a sphere or a cube.

How to draw a composition with several objects

To practice your skill, use several figures at once. A cube is a good place to start, and place a cylinder on top of it. Adjust the light so that the shadow falls beautifully on the table and start drawing.

How to draw a cylinder and cube with a pencil:

  1. Since we will have a cube below, we first draw it on a sheet of paper. To draw it correctly, first draw the front square, and then diagonal lines to add volume. Connect the lines at the back, then erase the extra edges.
  2. Now let's draw a cylinder. The process of recreating it is no different from previous options, since a cube is also a flat plane.
  3. Once you have positioned the shapes, erase the extra edges.
  4. Let's move on to the shadows. Since we have a pyramid in our drawing, they will have one common shadow in the shape of a tower.
  5. Draw the front shadows on the figures according to how the light falls on you.
  6. Finish with the back wall and table.

Such compositions can be made in a variety of ways depending on your desire. Once you master the skill of drawing geometric shapes, you will be able to draw more complex objects or compositions.

  1. To understand how to draw a cylinder correctly, it is better to take a real object as a basis, adjusting the lighting in advance.
  2. It is more convenient to draw on a tablet, since the sheet will not slide.
  3. Use pencils with varying degrees of hardness.
  4. Take your time when completing the elements, and if something doesn’t work out, don’t be afraid to start over.

How to learn how to lay a stroke on the shape of an object - we will improve our pencil skills and learn to create a drawing of geometric shapes, creating their volume. We have a cube, a ball, a cone and a cylinder in our arsenal.

Our work will be divided into two parts. The first part is we draw according to the idea. Perhaps you have layouts of these figures, if not, then you can look at the page on how to make a layout of geometric figures and, in fact, make them, but we will start with something else. We'll start by understanding, analyzing the form first without layouts. You can first create them and sometimes look at them when drawing, but the main thing now is to learn to analyze, to think logically, all your work now is to think, without nature, to learn to convey the shape of these basic figures. Initially, the work takes place in the head, and not in front of the eyes. Right?

The second part - we will draw from life, but just like in the first case, we do not cling too much to nature, but first of all we think and analyze ourselves, and now we test ourselves with what nature shows us.

So, first part. You can draw on A3 format. We take whatman paper, a pencil and draw a figure; it’s also a good idea to use knowledge of perspective when constructing it. And then you begin to “lay” the stroke on the shape, sculpting the volume of the figure with the help of your mind and a pencil.

We already know that chiaroscuro is distributed across the shape of an object, creating tonal gradations, or zones. For now, let's take the three main ones - light, penumbra and shadow. We limit ourselves to only the figures, without using the entire space.


Let's draw a cube. Avoiding mistakes. In the picture on the left I have a strong perspective, too much, don’t do that. Here it is enough to convey it quite a bit, slightly distorting the shape. Look at the picture on the right. Do you see the difference between the front wall and the back? It's enough. We use sizes that are not so large, so that we transform small forms into architecture.

Let's talk about light transmission. Light, shadow and penumbra are shown.

But don’t forget about the golden rule - as light moves away according to the shape of an object, it darkens, while the shadow brightens. Look: the light, moving into perspective, slightly loses its brightness, add a little shading there. And now penumbra and shadow, the same picture, but in reverse order. As the shadow moves away, it weakens and brightens slightly. But all the same, the overall tone of the shadow will never be lighter than the overall tone of the light, and the penumbra also does not break out of its tonal boundaries. Everything is in its place.

Let’s also look at how we carried out the training from our first lesson, see the basics of drawing, we don’t forget about that even now. We highlight the corners and edges closest to us and place emphasis on them. The near edge and corners are accentuated, which is what takes the main attention, everything else smoothly goes into space. But here this space does not need to be transferred much, since our distances are, in principle, small.

Note: to determine the overall tone, squint your eyes a little. The sharpness will decrease and you will be able to see everything in general. And don’t look at your work head-on; move it away from you more often, diffuse your vision, and don’t get caught up in the details.


And then the rest of the figures. These figures, in general, are quite streamlined and rounded, so we notice the following:

Let's say the first ball in the row is. The emphasis on it here is the shadow and it will be strongest in the place where the ball is closest to us. I don’t have accents at the edges, since there the shape goes into space - take this point into account when drawing a streamlined shape.

The same is true with a cylinder and a cone. Where the form begins to wrap up and goes into space, there is no need to place emphasis. But where the shape needs to be emphasized is where the shape breaks and where it will be closest to our eyes.

Pay attention to the cone - its lower part is closer to us than the top. This means that the lower part of it will be transmitted stronger, and rising to the top weaker - look at the shadow, at the bottom it is stronger, while rising upward it loses its activity. Don't make it the same tone over the entire height. These quantities here are not huge, but they still exist, otherwise the conditional space cannot be correctly conveyed.

I draw your attention to the shading. This is something that is a 100% stroke that fits the form. Despite the fact that it is somewhat monotonous and boring, it is very useful in terms of learning. It teaches discipline, concentration, how to make straight lines and simply clean execution. I recommend doing this work using this particular stroke, just try to “sculpt” the shape of a geometric figure, feel with your hands and eyes its entire volume and how its shape “lives” in space. It’s written strangely, but I try to convey to you as vividly as possible the beauty of this exercise. And we’ll talk about the strokes that should fit the shape of the object and which ones they are not.

And don't worry if things don't work out. No one is immune from mistakes, and there can be many of them, and nothing in the world is perfect. But each of us has the opportunity to try again in order to do even better.

How to draw geometric shapes

How to draw geometric shapes - now let's try to draw geometric shapes with surroundings. Let's envelop them in air and draw them in space. Let's take the main ones:


Let the cylinder go first. We place the cylinder on the object plane - the table, set the lighting so that the shadow from the figure falls beautifully on the object plane, is neither very stretched nor small - it is harmonious and emphasizes the volume of the figure.


Stretch the paper over the tablet to create a clean design. Take a tablet size 30-40, it’s quite enough for this kind of work.

Now we need to arrange our cylinder in the plane of the sheet, find its harmonious place in the space of the sheet, taking into account the shadows, of course. Use your eye to find proportions and back it up with a sense of linear perspective.

Be sure to convey the object plane. Our figure does not “float” in space, it is on the object plane!

When constructing a figure, be sure to show the invisible edges, show how to build the construction lines. You need this more than the viewer. Place accents where necessary, show the intersection of planes. Don't forget about perspective. If you noticed, the lower plane of the cylinder is visible to us more than the upper one, this is correct, since the horizon line (at least for me, it may be different for you) gives such an overview.

Look at how the shadow is constructed - it can be conveyed correctly using construction lines. Figuratively: rays come from the light source, which are divided into two types, one illuminates the figure, stops at it, therefore there will be no light beyond the figure. And the rays of light that do not fall on the figure go further, illuminating everything in their path. And we can show you this border. And one more thing: the shadow, moving away from the figure, will tend to increase slightly; this resembles reverse perspective. Do you understand why? If you direct the rays in the opposite direction, then the shadow construction lines will converge at one point - the point from which the light comes.


This is roughly what you should get. Further, in principle, we no longer need nature, since everything can be analyzed independently. Turn on analytical thinking and reason logically. But still, let's look further:
The figure shows that the light falls from the side and from above. This means that the upper plane of the cylinder will be illuminated most of all, and the light will also fall on the object plane, since it, like the plane of the cylinder, is horizontal. Vertical planes - the wall and the break of the object plane, as well as the volume of the cylinder itself will receive less illumination, since they do not receive the incident main light.

Further: we do not make the object plane black; in this case, the corner of the object plane receives enough light so that the shadow is not the most active here. But it is still necessary to highlight its object plane. This is achieved by highlighting the corner of the object plane.

Next: our subject plane receives the main light, but we need to show that it is horizontal. And we know that as the light moves away it goes out and gets weaker. The farther the object plane goes from us, the weaker its light will be - we lay out the stroke in this way.

Now we need to deal with that part of the cylinder that will be in the shadow. Our cylinder is located vertically to the object plane, which means the main light will fall on its horizontal upper plane. Everything else is in shadow, with the exception of the area where the light glides across the form, since the light falls not exactly from above, but slightly from the side; this area is highlighted as the lightest on its vertical plane. The general shadow of the cylinder is more active than the wall, since the cylinder has an active shadow of its own and is closer to us, even though the wall is also located vertically.

The wall will be darker than the object plane, because it is vertical, which means there will be less light here, and because it will be farthest away, it will be in the background. Let's lay out the stroke like this.

The falling shadow of the figure will be the most active, but it also lies on the object plane, and therefore, as it moves away from it, it will become slightly weaker.

Well, it remains to place accents where necessary - the breaks in the forms that will be located closer to us will be accentuated.


If at first the hand does not obey, it is difficult to hold the pencil and it is difficult to place a stroke on the form, and it is difficult to clearly define the shape itself with a stroke, then there is an opportunity to work as shown in the figure on the left.

Lightly outline the kinks of the shape.

That is: let’s say you know how light is distributed according to the shape of an object. You know that there are five of these zones: highlight, light, penumbra, shadow and reflex. This is all accurate, but conditional. To better convey the volume of a figure, you can outline as many breaks as you like, and the more there are, the softer the volume of the figure will be shown. Visually divide the figure into these zones and apply a regular straight stroke, but in such a way as to sculpt the volume, use the frequency of the stitch-stroke or the pressure of the pencil.

Here I ask you not to confuse two concepts: how the light is distributed over the shape of the object and how the stroke is laid out over the shape of the object. In the first case, we have 5 zones, in the second, we can outline as many zones and shape breaks as you need. But don’t scribble, all auxiliary lines should be inconspicuous.
The fact is that the wall is the same in both places, but that’s how our eyes see it.

For a keen sense of reality, for the best accent of light and shadow, for the harmonious perception of the drawing by our eyes, and in the end, let’s make our eyes pleasant! Let him see in the drawing what he sees in nature. This is just a slight nuance that will only enrich our drawing and can be unobtrusively conveyed.


Addition: see how the shadow of the cone is constructed.

Next, let's draw a ball.


You can see the formation on the left.

Notice how the shadow of the figure is constructed. We have already dealt with the falling one, sort of: we determine it with the help of an eye and reinforce the perspective with knowledge.

Do not forget that the shadow falls on the object plane - this must be conveyed and understood.

But what about your own shadow? Interestingly, if you draw lines from the point of illumination to the center of the ball through which the diameter passes, which forms the circle of the shadow, then this diameter will be perpendicular to the line drawn to the point of illumination. If you understand this, then how to lay out a stroke in the shape of a ball in order to show your own shadow is not at all difficult.
Now I was getting a little bored with drawing in one manner and wanted to experiment.

Look at the work on the right. Do you think it was done with shading? Does not look like it. It is made with a tonal spot using pencils of varying degrees of softness. If you take pencils with a solid lead, without a wooden frame, and just draw the tone on the paper, rather than shading, then you will also get a drawing like this.

Here we gradually come to what we already talked about at the very beginning of this page. How a stroke fits the shape of an object and which stroke is not. The fact is that each draftsman, in the process of work or study, develops his own specific style of stroke.


Of course, there are canons, different historical times have their own canons of drawing and stroke, but it is not at all necessary to adhere to them.

Optional. I believe that if with the help of a stroke you can convey the volume of a figure and the space itself in a sheet, then it makes absolutely no difference what this stroke represents. The main thing is that everything is done correctly and beautifully. Simply put, don’t make straw, learn to draw beautifully. This also applies to the stroke. On this page we learned how to make a stroke, let's continue a little more.

For example, this is how I draw a cube that we still have not drawn.

1. Determine the place of the figure in the sheet

2. We place the figure on the object plane and find its structure and its shadow, not forgetting to take into account the perspective


3. Determine the place of light and shadow - add a light touch. This gives us the opportunity to immediately determine the distribution of light and shadow in our drawing, to separate them

Next, we analyze the light: the lightest and most illuminated part will be the top plane of the cube, the second lightest is the object plane, which is horizontally in front of us and loses light as it goes into space.

We focus on the breaks in shapes. We highlight the closest edges of the cube and the corners; this will help to pull it out of the space in front.

And don’t forget - as the light moves away it darkens and goes out, the shadow moves away and loses its activity and becomes somewhat lighter, but we take into account the golden rule: the darkest half-tone in the light is lighter than the lightest half-tone in the shadow.

Lastly, if you decide to experiment with shading. Just as the tonality of light and shadow, which we convey in the space of the sheet, varies, so the stroke can change its shape - play with the size of the stroke. The wall is made with a stroke of a medium stitch, quite static. The cube is made with small and active strokes, giving the cube dynamics. And the object plane is made with long stitches, rather trivial and uninteresting. So, even a stroke helps to identify the main character in the picture - the cube, which is made with the most dynamic stroke, attracting attention, in my opinion. What do you think?

Try to do something of your own, experiment, then the simplest work will be done with pleasure, great attention and great interest. And when you are sitting, doing work, for example, trying to put an even stroke on a form, and even succeeding, and at the same time you begin to notice that your breath stops from concentrating on your attention, and at these very moments you feel the whole limit of the drawing and get unspeakable pleasure.