The basis of the drawing is this line, it can do a lot of wonders. If you decide to devote yourself to learning how to draw with a pencil, then you definitely need to know the basics of shading. The site has many lessons on pencil drawing techniques, each lesson shows a little bit of the technique, and this lesson is the lesson that should be studied first, especially since it was compiled by a professional American artist.
Once you can do shading well, you will find that it is a very quick and easy way to achieve realism in your drawings.
This lesson is divided into three sections:
1. Study of shading.
2. Drawing basic types of shading.
3. Creating a shadow scale.
Take pencils to put the lesson into practice. We will need 2H, HB, 2B, 4B and 6B pencils, an eraser and drawing paper.
This article is recommended for artists of all ages and backgrounds.
Study of hatching intensity.
You will be more comfortable if you know how to paint different shades. Various shades when hatching is created by changing the density of the drawn lines, pressing on the pencil, using different types pencils. Shades can go from light to dark or from dark to light.
Drawing shading in different shades requires a lot of practice before you achieve perfection.
1) Oblique shading, look at the four shading options. The group of lines that are on the left have very few lines and are far apart from each other, which creates the illusion of a light tone. In subsequent examples, the lines become closer and closer and the tone becomes darker, the outermost being the darkest.
2)Try yourself in drawing parallel lines with an arbitrary distance from each other in your album. You have to try a lot different ways movements of your pencil, flip the paper, or change the angles of your lines until you find the pose(s) that feel most natural to you. 
Drawing basic types of shading.
For this exercise, take a 2B pencil and you will draw lines far apart and then closer to create 4 different shading options.
3) Draw the first set of hatch lines with a lot of space between them and a small number.
4) Draw the second row a little closer together. The lines in it are closer to each other than in the first case, so the tone value is darker.
5) Draw a third option, where the lines will be closer to each other than in the previous cases. At the same time, the lines become much larger, and the tone itself is darker.
6) Draw the fourth option, where the lines are even closer than in the previous options, they are almost adjacent to each other, but the paper is still visible.
7) Look at the picture, shown here different kinds hatching, for example, curved and straight, and long and short. Try drawing these options in your sketchbook.
Creating a scale.
In this section, you'll learn how to achieve a full range of shadows, varying line density and pressure, while using pencils of varying softness.
8) Let's start practicing and see the differences between pencils. 2H is very light (hard) and 2B is quite dark (soft). In the following exercises you will use three different pencils, to create different shades. 2B pencil is best used for creating dark shades, HB is great for medium shades and 2H is ideal for creating light tones.
9) Take a 2H pencil and draw the first three options, the result is light shading. Take the HB pencil and draw the next two options, take 2B and draw the next remaining two options.
Draw these variations of strokes, when done, try in the opposite direction from dark to light. 
We drew the lines close to each other, while clearly seeing the strokes, now your task will be to draw so close as to create the illusion of a smooth, dark tone (without blending). In the following paragraphs, your goal is to make seven different options smooth shading by drawing lines close to each other.
10) Take pencils 2H and HB, make three light options, as in the picture below.
11) Use 2B, 4B and 6B pencils to draw four dark tones.
12) Draw a scale of ten various options from light to dark.
13) Draw the same another scale of ten different tones, only from dark to light.
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. First part - we draw according to submission. 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 gold rule - light moving away along the shape of the object it darkens, 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, and how to do straight lines and simply pure 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 figures- 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 - 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 as well. 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 you 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 on 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 in one point to 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 angle 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 weakens. 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 lay out a stroke according to the shape, 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.
Note: If you may have noticed by looking at this drawing, you will see that on the more illuminated side of the cone, the wall in the background is darker, and on the other, less illuminated side of the cone, the wall is lighter.
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.
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.
What else is wrong with us, besides execution technique? The light is there, the shadows too, which means everything is in order. But still, let’s take a closer look. Most bright light
we will have on the illuminated side of the ball, on the plane it will not be so active and will weaken with distance from us. The darkest shadow will be falling; at the break of the object plane there will be a little more light, but nevertheless, we will emphasize this area.
Look at the ball's own shadow - I put emphasis on the area of it that will be closer to us, and as it wraps itself in shape, the shadow will lose activity. Remember: a ball is a streamlined shape.
The wall is in partial shade, and in the background, so let it remain there unobtrusively. The only thing is that it will “play” with the volume of the ball.
From the light side the wall will appear somewhat darker, from the shadow side it will appear lighter. Let's please our eyes here too ;)
How to learn to lay out a stroke according to the shape of an object. Hatching
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.
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
If you look at the stroke that is used to complete the work, it is quite unusual, right? It’s better not to resort to such a touch in drawing lessons; don’t scare the teachers, they don’t have the same modern progressive views as you. But in their creative works
You can use this touch, why not? After all, the drawing was made according to all laws.
The space in the sheet is conveyed, the shape of the object is shown, and the basic tonal relationships in our drawing are conveyed. But to this we also added a touch that makes the work interesting and airy. Well, then again, let’s analyze the drawing and analyze:
Let's go over the basic tonal relationships, first through the shadows: the darkest shadow is the falling shadow, followed by the cube's own shadow. The fracture of the object plane takes third place; we highlight it, but do not blacken it, since there is enough light there. And the fourth is the wall, which also receives light; we can say that the wall is in partial shade, but farthest away. See how the penumbra of the wall plays with the shape of the cube: on the side of the illuminated part of the cube the wall is darker, on the side of the shadow it becomes lighter. These gradations may be very small, but they are present.
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 horizontal in front of us and loses light as it goes into space.
We focus on the breaks in shapes. We highlight the closest faces of the cube and the corners; this will help to pull it out of the space in front.
Try to do something of your own, experiment, then the most simple work will be performed 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 your attention, and at these very moments you feel the whole limit of the drawing and get unspeakable pleasure.
Drawing is undoubtedly a great art. Using a pencil or paints, you can represent any object and emphasize its shape, volume and other parameters. Using pencil shading, you can convey the mood of an object, as well as make it as similar as possible. Most important detail in the drawing is a line. It is thanks to her that clear outlines appear on paper. In order to draw the line correctly, you need to take into account some details.
Important points to note
First of all, it's paper. It should be dense, white, and have a rough surface. Special paper for the artist is called whatman paper.
Secondly, the sharpening of the pencil itself plays a role. The graphite rod should protrude from the wooden part by 8-10 mm, and the wooden part itself should be ground down by about 25-30 mm and have no roughness. The rod should be thin and fit easily onto the paper. For sketching, it is more convenient to choose TM or 2M pencils; HB is also suitable. The initial stage of the drawing is completed over hard pencil, then during the work you can switch to a softer one.
Thirdly, you need to choose the right angle of incidence of light. The sheet of paper must be positioned in such a way that the future drawing is illuminated as much as possible, and the shadow from the hand does not fall on the sheet.
Of course, you should remember that you need to sit at the table straight, without bending too low over the drawing. Light classical music will help you immerse yourself in fantasy and the pencil will glide effortlessly across the paper. Although, of course, you can draw in complete silence.
Correct hand position
So, the first strokes of the outline of the object are performed easily and without pressure. A straight line is drawn with small abrupt strokes, indicating the contours. Please note that the pencil is not picked up like a regular ballpoint pen. It should be held differently. The pencil should be taken with two fingers so that the thumb is on top of the pencil, and forefinger under the pencil. Your fingers should only hold the unsharpened part of the pencil. You need to make sure that your hand does not lie completely on the drawing. Only the little finger can touch the paper. With this position of the hands, the drawer will be able to calmly observe his actions, drawing on paper not only even contour lines, but also move forward in a circle.
Long straight lines should be drawn with a wave of the entire hand; it is more convenient to draw lines of medium length by moving only the brush. Smooth short strokes should be drawn only with your fingers on the surface of the sheet.
Depending on the pressure, the lines can be very thin, barely noticeable to the eye, or they can be very saturated. To get a good dark line, you don't have to press down on the pencil with all your might. It is enough to take a softer pencil and slightly increase the pressure.
The pencil itself, as a material, is widely used in graphic representation one thing or another. Graphite, which is what a pencil is mostly made of, has the ability to easily lie on a sheet of paper, sit well there, and not crumble over time.
If the pencil line does not turn out as planned, it can be easily erased with an eraser. The elastic should be quite soft and white.
But it happens that after applying multiple shading, it is almost impossible to wipe out the pencil line - only ugly gray abrasions are formed. In this case, the drawing will be saved from collapse by the bread crumb. After this, the abrasion will no longer be so gray and work can be continued further.
Components of the drawing
In any drawing there are such concepts as light, shadow, highlight, reflex and more. You need to start shading with bright side object, gradually moving into the shadow part.
Hatching is a collection of small thin short lines. It is performed by applying it at different angles. Basically, these are slanted lines. Typically, the edges of the object 
hatched in shape. In this case, the line bends.
The strokes should lie next to each other at a distance of less than a millimeter.
To convey the shadow, you need to apply several layers of shading, increasing the pressure of the pencil. In the part where there is a glare on the object, the shading is wiped off in a circular motion, thereby highlighting the object.
Penumbra is the place of transition from the light part to the dark part. It is performed more carefully, drawing all the invisible distant lines of the object.
The shadow is the darkest area. Multilayer shading is used here, more soft pencil. In the shadows there is a slight reflection from objects nearby. It is called a reflex, and is lighter than the shadow.
Correct shading, as well as compliance with proportions and placement on a plane, makes it possible to see a beautiful, competent drawing that will arouse the admiration of others.
Types of shading.
To create volume and lighting in a drawing, artists use shading. With its help, the tonal elaboration of the sheet is carried out. Below I will talk about eight types of shading that are most often used in classical drawing:
1. Regular single-layer zigzag shading. The pencil moves left and right without leaving the sheet. A zigzag-like stroke is formed.
2. Applying two layers of zigzag stroke. The intersection angle should not be 90 degrees. With such an intersection, an ugly “lattice” is formed. The intersection of strokes should form “diamonds”.
3. Hatching, in which the pencil touches the paper only when a line is drawn. The pencil smoothly descends to the sheet, draws a line, and then smoothly comes off the paper. This type of shading allows you to connect strokes very softly and imperceptibly. The plane of the sheet is filled with strokes evenly, without joints or “seams.”
4. Stroke around the circumference. The pencil movements are the same as in hatching number 3, only in a circle.
5. Hatching, similar to option number 4. But the number of layers here can be arbitrary. The length of the strokes is short, which allows you to delicately “sculpt” complex shapes, for example in a portrait.
6. Intersection of two layers of stroke under acute angle. The stroke is not “zigzag”. After drawing a line, the pencil comes off the paper every time.
7. Hatching, in which the stroke lines intersect at different angles. Both the angle and the number of layers are arbitrary. This touch is well suited for tonal elaboration of complex shaped planes and crumpled draperies.
8. Combined shading at different angles. There is one layer, although during further work you can introduce additional layers. This type of shading is well suited for working out complex, geometrical irregular shapes, for example, rocky texture.
When working on a tonal drawing, you need to remember that the stroke most often should follow the shape of the object. It kind of “fits” the shape. In this case, the tone saturation (the level of “blackness”) can be dialed in two ways: with the force of pressing the pencil and the number of layers of shading. In this case, the stroke should not be “dull”, i.e. the paper should still be slightly visible through the lines of the stroke. Otherwise, the stroke may become somewhat “cluttered,” which makes a bad impression.
Connecting stroke lines into a single whole.
In a drawing, a short stroke is often welcomed, which can be “laid” according to the shape of the depicted object. But how to work, for example, the plane of a wall with short strokes? In this case, the strokes are connected into a block. In the table below, I have given an example of how this can be done:
One more important point in the drawing is a combination of working with a plane and the tip of a pencil. The stroke can be “fluffy”, that is, wide and blurry. Or it can become clear and sharp. Hatching uses each of these approaches, both individually and in combination with each other. The table below shows combinations of sharp and broad strokes:
First way. With a broad stroke you can make the basis of the drawing - the first layer. And on top, in the second layer, use a sharp stroke and detailed work.
Second way. The juxtaposition of wide and sharp strokes creates an interesting texture. If the stroke is made short and multidirectional, then it can work through the mass of foliage in the crown of the tree.
Third way. Soft fabric materials, fur, foliage... are worked out with a wide, soft stroke. It conveys the materiality of such a surface well. A sharp stroke is used to work on objects made of metal, glass, plaster, etc. That is, where clarity and rigidity are needed.
In conclusion, I would like to say that there are different techniques maintaining a tonal pattern, a large number of varieties of shading, different approaches to work. But the key points described in this article are the basis on which work on academic drawing is based.
Alexey Epishin.
You can see how the above is implemented in practice using the example of my work in the section.
When I was doing a task on a bunch of textured spots, I was looking for types of shading with pencil and ink. Maybe it will be useful for someone else.
top left: hatching called lamb. It is performed with circular movements of the hand without lifting it from the paper.
top right: cross hatching.
bottom left: chaotic shading is done without lifting the pencil from the paper. It is created without any standards, just move your hand as it moves itself
bottom right: basket shading. First of all, make a few short strokes at a short distance from each other, then do the same only in the other direction and so on until the end.
What is your favorite type of shading?
bonus:
You can rub the lines with a piece of cotton wool wrapped around a match.
Old masters made special “shadings” from suede or soft leather for these purposes. The suede is cut into a trapezoidal shape, the base dimensions are approximately 10cm. and 6 cm., height 6 cm.. Spread on the smooth side with skin glue, the plane is within the small side of the trapezoid. After this, it is rolled tightly into a roller, starting with big side trapezoid and bandaged. After drying, the pointed ends of the roller are sanded with sandpaper. This “shading” will be enough to work for many years.
Nowadays such shadings are made from paper in the factory.
Exercise 1.
Take a piece of thin paper and, starting from the top, draw straight horizontal lines. Trying to leave a small, equal space between the lines, fill the entire sheet with these lines. Draw quickly, in one long stroke; the slower you draw the line, the more crooked it will be. Most likely, the lines will be very crooked at the top of the sheet and much smoother towards the bottom. It is clear that it is far from ideal, but if you get one or two straight lines on the sheet, this is a good start. Now on the same sheet draw straight lines vertical lines from top to bottom, lines diagonally from right to left and left to right.
Exercise 2.
Using a vertical and horizontal line, divide the sheet into four equal parts. Fill these parts with horizontal, vertical and diagonal (right to left and left to right) lines.
Exercise 3.
Draw a square approximately in the middle of the sheet. Don't try to draw it with four perfect lines, you should draw the sides of the square right through, drawing additional lines until the square turns out to be a square. Write a circle in the square. Move the pencil loosely in a circle, from one point of contact with the side of the square to the other, the more additional lines you draw in search of the correct shape, the better. Shade the circle with diagonal lines from right to left and left to right.
Exercise 4.
Draw a series of small squares, approximately 3x3 centimeters. Try to keep the squares the same size and at the same distance from each other. Below, draw a series of circles of approximately the same size. Alternate rows, trying to get even columns of figures.
You can come up with such exercises yourself and alternate them as you like.
: put two points on a sheet of paper and connect them with one movement with a straight line. Gradually move the points further apart and place them at different angles, but make sure not to rotate the sheet. over time, move to three points, etc. Usually they end with five points to draw the correct star.
Do these exercises daily and also before you start drawing. Your movements will be more confident and professional.
