Arranging light and dark planes in your artwork is vital. Through indicating the right values in our artwork we express beauty in a special way. I have a FREE Cheat Sheet to help you develop different types of shading. Indicating the right dark, middle tone, and light areas, sho
w the viewer important information. Your shading is your personal expression.
An amazing way to express your personal style
Shading or hatching is an amazing way to express your personal style. Rembrandt’s portrait shows beautiful hatching strokes in different directions and with beautiful curves. He also used his shading to create different shades in his portrait. It is his unique way to express the tonal value ladder through his drawing. At the left, you see the original, at the right a copy. Rembrandt’s hatching style shows a clear texture.
Texture through hatching
Hatching or shading can be used to provide unique textures in your drawings. See the above example. Depending on your goals you can create your own look and feel for your drawings. The more refined ways of hatching/shading naturally take more time to perform and some practice to find out your personal preferences. I have a free download for you to execute a few different styles. Just download and print the handout and give it a try.