Shading Drills
Like a musician practices, so should the artist. If you want to become proficient at your art, then you must pay for proficiency with hard work. Do your work.
Assignments for Shading Drills
Practice shading drills in your drawing notebook often. Practice daily if possible. Practice with both ink and pencil. Use a fine point ink pen or a pen with a fine nib. Below are several examples of what I want you to do. In your drawing book, draw a small square that is approximately an inch square in your notebook. Draw several of the squares in your notebooks and practice as described below.
 Ink: In a small square that you have drawn on your paper, try to evenly cover the square with ink. Use a fine point. Evenness of tone is what you are aiming for. From: The Elements of Drawing, By John Ruskin |
A Shading Scale see also Shading Scale Exercise Example
Draw a long thin rectangle on your paper. With a pen/ink or
with a pencil, draw in the rectangle minuscule strokes shading
from dark to light. |
Example
of creating a tone with lines.  Ink: Practice drawing lines evenly to achieve an even tone. |
|
Two examples of shading with lines.   Ink: In a small square that you have drawn on your paper, try to shade from dark to light by drawing lines. |
|
Examples
of Cross Hatching   Ink: Practice cross hatching lines to achieve shading. |
|
Example
of contours created with lines You can imply contours by drawing lines as shown in the image above. Ink: Draw a cylinder on your paper. Imply its curvature by drawing curved lines. Practice this on other shapes. Draw an outline of a tree on your paper and draw lines to contour the tree. |
|
 Pen or Pencil Shading Practice |
See also: Scale Chart I or II for examples and instructions |
Application: Illustration
