Light and Shadows

In our anatomical drawing class we recently had an entire class devoted to light and shadow. We learned about core shadows, form shadows, cast shadows, ambient light, reflected light, and reflected cast shadows. We worked on highlights, dark lights and half-tones, and how all these different types of light and shade play out when rendering an object in a drawing. Because we are drawing the human body, week after week, we have now moved from simply drawing the shape of the body, to adding light and shadow. It is thrilling to see how the drawings jump to life once the shading is added, how they suddenly have depth and weight and roundness that they did not previously have. I've been procrastinating all week with our homework, which was to draw three eggs, paying particular attention to light and shadow. Since so many parts of the human body are egg-shaped, this is very good practice. Here's how I spent the evening.