【Silver】 Complete beginner's painting strategy STEP1　

In this issue, I've compiled some basic knowledge about light and shadow and their characteristics!

I'll explain it in all 5 STEPs so that beginners can fully master the painting process, so stay tuned!

Knowledge of light and shadow to learn for now

Highlight (active)

Where it is illuminated (passive highlight)

The darkest part of a material

Reflected light

Falling shadows (main and projected)

If you can understand the above, it will help you a lot in applying colors.

The darkest part of the shadow near the substance is called the main shadow, and the rest is called the projection. We recommend that you actually check this with something familiar to you. If you can notice the details, you can improve your painting ability!

Matching light and shadow to form

This is a difficult part of depicting shadows on spheres... and is often said to be the most difficult part.

The sphere on the right appears to have a protrusion.

If the shape of the shadow is slightly off from the shape of the sphere, it will look strange, but in fact, if you put it the other way around, as long as the shape is correct, it can be made to look like it.

The point where the light and dark areas switch is called the light/dark boundary line, and the trick is to make the light/dark boundary line draw a beautiful arc.

I recommend drawing a ridge line on the sphere to make it easier to capture a three-dimensional effect!

Decide the position of the light source

It is a well-known fact that the position of light changes the way shadows are cast, but it is difficult to determine the position of the light source when you actually try to draw a picture. However, there is no need to think too hard, so let's take it easy!

The light on the right is shining from directly above, so the top surface is bright and other surfaces are dark.

The light on the left shines from above at an angle, so the upper surface facing the light source is the brightest, the surface behind the light source is darker, and the surface on the left, which is slightly illuminated, is a little brighter, though not as much as the upper surface.

The shape of the falling shadow is easier to understand if you understand perspective.

This is important knowledge for painters because the position of the light source will determine the overall atmosphere and situation of the painting. I suggest using the light function on your phone to actually try it out!

How light looks like for each substance

In this case, I have prepared blocks of wood, rock, metal, and soil, starting from the top left. It's tricky because color increases the difficulty a bit...

However, the ability to capture the lightness of light and shadow from colored objects is very useful, and I recommend that you work on it!

(The four blocks have roughly the same light source intensity and orientation)

Features of wood block

Edge areas are bright

Brightness of the underside of the dark area (reflected light)

High brightness on the top surface

Less glossy

Features of rock block

Edge areas are bright

・Brightness of the lower part of the dark area (reflected light)

The upper surface is bright.

The deeper the fissure, the darker it is.

Features of Metal Blocks

Edges are brighter than other blocks

Reflected light on all surfaces.

There is not much difference in brightness between surfaces.

Soil block features

Bright edges

The border between light and dark is gentle.

High brightness on the top surface

I could see the same or unusual characteristics depending on the type of substance.

As a side note, all of these blocks were created using only clipstudio's default pen, the G-pen (I used spray paint only for the metal highlights).  You can draw them differently just by using the touch of the pen, so please do your own research and see how you can make your brushwork look more realistic!

If you pay attention to the shape of the silhouette, it will look even more realistic!

When hue and saturation are lost

It is difficult to capture the lightness and darkness from something with color...! If you find it difficult to capture the light and dark from colored objects, I recommend you to try to eliminate hue and saturation by processing them with a smartphone app! Compare it with a colorful object and train your ability to capture the light!

So today's article is summarized as follows

Match light and shadow to form

The difference between light and shadow in matter.

Stay tuned for future posts~!