Drawing Simplified, Part II: Shadows and Form

One of the basic foundations of a good drawing or painting, besides rendering the proper shape, is good form. Form turns a two-dimensional object into a three-dimensional object, and gives interest to a picture. All objects have form, some more subtle than others, depending on the light source. Shadows provide form to objects and are denoted in values. The number of values (the dark and lightness) to a form depends on the light source, how close it is and how strong it is.

Shadows

Shadows provide dimension to an object. The shadow shape is the most discernable shape of value of an object. It is opposite the light source and reveals both the form (a solid shape with volume) and plane (a flattened area of a form) of an object.

Shadow Edges

Depending on the object, the edges of a shadow can be either sharp or soft. Observing an angular or planed object, as one plane meets another and turns away from the light, the shadow edges are sharp. For a curved object, the shadow edge is soft with a gradual shift in tone.

Distance also plays a part in the edges of a shadow. If the light source is close to the object, the cast shadow is softer on the edges. As you pull the light away from an object, the cast shadow is longer and has sharper edges.

Watery Reflections

Reflections give dimension to a picture, add color and depth, and suggest a mood. A reflection is not a mirror image of the object, though it may seem that way. When you paint a reflection, you are painting a distorted version of the reflector and its environment.

There are a few things to keep in mind when painting reflections. It’s important to determine the perspective of the reflectors, and your distance from them will determine the size and shape of the reflections. The type of surface of the reflector is also important. Is the reflected surface rough or smooth? A rougher surface gives a rougher, more distorted reflection, while a smooth surface’s reflection can be very clear.

Reflections are commonly found in water ways of all types because of the very nature of water. They also originate in inert objects like mirrors and shiny objects, like metals, and transparent objects like glass. The following are some considerations when painting subjects in water, such as buildings, the sun and the surrounding scenery and sky.

Reflections and Color

• Dark colors in dry land become lighter when reflected in the water
• Light colors on dry land become darker when reflected in the water.
• The colors of the sky appear slightly darker on the surface of the water

Distance

The distance of the viewer to the water affects how clearly the image of the earth and sky are reflected.

• When painting objects next to the water, the shadow cast by these objects usually makes it easier to view down below the surface, as the object blocks the reflection of the sky.
• When standing close to calm water, the viewer will see only a weak reflection. Farther away, water will reflect details, acting nearly like a mirror.
• When observing dirty water from a close distance you will be able to see the overall color of the water itself.

Shapes & Angles Reflected in the Water

Reflected images should not be rendered exactly as a mirrored object. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• The reflected scene in the water is the actual object reflected from two different angles.
• The reflected image in the water bounces off the surface of the water.
• What you actually see is the reflected scene below the surface from an angle for as far as your eyes can see.
• You are actually seeing more below the reflected objects and even reflection of objects that you cannot see at all when you look directly at them.

Painting Ripples

Ripples combine the reflected colors from light and dark areas.

• Use quick, energetic brushwork with side to side strokes of a thin brush.
• Drag paint from dark reflected objects quickly into the light areas, clean the brush, then drag the paint from the light areas back into the dark.

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. “   

-         Charles Dickens

Aerial Perspective

Aerial Perspective is the change in appearance on items brought on by atmospheric conditions and its effect on color distinction, contrast, value, and hue. The atmosphere is made up of varying densities of gases composed of water particles that are perpetually suspended, similar to a mist. These gases act like slices of films rather than a solid body that collect in layers between our eyes and the distant horizon. The more slices of films between us and the horizon, the more it will affect the hue, contrast, and strength of the items in the distance.  It is said that all colors become cooler as they recede from the eye, except white.  Cooler means that colors take on more blue as the distance increases.
For blue to increase, some colors must decrease. The first hue to decrease is yellow. Yellow alone and in mixtures such as brown, green, and orange, decreases as the distance increase, while violets and blues increase in intensity. For very long distances, such as those found in the mountains and large open spaces of the western United States, after the loss of yellow, reds will then also decrease and blues will finally prevail. Along with the change of hues, all things will become lighter in value as they recede from the eye.  
What this means to an artist is that care should be taken to paint the nearer scenery darkest and most powerful in color and have more yellow and red, while items near the horizon should be painted in lighter values, and contain more blue, and less yellow, and desaturated reds. Edges should be softer, contrasts less distinctive. Whites, the exception, get warmer and darker as they recede.

This is my painting of Camden, Maine, from the park overlooking the harbor. The nearest trees were bright with autumn colors, but as the landscape recedes, the colors become lighter and the yellows start to disappear. The far horizon colors are purples and blues, devoid of all yellow.