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I love my copics. I am can straight coloring and outlining with no problem. But I have the hardest time when it come, to shading. I can't figure out which side the light hits and doesn't hit to get the right shading position.
Picture a light shining on the object. The parts closer to the light will be highlighted and the parts further away will be darker. Take, for example, a ball. If the light was shining directly toward it, the center of the ball would be highlighted and the outside of the circle shaded.
I'm sure there are lots of videos on Youtube explaining this better than me.
__________________ Debbie "Make it work, people." - Tim Gunn My Gallery
I am loving some of the newer stamps because they stamp shading and I just make those areas darker! I have the same trouble as you if there is no shading already on the stamp.
Sometimes looking at a photo online will help too, or an actual object if you happen to have one around. To be really honest, and I'll probably get in trouble for saying this... the whole 'light source' thing is a little overrated. Not too many of us are coloring images that would be flooded with intense light from one particular angle. The tutorial above kind of assumes that you are the light source, or there's a general soft light slightly above the object.
Sometimes looking at a photo online will help too, or an actual object if you happen to have one around. To be really honest, and I'll probably get in trouble for saying this... the whole 'light source' thing is a little overrated. Not too many of us are coloring images that would be flooded with intense light from one particular angle. The tutorial above kind of assumes that you are the light source, or there's a general soft light slightly above the object.
I love my copics. I am can straight coloring and outlining with no problem. But I have the hardest time when it come, to shading. I can't figure out which side the light hits and doesn't hit to get the right shading position.
Google images is your friend if you get really bothered by this. Just Google the sort of thing you're colouring (a rose, a dog, whatever) and hit the "images" tab at the top. Choose an image with the same orientation as your stamp and use it to see where highlights and shadows fall.
I'm with Dina though - don't get too hung up on it! For the vast majority of images we use, a bit of basic shading is plenty to bring an image to life without worrying too much exactly where the light source is meant to be and exactly what size/shape/density of shadow that would cast!
I just remembered that Marianne Walker has a good guide on shading/blending for a round object on the I Like Markers blog. She does several examples and also one with a cast shadow to show the effect that has for making something look 3D (so it looks like a ball rather than a button in her examples). It's here.
To get your head round it even further just imagine mirror imaging her examples (e.g. so the light's coming from the right on her ball with the cast shadow) or even print it out choosing "mirror image" on your printer options.
Thank you Ruthie for posting this question. And Dini and Joanne for your suggestions. I too have trouble figuring out how it should be.... thankfully my friends and people I send cards to appreciate them anyway. But, going to continue to work on doing better. Interesting how some have an eye for "seeing" the shaded and highlighted areas and some, like myself, don't.
And Dini, following the watercolor thread too. Went to your blog and discovered your wonderful tutorials. The one on blending with colored pencils was very helpful. (As well as the link you provided in this thread). Appreciate you giving specific suggestions as to areas that should be shaded as well as areas to be highlighted. I think I understand the shading/highlighting as well as the blending techniques better. Now, to put it into practice....
Amazing artists here at SCS who are so generous to share their talents. THANKS!
Google images is your friend if you get really bothered by this. Just Google the sort of thing you're colouring (a rose, a dog, whatever) and hit the "images" tab at the top. Choose an image with the same orientation as your stamp and use it to see where highlights and shadows fall.
I'm with Dina though - don't get too hung up on it! For the vast majority of images we use, a bit of basic shading is plenty to bring an image to life without worrying too much exactly where the light source is meant to be and exactly what size/shape/density of shadow that would cast!
Good advice to not get too hung up on it! We are always our own worst critics, and I want all of us to stop that!
I have a good friend who is not at all crafty or artistic, and I send her cards all the time. She always loves them, and emails or phones to say thank you.
One day we met for lunch, and she happened to have a card in her purse she had just received from me. We were looking at it, and I was talking about how I made the card.
She was aghast when I talked about coloring the image. Her words: "You COLORED that? I had no idea - I thought the stamps you used came already colored."
I haven't worried about my coloring skills since that day.:mrgreen:
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
She was aghast when I talked about coloring the image. Her words: "You COLORED that? I had no idea - I thought the stamps you used came already colored."
I haven't worried about my coloring skills since that day.:mrgreen:
I bet that made you smile at the "illogic" of a non-crafty brain
I bet that made you smile at the "illogic" of a non-crafty brain
It is probably hard for most of you long-time crafters to remember what you didn't know before you started crafting. But I haven't been at it that long, only a few years. I have the elaborate stamped acetate card my SIL included in the big box of SU goodies she and my sister sent me as a gift to get me started. I remember looking at it and having no clue as to what I was looking at, other than at a very pretty card. But I was rearranging my bulletin board recently and pulled it down and realized I now knew not only exactly how she made it, I also knew the names of all the stamps and punches she used.
So, yes, people who don't do this really don't know what it is we do. I remember when I didn't.
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
It is probably hard for most of you long-time crafters to remember what you didn't know before you started crafting...
I think the beauty is that we don't have to stop learning - there's always something new to do with supplies we have, even if we don't buy new ones! So there's always plenty I don't know, no matter how long I've been doing this (and just in case that's ambiguous - I see that as a good thing!). I think what Bugga's friend ultimately showed is that curiosity is a good thing and asking "how did she do that?" or "what happened there?" etc when you see something new is what sets apart the crafty (or practical) brain from the non-crafty. Try to keep assumptions to a minimum and you're much more likely to learn new stuff - that's my philosophy in most things
Joanne, I completely agree! :-)! I hope my post didn't sound judgmental, because I meant it to be about a kind of humorous realization - my journey from looking at something and thinking it was beautiful but knowing utterly nothing about how it got that way to suddenly being able to deconstruct it entirely. It was a funny and also wonderful moment for me, as I understood that this would continue to happen as I continued to craft - that things that seemed totally confusing or impossible at this moment (like Ruthie and her shading - and Ruthie I am in the same boat as you, shading well still gives me fits) were doubtless going to become crystal clear to me at some point if I just kept on creating and practicing my craft with a sense of "curiosity" (such a great word to use).
__________________ I have come to the conclusion that buying craft supplies and actually using them are two separate hobbies. RachelRose Designs by Robin... GALLERY
Joanne, I completely agree! :-)! I hope my post didn't sound judgmental...
Oooh no, it didn't sound judgemental at all - sorry if my reply made it sound as if I thought it did. I was just expanding on my original (and rather hurried/brief) response in the light of yours.
In this age of "instant gratification" it's really nice to see you say something like "...if I just kept on creating and practicing my craft". So many people seem to give up on things if they're not instantly brilliant at it (and let's face it, in most things in life, our chances of being instantly brilliant are pretty much non existent!) rather than relaxing and having fun just doing something and accepting they'll most likely get better at it over time.
I just remembered that Marianne Walker has a good guide on shading/blending for a round object on the I Like Markers blog. She does several examples and also one with a cast shadow to show the effect that has for making something look 3D (so it looks like a ball rather than a button in her examples). It's here.
To get your head round it even further just imagine mirror imaging her examples (e.g. so the light's coming from the right on her ball with the cast shadow) or even print it out choosing "mirror image" on your printer options.
I bought Marianne's book on shadows and shading, which has been very helpful!! In fact, it has caused me to be more mindful in the real world as I look at everything. I found that to be true when I first got in to coloring with Copics and shading, I looked at flowers and leaves and folds so differently. Funny how we never stop learning and growing, observing and taking in so much, applying it to our craft!
I love to color but hate to shade / blend. It's just not something I want to learn so far. I am in plenty of awe and respect for those who do it, though. xoxo
I love to color but hate to shade / blend. It's just not something I want to learn so far. I am in plenty of awe and respect for those who do it, though. xoxo
I'm with you, I do some very basic shading, but I'm trying really hard to not get hung up on it. I found I passed up on many of my favorite stamps because I needed to color them and that's when it hit me. I am doing this for enjoyment, because I love working with the products, I want to preserve family memories and make others smile with my cards. None of that requires I be Van Gogh.
I'm pretty sure that the kiddo cards I send to OWH are treasured by the little ones b/c of the connection between them or Mom/Dad. They never look at them and critique my coloring!
I came across something that I find hugely helpful on this when looking at someone's blog. At first I thought it was something you could buy but never could find it and then decided the person must have just made it.
Take a piece of heavy acetate in A2 size.
Draw a circle on it...say...2 inches at one end.
Draw straight lines from one side down to the edge of the acetate. Keep drawing lines every...1/4-1/2 inch till you reach the other side of the circle. Maybe use a fine tip sharpie marker.
This now acts like a "sun" or "light source" for your card! You can angle it anyway you want to the object to be shaded. The line will tell you where the "light" should be hitting/your image brightest. Because it is clear you will see right through to the image. I say heavy acetate just for durability over time but you could use light weight.
You can play with this and make multiples with different sized light sources depending on the scale you want to use. A big sun or a small moon or whatever. I am guessing at the 2 inches b/c like I said it was something I saw in passing on blog. You could do it with a 4 inch circle and just move closer to the image too. Very flexible idea.
If you want to be able to put it in the middle of a card, you could draw more lines going up the sides so you have a full fan of rays. (ie a beach scene)
I just find it helpful b/c I am very visual so it makes it really obvious for me and sometimes points out places I might not have thought of.
The thing with copics is that that is a higher level of shading than just from your light source to me. Highlights in hair and so on. So I might start with just getting in some dark areas first.
Before I became a cardmaker, I started my art journey as a Decorative Painter (called Tole Painting in the USA and used to be called Folk Art in Australia - now called Decorative Painting) and took lessons for about 10 years. Now I am certainly not an expert but I still often refer to my decorative painting books to help me with colouring/shading/highlighting. My lessons plus my (many) books taught me about light source. I would definitely recommend getting one or two tole painting books out of your local library to help. There are plenty of beginner ones that are fantastic and will help you not feel so overwhelmed because they start off with simple shading and highlighting and de-mystify what "light source" means. I just finished a card 2 days ago that had strawberries as part of the image and I used my tole painting fruit book as a guide to help me colour them. Don't be scared - it just takes practice - and I still have images that I colour that I am not happy with (don't we all?!).
No matter where your light is coming from (unless it's from underneath) don't forget to shade areas that are below others. For instance, the neck under the chin, legs or socks from under a skirt or pants, wrists or arms below sleeves, anywhere one thing overlaps another. And the lowest parts of something are usually shaded.
I have a book with acetate guides with lines on them. The simplest is just parallel straight lines. So you could make this yourself. Lay it over the image with the lines coming from your light source at the angle you choose. The places where the light hit first are lightest and the opposite end of the line is darkest. Anything that interrupts a line's path casts a shadow on the area below it. So a basket of flowers in a character's hand, for instance, will interrupt the line/light casting a shadow on the character below/behind it.
I usually place my light to the right or facing the characters face. Whichever makes more sense. Check out Kristina Werner's videos if you want some help with basic shading. She almost always places the light front and center which makes it easy for almost every image. Side lighting is more popular because it allows for more contrast which is visually pleasing but it is more complex.
__________________ RebeccaEdnie Mixed Media Artist, Paper Crafter, Jewelry Designer SCSDirtyDozenAlumni Www.Boxofchocolatescrafts.Com YouNeverKnowWhatI’mGoingtoMake
Ruthie- You're not alone. We've all had trouble with this. You can do it, I promise.
Funny-- I just started a series on my blog last night on the use of color, and I think some of what I have may help you. I try to give a few simple directions that are easy to understand. For example, with your shading, remember that the outside areas or any image are the darkest. Same for creases, or wherever one object rests on another. The highlights on part of an image are normally at or near the center.....
I've got more on my blog if you are interested. I'm happy to try to help if you have questions Crafty Card Cafe
Ruthie-I totally have the same problem. My brain understands the concept but my eye/hand/brain don't seem to make the connection. I have made the acetate thing and it did help a little. Kim thanks for sharing your blog. Off to check it out now.
Thanks
Kathy t
I have the hardest time with shading an image
