LinkedIn Learning: Drawing Light & Shadows

1h52m * Intermediate * Course

This is definitely an area I could improve in and I’m excited to place more attention on the depth that can be construed through lighting and shadows. Recently I’ve found the majority of my drawings appear quite flat, reflectively I can acknowledge that the cause is my lack of confidence. As it causes me to be wary of starting a drawing by adding harsh lines I can’t later remove or hide within a scene. My hope is that this course will teach me some useful techniques in achieving bolder contrasts and an overall balance to the gradient.

Included within my previous module the Short Film Project we were asked to study different lighting techniques and demonstrate lighting changes in our work. Even though my animation was 2d I still feel as though this is an area I could really improve. So I intend to review my visuals from this project specifically the drawings that contributed to lighting changes and by the end of this course I hope to recreate these lighting scenes to a higher standard, by exploring both their composition and lighting logic.

In this course Will Kemp demonstrates how artists such as Caravaggio and da Vinci utilised light and shadows to make their work more realistic, drawing focus to certain highlighted areas as well as painting a mood.

“If a line drawing creates proportions, then the handling of the tone constructs the form.” Light logic accurately depicts where the lighting is coming from and its intensity. Application of light logic to your work may seem simple but it makes a massive difference. Light logic can be used as a breakdown to the principle of lighting a subject, and how the subject is viewed. Whether that's through hard or soft light or a single or multiple light sources. I chose to use a single hard light, to get the most out of the contrasts achieved.

Caravaggio portrays great historical examples of strong compositions of light and shadow. Whilst I have studied Caravaggio previously in college I never noticed how he utilised the lighting to draw the viewer's attention into a specific direction. I found this concept interesting and wondered at the possibilities of accomplishing something similar within my storyboards and sets.

The overall sketchy aesthetic of Will Kemps own work really helped in reassuring me it was okay to sketch loosely and place all my focus on the tonal values, changes of light and dark as well as the composition.