Grade by Grade
B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Visual Arts: Shading Forms to Show Volume

D1.3 D1.4 D2.2About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can tell the difference between a flat shape and a form.
  • I can shade geometric forms such as cylinders, cones and pyramids so they look three-dimensional.
  • I can use gradation to show a curved surface and flat values to show flat faces.
  • I can explain how shading creates the illusion of volume.

Words to know

shape
A flat, two-dimensional area, like a circle or triangle. It has height and width.
form
A three-dimensional object, like a sphere or cone. It has height, width and depth.
volume
The amount of space a form takes up; in drawing, making something look solid and three-dimensional.
value
How light or dark a colour or tone is.
gradation
A smooth, gradual change from light to dark (or from one colour to another).
highlight
The lightest spot on a form, where light hits it most directly.
core shadow
The darkest part on the form itself, on the side turned away from the light.
light source
Where the light comes from, like the sun, a lamp or a window.

Remember from Grade 5

You shaded with hatching and cross-hatching, made an egg look round with gradation, added cast shadows on the ground, and kept your light source consistent.

In Grade 6 you will use shading to give volume to geometric forms: cylinders, cones and pyramids. Once you can shade these, you can draw almost anything, because most objects are built from them!

Everything is made of forms

Look around your home and neighbourhood:

  • A soup can is a cylinder.
  • An ice cream cone is a cone (with a sphere on top!).
  • An orange traffic pylon is a cone too.
  • A tent can look like a pyramid.
  • A cereal box is a cube-like box (a rectangular prism).

Artists often start a drawing by finding these simple forms, then add details. A tree trunk is a cylinder, a pine tree is close to a cone, and a mountain peak is a bit like a pyramid.

A white cylinder, cone and pyramid lit from one side, each with a shadow on the table.
Notice how each form slowly changes from lighter to darker, and casts a shadow on the table. Shading like this, called gradation, is what makes a flat drawing look solid. AI-generated image

Shape or form?

  • A shape is flat (2-D). A circle, a triangle, a rectangle.
  • A form is solid (3-D). A sphere, a cone, a cylinder, a pyramid, a cube.

On flat paper, shading is what turns a shape into a form. A circle with no shading looks like a coin; a circle with a highlight and a dark side looks like a ball. That illusion of solidness is called volume.

lightcylinderconepyramid
Three shaded forms lit by light from the upper left. The cylinder and the cone are light on the left side and get gradually darker toward the right. The pyramid has a light left face and a dark right face, each an even tone.

Curved forms: use gradation

On a curved surface (cylinder, cone, sphere), the light changes gradually as the surface turns away from the light. So the shading changes gradually too. This smooth change is called gradation.

  • Cylinder: the shading runs in vertical bands, light on the side facing the light, then smoothly darker toward the far side. The top ellipse is usually the lightest part if the light comes from above.
  • Cone: like a cylinder, but all the bands narrow to the point at the top.
  • Sphere: the shading curves around a highlight in rings (you did this with the egg in Grade 5).

Flat faces: use even values

On a form with flat faces (cube, pyramid, box), each face is lit evenly, so each face gets one flat value:

  • the face turned toward the light: light
  • the face turned partly away: medium
  • the face turned fully away: dark

The sharp change in value where two faces meet shows the edge. That's how a pyramid looks pointy and a cube looks boxy!

lightestdarkestvalue scale (steps) and gradation (smooth)
Top: a value scale of seven boxes, from the lightest on the left to the darkest on the right, changing in steps. Bottom: a gradation bar that changes smoothly from light to dark with no steps.

Shading tools and techniques

  • Pencil pressure: press lightly for light values, harder for dark. A soft pencil (2B to 6B) makes darks more easily.
  • Hatching and cross-hatching: more layers of lines = darker. For curved forms, curve your hatching lines around the form.
  • Blending: smooth the pencil with a tissue or a cotton swab for an even gradation.
  • Stippling: dots; closer dots = darker.
  • Erasing highlights: an eraser can "draw" light back in.

Always decide where the light source is before you start, and keep it the same for every form in the picture.

Worked example

Example: Shading a cylinder (a soup can) step by step

The light comes from the left. Let's make a soup can look solid.

  1. Draw the can: a top ellipse, two straight vertical sides, and a curved bottom edge (the bottom is part of an ellipse too).
  2. Find the light: the left side faces the light, so it stays lightest.
  3. Start shading in vertical bands from the right side: darkest near the right edge (the core shadow), then lighter and lighter toward the left.
  4. Blend the bands into a smooth gradation with light pressure or a tissue.
  5. Leave a slightly lighter strip just inside the very right edge: light bouncing off the table (reflected light) makes the edge a little lighter than the core shadow.
  6. Keep the top ellipse light, and add a cast shadow on the table to the right, away from the light.

Gradation in vertical bands, a core shadow, a light top and a cast shadow on the opposite side from the light make the can look like a real cylinder with volume.

Worked example

Example: Explaining shading in an art work

A classmate drew a pyramid, but it looks flat. Their drawing has the same light grey on both faces. Let's explain the problem and fix it.

  1. Describe: both faces have the same value, so we can't see where one face ends and the other begins.
  2. Explain: flat faces turned different ways to the light should have different values.
  3. Fix: decide on a light source (say, the upper left). Make the left face light and the right face dark, each with an even tone.
  4. Result: the strong value change at the middle edge makes the pyramid look pointed and solid.
  5. Explain it in art words: "I used contrasting values on the two faces to create the illusion of volume."

Different values on different faces show the edges of a form with flat sides.

Just for fun

Why are cones such good storytellers?

They always get to the point! 🍦

Hands-on activity

Build it, light it, draw it

You need: paper (some to build with), tape, scissors (a grown-up helps), a cardboard tube or a can, a flashlight or a lamp, a soft pencil (2B or darker if you have one), an eraser and a tissue.

  1. Build forms: roll paper into a cone and tape it. Use a cardboard tube or a can as a cylinder. Fold paper into a pyramid (or use a small box for a cube).
  2. Light them: in a dim room, shine the flashlight from one side (keep it pointing at the objects, not at anyone's eyes). Notice the gradation on the curved forms and the flat values on the flat faces.
  3. Value scale: draw a 7-step value scale and a smooth gradation bar like the diagram.
  4. Draw your three forms from observation. Shade each one with the light coming from the same side. Add cast shadows on the side away from the light.
  5. Hunt for forms: draw one object from your home (a lamp, a bottle, a toy) by first finding its simple forms, then shading it.
  6. Explain it: write how you used gradation and values to show volume.

Your turn

1

What is the difference between a shape and a form?

2

Name the form of each: a soup can, a traffic pylon, a tent.

3

What is gradation?

4

Why do curved forms need gradation but flat-faced forms don't?

5

Light comes from the right. Which side of a cylinder is darkest?

6

What is a highlight?

7

Name two ways to make a darker value with a pencil.

More practice: warm-up

1

Is a circle a shape or a form?

2

Is a sphere a shape or a form?

3

What do we call where the light comes from?

4

True or false: The cast shadow falls on the same side as the light.

5

Name one object in your home that is a cylinder.

More practice: on your own

1

Describe how to shade a cone with the light coming from the left.

2

A cube is lit from the upper left. Its top face, left face and right face are visible. Which is lightest, which is medium and which is darkest?

3

Why should you choose a light source before you start shading?

4

Break down a pine tree and a snowman into simple forms.

5

How does a 7-step value scale help you shade?

Challenge

1

Explain why the very edge of a shaded cylinder is often a little lighter than the core shadow next to it.

2

Plan a still life of three objects from your kitchen that uses a cylinder, a cone or pyramid, and a sphere. Describe how you'll shade each and keep it consistent.

3

An artist draws a mountain range at sunset. How could she use flat values and gradation to show the mountains' forms and the time of day?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is a form?

2.

Gradation means ___.

3.

Each flat face of a pyramid should usually be shaded ___.

4.

Light comes from the left. The core shadow on a cylinder is on the ___.

5.

A highlight is ___.

6.

A traffic pylon is closest to which form?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: For Grade 6, the curriculum's focus for value is shading that suggests volume and gradation, and for shape and form it includes geometric (e.g., conical, pyramidal) shapes and forms. Students use these elements to communicate (D1.3), choose tools and techniques to solve design challenges (D1.4) and explain how elements create meaning (D2.2).

How to help:

  • Shine a lamp on a can and an orange and talk about where the light, middle and dark values are.
  • Play "find the forms": what simple forms make up a car, a lamp, a dog?
  • A soft drawing pencil (2B to 6B) and a blending tissue make shading much easier.

Safety: help with scissors; don't point flashlights at anyone's eyes; keep hands away from hot lamp bulbs.

Common difficulties:

  • Shading everything the same grey. Make a value scale first and use the whole range.
  • Stripy gradation. Use lighter pressure and more layers, or blend.
  • Light from different directions. Draw a small sun in the corner as a reminder.