A. Creating and Presenting · Creating Art: The Creative Process, Design and Studio Techniques

Elements of Design: Value, Form and Shading Techniques

A2.1 A3.1 C1.1 C1.2 C2.1About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can make an even nine-step value scale.
I can explain the difference between shape and form.
I can use light logic (highlight, core shadow, reflected light, cast shadow) to make a form look three-dimensional.
I can choose among hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, scumbling and blending, and use value contrast to express mood.

Words to know

value
How light or dark a colour or tone is.

value scale
A strip of evenly stepped values from white to black.

form
A three-dimensional object with height, width and depth (a sphere, a cube), or the illusion of one on a flat surface.

chiaroscuro
Italian for "light-dark": using strong contrasts of light and shadow to model forms and create drama.

highlight
The brightest area on a form, where the light hits most directly.

core shadow
The darkest band on the form itself, where the surface turns away from the light.

reflected light
Light that bounces off a nearby surface back onto the shadow side of a form.

cast shadow
The shadow a form throws onto another surface, on the side away from the light.

stippling
Building value with many small dots; closer dots look darker.

scumbling
Building value with small overlapping circles or scribbles.

Remember from Grade 8

In Grade 8 you used hatching and cross-hatching, learned the parts of light on a form (highlight, core shadow, reflected light, cast shadow) and studied visual weight. Grade 9 makes this systematic: you will build an accurate value scale, shade the four basic forms, and choose value contrast on purpose to set a mood.

Why value matters most

Take a colour photo and turn it black and white. You can still tell exactly what everything is. That is because value (light and dark), not colour, tells our eyes about form, depth and light. Many artists say: "Colour gets the credit, but value does the work."

The value scale

A value scale is a strip of boxes that steps evenly from white to black. Artists often use 9 steps, with middle grey at step 5. Making one trains your hand to control pressure and layering.

High-key art uses mostly light values (1 to 4). It often feels airy, soft or cheerful, like a snowy morning.
Low-key art uses mostly dark values (6 to 9). It often feels mysterious, serious or dramatic, like a street at night.
High contrast puts very light values next to very dark ones. It grabs attention.
Low contrast keeps values close together. It feels quiet or foggy.

A nine-step value scale from white (1) to black (9), with middle grey at 5. Each step should look evenly darker than the one before. A drawing built mostly from light values is high-key; one built mostly from dark values is low-key.

Shape versus form

A shape is flat (2-D): a circle. A form is three-dimensional (3-D): a sphere. On paper, you turn a shape into the illusion of form with value. Almost everything can be simplified into four basic forms: the sphere (an apple, a head), the cube (a house, a book), the cylinder (a tree trunk, an arm, a mug) and the cone (a party hat, a spruce tree). If you can shade these four, you can shade almost anything.

Light logic

When light shines on a form, it creates a predictable pattern. Pick one light source and stick to it.

Light logic on a sphere lit from the upper left. The highlight faces the light; the core shadow is a dark band where the form turns away; reflected light bounces back from the table onto the shadow side; the cast shadow falls away from the light, darkest right under the form (the occlusion shadow).

Light on the four basic forms

Sphere: values change gradually in curved bands around the highlight.
Cube: each flat face has one even value; the face toward the light is lightest, the face away is darkest. Edges are sharp changes in value.
Cylinder: values change in vertical bands along its length: light, core shadow, reflected light.
Cone: like a cylinder, but the bands narrow to the tip.

Chiaroscuro is the Italian name for strong light-dark modelling. The Italian painter Caravaggio became famous for figures lit by a strong light against very dark backgrounds.

Six ways to build value with a pencil or pen. In five swatches the marks get denser toward the left, which reads as a darker tone on paper: lines or dots sit closer together, more layers are added, or (in blending) more graphite is pressed in and smoothed. Contour hatching shows hatch lines curving to follow a form.

Choosing a shading technique

Hatching and cross-hatching: crisp and graphic; good for pen and ink, where you cannot make grey any other way.
Contour hatching: hatch lines curve to follow the form, so they show both value and shape.
Stippling: slow but very controlled; gives a soft, fine texture.
Scumbling: small circles; good for rough textures like wool, foliage or skin texture.
Blending: smooth gradations with pencil, charcoal or pastel, softened with a paper stump, tissue or a finger (wash hands after).

Whatever technique you choose, keep it consistent within one drawing unless you are contrasting textures on purpose.

Worked example

Let's shade a cylinder step by step

Shade a drawing of a soup can lit from the left, standing on a table.

Draw the form lightly: an ellipse on top, two vertical sides, a curved bottom edge that matches the top ellipse.
Find the light: the light comes from the left, so the left third of the can is lightest, and the cast shadow falls to the right on the table.
Map the bands: lightly mark vertical bands: highlight (left of centre), light side, core shadow (about three-quarters across), and a thin strip of reflected light at the right edge.
Build value in layers: hatch the whole shadow side lightly first, then add layers to the core shadow. Keep the highlight as clean paper.
Top ellipse: the top faces up, so it is lit evenly and stays fairly light.
Cast shadow: shade it on the table to the right, darkest where the can touches the table (occlusion shadow), lighter and softer as it moves away.
Check with a squint: squinting simplifies values. If the can looks flat, darken the core shadow and protect the highlight.

A believable cylinder has vertical value bands with the core shadow just before the right edge, a lighter strip of reflected light, a light top, and a cast shadow to the right that is darkest at the base.

Squint!

Squinting blurs details and shows you the big value pattern. Professional artists squint at their subjects and their drawings constantly. Also step back from your work every 10 minutes: values that look right up close often look too light from across the room.

Just for fun

Why did the pencil refuse to shade the whole page?

It wanted to keep a few highlights for itself.

Hands-on activity

Value and form studio

You need: sketchbook or cartridge paper, pencils (HB and 2B, plus 4B or 6B if you have them), a ruler, an eraser (a kneaded eraser if you have one), a tissue or cotton swab, a desk lamp, a white mug and an orange or apple.

Value scale: rule a strip of 9 boxes, each 2 cm × 2 cm. Leave box 1 white. Make box 9 as dark as possible. Fill box 5 as middle grey, then fill the rest so each step is even. Make a second scale using hatching only.
Four techniques: draw four 4 cm squares and fill each with a gradation (dark to light) using hatching, cross-hatching, stippling and blending.
Set up a still life: put the mug and the fruit on a white sheet of paper. Turn off other lights and shine the lamp from one side.
Observe and label: make a quick sketch and label the highlight, core shadow, reflected light and cast shadow on each object.
Final study (25 min): draw the still life and shade it with one technique. Aim for at least 5 different values.

Safety: desk lamps get hot: keep paper and hands away from the bulb, and use an LED bulb if possible. Wash hands after blending with fingers.

Your turn

What value number is middle grey on a 9-step scale?

Explain the difference between shape and form, with an example of each.

On a sphere lit from the upper right, where is the cast shadow?

Why is reflected light never as bright as the highlight?

Which shading technique would suit a pen-and-ink drawing of a wool sweater? Why?

A drawing has values only from 1 to 4. Is it high-key or low-key, and what mood might it have?

Describe how a cube's faces are shaded differently from a sphere.

More practice: warm-up

What is value?

Name the four basic forms.

What is stippling?

Where is the highlight on a form?

What does chiaroscuro mean?

More practice: on your own

Nadia's drawing of an apple looks flat. Her values go from 2 to 5 only. Give two fixes.

Explain why you should pick one light source before shading.

A low-key drawing of a campfire scene: where would you put the highest contrast and why?

How would you shade a cone lit from the left?

Why might an artist use contour hatching instead of straight hatching on a drawing of an arm?

Challenge

Plan two versions of the same street at night: one high contrast, one low contrast. Describe the values and the mood of each.

Explain why the occlusion shadow (where a form touches the table) is the darkest part of a cast shadow.

Using a cube lit from the front-left, assign values (1 to 9) to the top face, front face, right side face and cast shadow, and justify each.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which term means "how light or dark a tone is"?

A sphere is lit from the left. Where is its cast shadow?

Which part of a lit form is darkest?

A drawing using mostly dark values is called...

Which technique builds value with many small dots?

Which is a form, not a shape?

For parents and teachers

Good shading takes patience and pressure control. Common difficulties: using too few values (everything is mid-grey), shading with no consistent light source, and smudging the whole drawing. Help by setting up one lamp on a still life and asking "Where is the light coming from?" A 9-step value scale is a standard high-school exercise; uneven steps are normal at first. Remind your teen to protect highlights (do not shade over them) and to step back often. Supervise lamp use (hot bulbs) and have hands washed after blending.