Shading and highlighting are very effective tools for making your rock designs look more professional. Learning how to shade can take your 2D image and make it pop off of the rock. These details are what will help take your rock painting over the top. Shading is where an object is blocking light, creating a shadow. Highlighting is where light is hitting an object. Both of these skills give your painting shape and form. They can be used in conjunction with each other.
Types of Shading and Highlights
There are different ways to shade and highlight your drawings. I am going to share five different techniques with you. A good way to practice these techniques is on paper first.
The first technique is solid line shading. This involves making lines on one side, or both sides, of the drawing. The key is to be consistent. If you start off on one side, stay there, don’t switch around unless you are going to shade the entire thing.
These lines can either be in black or in a darker shade of the color you are shading. This helps create the illusion of shadows. You can make these lines in one of three ways: paint and paintbrush, paint marker, or smear some paint using your finger.
Secondly, shading can be done without straight lines for a more realistic effect. Use different, darker shades of your main color and add to the underside of the painting. This would be where the object of your painting is not subject to light and is creating a shadow. You can even take a bit of black or dark gray paint and paint away from the object to make a true shadow.
The first technique for highlighting is to use white dashes. You can also use short white lines. This is definitely more of a drawing tool as opposed to the solid lines that create shadows. These dashed lines are creating depth on your design. This is also effective for making your design look like it has a reflection or is shiny.
Another highlighting technique is to use white dots. This creates a similar effect to the while dashes but is more subtle.
Finally, you can highlight using solid white lines or lighter shades of the main color. This is similar to the shading effect described above. However, you would put these lighter shades of paint on the area of the picture being hit by the light.
The technique that I use will depend on what it is that I am painting. If I am wanting to create a fine art piece, I will stick with using lighter shades of the main color and blending it in. I save the solid lines, dashed lines, or dotting for more of a doodle.
Here is a great resource I found online that describes shading and highlighting in more detail. Do you have any shading or highlighting tips and tricks that you would like to share?
Beginners Guide To Highlighting and Shading – Trembeling Art
Happy painting!