Sketchbook Day 6 - If only there was sunshine!

I was hoping for strong sunlight for today's task but it was not to be in Somerset. If you're lucky enough to find a ray of sun to cast over your object you won't need to place a lamp to cast shadows for you! A reminder that if you'd like a link to your blog at the bottom of this one, please let me know you're doing the sketchbook project.

TODAYS' TASK - Take a look at the shadows your objects casts and also any internal changes of tone as each bump or undulation will react to the direction of light. We're not looking at light and dark colouring here so if your object has a range of colours - ignore these. A shadow is not a reflection so look carefully at the shape it makes. Is the edge soft or sharp?
You can choose to use a soft marker, such as a soft pencil or pastel and use small finger or rubber to smudge it lightly. Or you can use a fine pen like the right hand drawing, building up groups of straght lines to create the darker tones. This is called 'cross-hatching' and used a lot in pen and ink drawings to suggest a 3D surface, depth and shadow.
For the adventurous - place more than one object together to create extra shadow where one object effects another by casting a shadow over it. Note how interesting a shadow over an undulating surface is as it taes the form of the surface.

TODAY'S TIP - In fact it's much easier to do this on a one-colour object and also note that slight shading within the object's surface is more noticable in a light coloured object. (FASHION TIP - Dark clothes make us look trim because you can't see the 'undulations'!)
Choose to work on a smooth page rather than one with texture - note the page below - I made the mistake so you don't need to!
Try out a simple tonal column to practice how you can build up tone with your chosen marker.
Easy on the smudging - as too much can make your object look dirty. Make a note that it's important to always keep an area that does not have any marker on it to avoid this