How to Draw a Shadow

Co-authored by Kelly Medford

Last Updated: September 15, 2021

There are two types of shadows that an artist can draw, namely, the natural shadow and the artificial shadow. Find out the difference between the two while learning how to draw them. Let’s begin!

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

An Artificial Shadow

Download Article

Knowing what kind of light that creates the shadow is very important in drawing shadow. That way, you will know where the direction of the shadow should be drawn which is against that specific light source. Train your eyes to see like an artist, let us start by you imagining a light bulb at the middle of your drawing.
These circles will serve as the subjects of your drawing. This way, you will see how the light source affected the shadow based on where the subject was placed.

Advertisement
Draw harder or darker lines on the circles to show the shadows. The shadows are the shades within clear boundaries or the subject that receive no or little light. Use hatching or crosshatching while trying to show the shades. Make sure that you don’t let any shade go out of the circle. The darker areas should be the areas that are against the light source.
Use your eraser to show the light areas. This is to emphasize that the light areas are conforming to the light source or to make it simple, the light is bouncing from the artificial light to the subject that is facing the light source.
Always remember that the shadow is against light. So when a subject is placed beside a light source, the shadow should show on the surface where the light is blocked by the subject. Again, keep in mind where the subject is placed to know where the cast shadow should be drawn.
Use your finger to smudge the farthest areas on the cast shadow. This effect shows that the cast shadow is far from the light.
This is to show shadowing effects. The nearer the cast shadow on the boundary line of the subject, the less transparent the cast shadow should be.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

A Natural Shadow

Download Article

This is where the natural light shows. Imagine that there is a sun on the upper right corner of your sketch pad. You can put it any area on the upper part of your sketchpad so long as you know how to draw the shadows. Create a flat surface on your drawing pad. Draw a straight line that will serve as a ground surface. This also adds up to the train to see like an artist’ eyes that we have discussed earlier.
We will use buildings as subject in drawing shadows.
In here you will start to notice the difference between the artificial shadow and natural shadow. Natural shadows show when the light source comes from either the sun or the moon which are natural sources of light. Natural shadows have the same direction no matter how large the area is. It will only change if you go into the area where the natural light source’s light is directly facing the point of view of the artist. Examples are sunrise or sunset drawings where the sun is placed at the upper middle part of the landscape. That also applies on full moon drawings where the moon is placed at the middle of the landscape. On the other hand, artificial shadows are created with artificial lights like light bulbs, night lamps, spotlights, streetlights and so on.

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

How can I draw better perspective?

Kelly Medford
Professional Artist
Kelly Medford is an American painter based in Rome, Italy. She studied classical painting, drawing and printmaking both in the U.S. and in Italy. She works primarily en plein air on the streets of Rome, and also travels for private international collectors on commission. She founded Sketching Rome Tours in 2012 where she teaches sketchbook journaling to visitors of Rome. Kelly is a graduate of the Florence Academy of Art.

Kelly Medford

Professional Artist

Expert Answer

Try doing blind contour drawings, where you just look at the object that you're drawing without looking at your paper. This forces your eyes to go really slowly around the object and have your hand follow your eye on the paper.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 2 Helpful 2
Question

How do I draw a shadow for a flower?

Community Answer

It is the same concept. However, the shadows are more of a mixture of soft and crisp edges. It would help to have a reference.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 8 Helpful 30
Question

Is it possible to draw shadows with a pen?

Community Answer

If you're skilled enough to control the pressure, then yes. Or, you could try practicing crosshatch to produce gradients with the pen.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 14 Helpful 43