Lesson video

Hi, I'm Miss Blue and I'm really excited to be learning with you today.

I hope you find our lesson as interesting as I do.

Let's get started.

The outcome of today's lesson is, I can use tonal shading to add depth and detail to architectural drawings.

Our keywords for today are: Tone: how light or dark something is.

Shading: adding tone to a drawing to create depth or show where the light falls.

Highlight: the lightest part of an object where light hits directly.

Shadow: the darker area where light is blocked or does not reach.

Let's start with Understanding tonal shading.

This architectural drawing looks quite captivating.

What do you think helps to make drawings look more realistic and three-dimensional? When I look back at this image, I think what makes it look realistic is the texture that they've used in their shading.

You can see the grain of the brick and the glass reflections.

They've also made things to scale.

Adding plants in the foreground puts things into perspective.

Overall, I think the shadows and the light and dark areas really help the drawing to look three-dimensional.

I love how there's more shading in the foreground to show that it's closer up and in the backgrounds, things get fainter and smaller.

Pause the video here to think of any other points you can come up with that help make drawings look more realistic and three-dimensional.

Architects and artists use tone and shading to show where light hits an object and where shadows fall.

It helps us understand the shape, depth, and even the texture of a building.

In this image, you can see somebody practising their tonal shading.

I wonder what techniques they use with their pencil.

In art, tone refers to how light or dark something is.

Think about how this spectrum of colour gets from light to dark.

Artists can create a range of tones through drawing by applying different pressures.

For example, at the start is a light tone, which means light pressure.

At the end of the spectrum is the darkest tones.

I often find, as an artist, that shading takes a little bit of practise before you get started.

Some tips which help me are to start light and layer up because it's always easier to darken things than to erase heavier shading.

That's why it's good to create a scale like the example shown.

For a softer look, in the lighter tones, you can blend with a tissue or your finger.

Remember to keep your fingers clean to avoid smudges.

If you'd like a more textured look towards the darker tones, you can also use the crosshatching method.

Tonal shading means using different tones from light to dark, to show shape and depth.

This image of a sphere shows a variety of different tones from light to dark.

By using tonal shading on a drawing, flat drawings appear more realistic.

Doesn't this sphere look three-dimensional? I think what's really effective about this tonal drawing is that the tonal changes define the edges instead of any heavy outlines.

This makes it look more realistic.

You can see how there's almost a white light around the circle instead of a harsh black line.

Another successful part of the image is the range of light to mid to dark values which create contrast and help it to look more three-dimensional.

You can see that whoever drew this studied how light would hit the object in real life.

The shadow isn't pure black, but darker tones have been layered subtly.

So what is "tone" in art? Is it A: the shape of a building? B: the colours used in a drawing? C: how light or dark something is? Or D: the sharpness of a pencil? Pause the video here while you decide.

The correct answer is C.

Tone in art refers to how light or dark something is.

We can create different tones by pressing harder or softer with our pencil.

For example, at the start of this spectrum is a dark tone using heavy pressure with our pencil.

At the end is light tone made with light pressure on our pencil.

We can apply tone through shading to show where the highlights and shadows are in a drawing.

I will create a light tone by pressing lightly with a pencil, like this.

Now it's time for you to have a go at creating a light tone.

Pause the video here while you have a go.

Jun says, "I tried to shade smoothly and in one direction.

I held the pencil higher up away from the tip to shade lightly.

That's a great technique.

Now we'll have a go at creating a darker tone by pressing a lot harder with my pencil.

It looks something like this.

Now it's time for you to have a go.

Pause the video while you create a dark tone by pressing harder with your pencil.

Kalam says, "I pressed harder and kept building up the tone in layers to make it get darker." The lightness or darkness of the tone depends on where the light source is.

Think about it on this image.

Where would you say the light is? You can see at the top is where the light source is, and a highlight in the very middle.

At the bottom of the sphere is a shadow.

The part closest to the light is the highlight and the furthest part is in the shadow.

That's a good way to remember things.

I always find it can be valuable to study how light naturally hits objects in real life.

I wonder if you have any examples at your disposal right now? Can you see any shadows in your environment or highlights? Maybe there's some something spherical near you.

Have a look at how the light touches the object naturally and where the highlights and shadows fall.

So what is the purpose of shading in drawing? Is it A: to make it colourful? B: to fill empty space? C: to make it abstract? Or D: to show where the light and shadows are? Pause the video here while you come up with your answer.

The correct answer is D.

The purpose of shading in a drawing is to show where the light and shadows are.

Your task now is to sketch a cube and a sphere and apply tonal shading.

You should: decide where the light is coming from, use light, medium, and dark tones to show highlights and shadows, and vary the pressure of your pencil to create a range of tones.

Pause the video while you work on this task.

You may have come up with something like this.

This is a great use of shading and applying different pressures from our pencil.

The shadows make it look even more realistic.

Now let's look at applying shading to an architectural drawing.

Shading is not colouring in all in one tone.

Think about this image where the drawing has even shading.

It doesn't look coloured in, but somehow more lifelike and realistic.

Avoid using the same pressure all over your image.

Instead, think about where the light is coming from and use a range of tones to describe the highlights and shadows.

This image is clearly outdoors as there are trees.

I wonder which direction the sun falls and what this means for the tonal quality of the drawing.

Buildings like 3D shapes have sides that catch different amounts of light.

You can see in this image how the shading has fallen on certain parts of the house.

The roof, walls and windows all reflect light differently.

The side facing the light source is the lightest area of tone.

I wonder which direction this light source is in.

Maybe we can guess from where the lightest parts of the building are.

Looking at this piece of architecture, notice which areas are darker and which ones are lightest.

This picture beautifully captures the light.

It makes me think about what part of the day it is.

Perhaps it's at sunrise or sunset? Discuss with a partner where you think the light source is and how would you know? Pause the video while you work on your discussion.

Jun says, "I think the light source is to the left of the building because it's the lightest area." That's a good point.

Kalam says, "The right side and lower areas are in shadow, so the light source must be high up on the left." That's another great way to spot, thinking about the shadow and not just where the light is.

I always find that practising with real-life examples of architectural buildings, particularly on where light and shadow falls, is really helpful.

I wonder how you would approach doing this building as an architectural sketch? Think about your pencil strokes being consistent and creating the same level of contrast using tonal shading.

Which part of the building is usually the lightest in a shaded drawing? Is it A: the side facing the light source? B: the side facing away from the light? C: the side with the most windows? Or D: the side with the most bricks? Pause the video while you come up with your answer.

The correct answer is A, the part of the building which is usually the lightest in a shaded drawing, is the side facing the light source.

Before you start shading, think about where the light is coming from.

Decide which areas should be highlighted and which areas are in shadow.

You can see how the light hits this person and how their shadow is directly behind them, further away from the light.

When thinking about the direction of the light source, it can help to draw a small arrow showing where your light comes from.

That way, all your highlights, shadows, and tones will be consistent.

The shading on this building makes a lot more sense now that we know for sure where the light source is coming from.

If you think about it, it's really interesting how you don't necessarily have to draw light.

It's more about mastering the shadows.

You can also see in this drawing how the direction of the arrow, the slanted line, follows the direction of the shading.

This is a really good tip for shading as it keeps perspective, which is another important part of architecture.

You can see how the darkest lines make the light even brighter in contrast.

Even small details like window frames, steps, or bricks can be shaded.

I love how these bricks have been created using shading and different pressures.

Adding details, highlights and shadows, gives your drawing depth and realism.

Can you think of anything else in this drawing, which adds a sense of realism? I would argue that the type of markings they've used really helps to make it realistic.

I wonder if they have drawn this digitally to create a speckled effect? This is really successful in layering to create darker and lighter tones.

I also think it gives it a rustic look like a brick naturally has with its rough surface.

Different materials in an architectural drawing can also be described through tonal shading.

Let's think about this image.

You can see there are some smooth blended shading areas to create stone.

The metal or glass is shown through crisp, light shading.

This seems to be a pool at the bottom, They've created reflections using smudged shading.

Perhaps they've drawn reflections and then rubbed them with their finger to create a smudge.

What should you do before you start shading? Let's test your knowledge.

Is it A: apply even tone on the whole image? B: use firm pressure everywhere? C: decide on where the light source is? Or D: stand as far back from the image as possible? Pause the video while you come up with your answer.

The correct answer is C.

Before you start shading, you should decide on where the light source is.

Your task now is to apply tonal shading with highlights and shadows to an architectural drawing.

You should decide where your light source is coming from and think about this as you apply tone.

Remember to vary your pencil pressure when shading to create highlights and shadows.

Pause the video while you work on your task.

I wonder if your response was similar to Lucas'? He says, "I made this drawing of an architectural building.

I placed the light source top left and used tonal shading to create highlights and shadows.

This made it look three-dimensional." This is a great architectural drawing.

I love the small details and how his style of shading is consistent throughout, even in the trees and the doors.

To summarise, tonal shading helps make two-dimensional drawings look more three-dimensional and realistic.

Light source direction effects where highlights and shadows appear.

Buildings have surfaces that reflect light differently.

Shading helps us to show this.

Thank you so much for paying attention in this video.

I hope you learned something new and had fun along the way.

See you next time.