Overview
Incorporating the essentials of light and shadow in any drawing gives the artwork visual dimension and adds elements of drama and realism to the subject being portrayed. Light and shadow are the main subjects covered in this instructive book for beginning art students, with examples and exercises in still life, landscape drawing, and portraiture. All titles in the Drawing Academy series guide students step-by-step through the art of disciplined drawing on a professional level. The books are profusely illustrated in color and black and white, with examples of drawings-in-progress and finished works. Basic instruction is followed up with analyses of the various details that constitute a successfully executed drawing.
Synopsis
(back cover)
Titles in Barron's Drawing Academy series guide beginning students through a detailed training course in the art of drawing. The books open with basic instruction, then proceed to analyze the details that make up a successfully executed drawing. Drawing Academy titles make fine self-instruction manuals and can also serve as textbooks in formal art classes.
LEARNING BY DOING
Constant practice teaches you to analyze the characteristics and understand the difficulties you must overcome in developing techniques to produce light and shadow effects. Exercises will teach you mastery of strokes, shadings, and tonal ranges.
ANALYSIS
It is not enough to practice. You must also learn to see. The Analysis Section following each exercise shows how professional artists resolve difficulties and achieve desired graphic effects in their drawings. You'll learn to profit from others' achievements and incorporate some of their solutions and effects into your own work.
SKETCHBOOK
A section at the end of each chapter is the sketchbook section. It allows you to analyze the difficulties you encountered and isolate different parts of your overall composition to measure your success in attempting light and shadow effects, tone-building processes, applying tonal scales, and fully developing your draftsman's skills.
Available titles in Drawing Academy Series:
The Basics of Drawing Line and Shading in Drawing Light and Shadow in Drawing
Library Journal
Technical control in the distribution of light and shadow is crucial in drawing; it is also one of the most time-consuming drawing techniques to learn. The Parramon editors focus on the systematic rules that determine the position, shape, extent, and density of shadow in a number of light conditions. They instruct on exercises in still life, landscape drawing, and portraiture and cover the uses of shadow, the rendering of objects illuminated by candlelight, and the reflection of light off of glass surfaces. For a general drawing book for serious students, see Ian Sidaway's Drawing in 10 Steps, below. Add this book, designed for beginners but useful for advanced students, as a necessary adjunct-it's highly recommended and, at this price, a bargain. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.