Advice on Shading

[CatieKat]

I'm an amateur artist, and I just finished this drawing (it's a white rose, not a red one). I really need some work on shading, so any advice on that, or anything else, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

click image for full size

[joeygn72]

Try shading in the background instead of the rose. That will give the rose the illusion of being colorless.

[CatieKat]

Thanks. It definitely makes the rose look a lot whiter. I intend to work on the edges of the background a bit more; I'd wanted to feather it out, but I didn't (and don't, currently) have the right tool, so once I do, I'll fix it right up.

click image for full size

[joeygn72]

If I understand "feathering" it out correctly you can use tissue of some sort, a soft cloth or blending stump... Glad you're pleased with the suggestion..

[joeygn72]

P.S. the more you push the darks the further it will "pop" the whites out and make the rose come off the page.

[jenn_iam]

Do you have various graphite weights of pencils? If so... the softer (B-range) you go... the darker and easier it will be to get that dark shade without alot of hard pressure on the paper. ... Using a tissue or a smudge stick helps in blending.. aslo, do not be afraid of using the eraser (I use a Kneaded eraser) to remove shading in high zones.. this adds highlights naturally, but also dramaticizes your applied shading.

Last.. and this is a big one... Dont rush to achieve the finished product.
To achieve the nice gradient that you see folks achieve in thier work, the shading is done in stages... layer on top of layer until they reach the desired effect.

Hope that helps.

[katvision]

I like to make sure there are really dark shadows next to light. It will really make your drawing pop. Contrast s a wonderful thing when it comes to black and white paintings/drawings. You can look at some of my work I have on my page and I think you will understand what im saying! By the way I am a huge fan f drawing flowers, particularly ROSES! Hope that helps. Also remember start out light, you can always go darker. Not so easy vise versa!