Portrait + Portrait with shadows

In this lesson, we had to do two drawings: the first one had to be a complete portrait of one classmate (Laura, in this case). Then, we needed to copy it in another piece of paper, but adding shadows to it so it would have volume, like if we could see it in 3D. To accomplish this, we used a new technique that consisted in drawing a type of grid, so straight lines that cross each other. Before drawing the shadows, we had to consider which parts of the body were going to have more and less light. The ones with more light are represented in the picture more separately, whilst the ones with less light are represented more closely. In this way, we can highlight the parts with more shadow that do actually give more volume to the picture. And this are the results (the first two belong to the first drawing we did and the other one is the one that has shadows):

 

Before using this technique in class, I did not know its existence. When it come to drawing, I used to paint with a darker pencil or colour to simulate the shadows. This technique allows us to give different intensity range of shadows, since we can draw the straight lines closer or farther from each other, it gives us more flexibility. From now on, I'll tend to put into practice this method, because it can help me focus where the different point of shadow are placed and with what intensity. I'm sure that if I had the chance to introduce it to children, they would be more capable to notice the difference between parts of less or more light and also that there is no concept of such as just dark or light, everything has a wide spectrum of colours.