Basics of pencil shading

Here are some basics on pencils and shading. I’ll go over what the letters and numbers on your pencils mean. How light and shadows are drawn. What pencils you should use for what? And how these factors apply to drawing realistic pencil portraits.

Starting with the basics. 

What do the letters and numbers on your pencils mean?   

Your pencils have a number followed by a letter; H or B   H stands for hard B stands for black. Pencil manufactures add clay to the graphite which makes the graphite harder. The harder the graphite the lighter the mark will be. The H side of the scale has more clay indicated by the number. The higher the number the harder the graphite will be. The scale below shows HB - 5h

The B side the scale is the opposite. The higher the number the softer the graphite is going to be and the darker the line. The scale below shows HB -6B.

it‘s a good ideal to make a gradient scale with the pencils you have. This way you can see the values your pencils have on the paper. Use this to match up what pencil is best for what tones. 

How light and shadows are drawn.

The six elements of shading.

• Light Source-      where your light is coming from.
• Highlight –          where the light hits the object directly
• Cast Shadow-      the darkest part of your shadow opposite the highlight.
• Reflected light-   the light that bounces back onto the object
• Core shadow-      your darkest value that defines the overall shape of your object
• Midtones –          the range of values between your core shadow and your highlight.

The trick to drawing a realistic pencil portrait is getting a good blend from your darkest to lightest value. Since your head is basically a sphere and most of the facial features are rounded, practices drawing a sphere.

• Start out by sketching a plain circle with your HB pencil. Then figure out where your light source is. Sketch in a light oval for your highlight and sketch a basic shape for your cast shadow opposite of your highlight.  

• I use a 6B for the cast shadow.  Start at the bottom edge of the sphere where your cast shadow meets it. This is going to be the darkest part of your drawing. Lighten up on the pressure as you get closer to the edges of your cast shadow outline, more light hits those areas

• Then I use a 4B to add the core shadow; remember to leave room for your reflective light. Fill in the area just below your core shadow with the same 4B pencil but use less pressure.

• Then I use a 3B to start shading my reflective light and the darker values of my midtones. As you go to a harder pencil for softer tones go back over the previous areas and let the graphite build up on the paper making to tones darker as you go.

• To finish up by using a 2B and start shading out from my core shadow. Use less pressure as you get closer to the highlights.

The smother the transition from the core shadow to the highlight the more real your object will look. Try looking at the portrait you would like to draw and pick out the different elements that make up the shadows.

Highlights are mostly above the eyebrows, on the checks, the ridge of the nose, top of the upper lip and around the bottom of the eyes.

The cast shadows are mostly on one side of the nose, under the brow at the top of the eyelid the center of the lips around the neck,  and where the hair meets the face. The midtones define the shapes or the cheek, and they add definition to the drawing.

The next tutorial I will discuss how to pick out the different elements of shading in a photo. 

Practice shading the sphere and moving the light source around. Work on getting the smoothest transition you can.  Try using different grades of pencils and see what works best for you.  

If you like this tutorial or if there is something you would like to know more about let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading.