There are many different shading techniques that can be achieved with pencil or other artistic media.
A surefire way to bring life to your drawings is by using contrast. One way to bring contrast into your drawing is by shading certain areas. Shading will make your drawings look more lifelike and will give a greater sense of volume to each object. Shading is the process of adding layers of pencil on top of each other to achieve a darker value. There are many different shading techniques. No one shading technique is best; it is up to you to determine which shading technique provides the most pleasing results.
Hatching
Hatching is the process of drawing a series of lines that are parallel to each other in order to provide a darker value than that of just a single line. These parallel lines will fool the human eye into thinking that they form a darkened area. You can achieve a darker look by placing these lines closer together or by going over each line with the pencil several times.
Cross-Hatching
Cross-hatching is very similar to hatching; however, with this technique you must overlap the hatched lines at an angle, using another set of lines. To achieve a darker value, you can overlap the sets of lines several times, changing the angle at which they intersect each time. Cross-hatching is a commonly used shading technique that can be combined with other methods.
Blending
Blending is the process of smudging or smoothing out an area of pencil. You can blend using many different materials, such as facial tissue, a blending stump, or even your finger. To blend, scribble down an area of pencil where you would like there to be shading, then use the material you have chosen to rub the pencil onto the paper until it becomes smooth. Blending is a popular shading technique to use when working with charcoal.
Circulism
Circulism is a shading technique that uses small, overlapping circles to add varying value to the drawing. You can vary the value that these circles add by putting more or less pressure onto the pencil as you draw or by drawing the circles larger or smaller. You can also use circulism when blending by moving the blending material in a circular motion.
Pointillism
Pointillism is a shading technique that uses many small dots placed closely together to achieve a darker value. You can gradually place these dots further apart to form a gradation. This is a time-consuming technique; however, it can provide interesting results when used properly.
Shading With Color
When shading with color, you do not necessarily need to use a darker value to achieve a shaded look. You can instead use a contrasting color to make an area appear darker.
