Constructive drawing of a still life of geometric bodies:
Choosing the position of the light source Linear construction of the boundaries of light and shadow

Table of contents

Choosing the position of the light source Linear construction of the boundaries of light and shadow

The classic position of the light source is the position when the light is directed from the upper left corner at an angle of 75 degrees to the plane on which the still life is located. In the training drawing, the light source is not in the “classic” position for all drawers. It depends on the position you have chosen in relation to the still life; and the position, in turn, was influenced by the composition you chose - thus, you must adhere to nature.

With the acquisition of skill and understanding of volume (and lighting is another technique for identifying the volume of still life objects), a certain freedom will come in choosing the lighting of a still life. Then you yourself will adjust the light source in your drawings. Light, unlike a line, is not an abstraction, but matter.

How are still life objects illuminated? A stream of light moving from a source to an object hits the object and illuminates it. The part or side of the object that the light hits will be light, and the other part or side of the object that the light doesn’t hit will be dark. It will be a shadow, and a shadow of its own.

But only these two concepts can not convey the volume of the subject. In categorical, at first glance, the relations of light and shadow, there are many nuances. The light intensity on the illuminated part of the subject is not the same, it depends on the position of each part relative to the light source. The stronger the ray of light rests on the surface of the object, the brighter it is. The brightest spot on the illuminated part is the highlight. Where the beam glides over the surface, it’s always darker, it’s a half-tone.

We conclude: the bright part of the subject consists of tone, halftone and highlight. Own shadow also has a nuance - this is a reflex, that is, the lighter (due to the light reflected from the surrounding illuminated objects) part of its own shadow. There is also a shadow falling - this is a shadow cast by one object on another. The shadow falling always is darker than shadow of own. Between light and shadow there is a border called chiaroscuro, it is darker than its own shadow.

Chiaroscuro. This is one of the most important concepts of the foundations of the figure after the concept of three-dimensionality of space (in addition, these are the most related concepts). Chiaroscuro and glare of an object appear where the form changes its direction in space with respect to the light source. These are the boundaries of three-dimensional space, and if you draw a three-dimensional object in space, then you can not do without these boundaries. Two years of practical training goes to the formation of spatial thinking, to see these boundaries. The role of such boundaries in the constructive part of the figure is very large.

So, lighting is a technique for detecting volume. Build the falling shadows; build the boundaries of light and shadow on such objects as a ball, cylinder, cone (a cube, a hexagonal prism, a pyramid already have these borders - they coincide with the faces).