Unlock the secret to adding depth and dimension to your paintings with shadows and highlights. In this post, we will dive into the basics and then put that newfound knowledge to the test by painting a shiny gemstone.
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Shadows and Highlights: The Basics
Shadows and highlights are a very important component of visual art that wants to convey any sort of realism. They can turn two-dimensional shapes into three-dimensional works of art.
Imaginary light source
The first step in creating a 3D illusion when the painting is to imagine a light source. Its direction and intensity will determine where you will place your shadow and highlights.
Another thing to consider is the texture, opacity, and distance of your object to the light. Shinier objects reflect more concentrated light than dull ones. The more opaque the object the more it blocks light, creating a darker shadow than with less opaque objects. The nearer the light source is to the thing, the more it reflects light.
While it might sound too complicated for beginners, they can all be learned by observing and putting that observation on paper. Study things around you, and how they reflect and block light. Use a lamp in a dark room to get a clearer view of how shadows and highlights appear on different objects.
Using pen and paper, you can practice playing with color values (dark to light) and eventually make shadows and highlights. While a pen is more convenient and accessible than paint, make sure you also practice with the latter.
In the illustration below, in #1, the imaginary light will be coming from the top left corner. We start with a red circle and we will turn that into a sphere that will appear to have a smooth surface.
Adding a Shadow
Shadow is the absence of light. In the real world, darkness is what we see when the light gets blocked by an opaque object. Thus, it appears on the opposite side of the light source. This is what we will apply in our paintings.
In painting, we can achieve the illusion of shadow by adding shade(darkness) to the original hue. It can be done using a variety of techniques, such as blending colors, layering, and adjusting the values (lightness or darkness) of colors.
For beginners, the darker value of a color can be created by simply mixing black into the hue. Advanced painters may add complementary hues to create a more accurate color. This will be a topic for another post.
In the illustration below, you will see in #2, a crescent-shaped dark red was added to the opposite side of the light source. This helps gives the perception that our object is a 3D sphere instead of a flat circle.
Adding Highlights
Highlights, on the other hand, are the areas of a painting that are hit by direct light. They are usually the lightest areas of a painting and can be used to create the illusion of reflections and to make an object appear shiny or glossy. Highlights are typically represented by white or very light colors, so it’s best to use light-colored paint or white paint to create them.
In the illustration below(in #3), a slightly lighter shade of red was added to the side where the light source was imagined to be coming from. Even lighter(white) dots/spots were then added to convey that our sphere has a shiny surface where the light reflections were more concentrated.
That is the basics of shadows and highlights. We can discuss more it as it can have its complexities. But it will be more fun to put what we’ve learned so far into action. We will do just that in the tutorial below.
Heart-Shaped Gemstone Painting Tutorial
Now let’s grab our supplies and get painting.
We will need:
- Acrylic Paint
- Red. This will be the base color of the heart-shaped gem
- Black. There is more than one way to add shade, but for simplicity, we will just use black.
- White. There are also other ways to create a highlight, but we will just add white in this tutorial.
- Surface to paint. I used a rock. It will be great with cards or mini canvas or really any acrylic-friendly surface.
- Small round brush
- Acrylic paint wash setup. Includes a jar of water and a rag.
- Clear coat (optional)
1. Decide on the light source
First things first, before you start painting, you need to decide on the light source for your painting. This will determine where the highlights and shadows will fall on the gemstone. Imagine where the light is coming from and how it will affect the overall look of the gemstone. Is it natural light coming from a window or artificial light from a lamp? The direction and intensity of the light source will have a big impact on the final painting.
In my heart-shaped gem, the light source will be coming from the bottom left.
2. Start with the base color
Now it’s time to pick the main/base color of the gem. Use this to paint the desired shape of the gem. Make sure to cover the entire shape with an even layer of paint.
Notes:
*Because V-day is coming, I used red for the heart-shaped gem.
*You can use the shape and color of your choice. Avoid using very dark or light colors since it will be hard to increase and decrease their value later
*If you are not comfortable using paint to draw the shape of the gem, you can use a pencil to sketch it first.
3. Add the shadow
Now it’s time to add some depth and dimension to the gemstone. To create shadows, use a darker version of the base color.
To do this, get some of the base paint and add a tiny bit of black paint. On your palette, mix it to make a dark red.
Apply the shadow color to the areas of the gemstone that would be hit by the light source. Since my imaginary light source is coming from the lower left corner, I added some dark red paint to the top right (opposite of the gem).
Follow the curve of the gem. Blend it to create smooth gradation.
Notes:
*You may have to work quickly so that the base color stays wet for blending. This will be possible with small paintings like this. It will be harder for bigger paintings.
*If you think you won’t have enough time, you can mist/spray the painting with water. This will prolong the drying time. But make sure you don’t over-spray.
*These same notes apply to blending and adding highlights.
4. Add the highlights
It’s time to add some shine! To create highlights, use a lighter version of the base color or white paint. Apply the highlight color to the areas of the gemstone that would be directly hit by the light source.
This will be similar to what we did with the shade but just the opposite side and opposite color value. We will use white paint to make make a lighter color of our base color.
Because my light is at the bottom left, I added some light red in the bottom left corner of the gem.
Blend to make a smooth transition between the base color to the lighter one.
To add more sparkle and shine, use white paint to add the lightest highlight.
See notes for “adding a shadow”.
5. Add the border
To finish the gem, we will add some borders. This will give more definition to the gem.
I used black paint to make a thick border. I also added dots of gold.
6. Seal (optional)
If you would like to make the gemstone last longer, you can apply a clear coat. It also gives an extra shine.
This should be done after the paint has completely dried.
There you have it, you didn’t just learn about shadows and highlights. You also created a lovely gemstone.
Other basic techniques used
In painting this shiny gemstone, the following techniques were also used:
- Simple gradation
- Color mixing
- Basic paint application
If you want to learn or get more practice on these basic techniques, here’s a link to my Butterfly Tutorial. Like with ‘shadows and highlights’, I used a tutorial to further explain the technique.
