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Art techniques
What is the difference between shading and highlighting in drawing?
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1 Reply
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Shading and highlighting are the two basic techniques of drawing and art that create an illusion of three-dimensionality and depth by manipulating light and shade.
1. **Shading:**
– **Purpose: In shading, some areas of an object or a scene get darkened to produce shadows and volume effects.
– **Process: Shading denotes the parts of an object that are not exposed to light, and it is one of the artistic methods. These are done by using darker colors which are mostly hatched, cross-hatched, stippled, or penciled with charcoal, and brushes.
– **Effect: Shading, imitating the way light falls upon surfaces to bring depth and realism into a drawing. This describes the outline of an object and specifies its texture and structure.2. **Highlighting:**
– **Purpose: Adding some spots of light to the drawing to show the parts of an object receiving light directly directly.
– **Process: The highlighting is a process in which artists use contrasting colors to show the parts where the light strikes the object directly. This is usually done by leaving the space in question empty (white) or using lighter shades. Such illustrations may be based on stippling, cross-hatching, or the use of an eraser to lighten some areas.
– **Effect: A drawing emphasizes light when it highlights. It points the audience in specific directions and induces a false sense of form and volume.In a nutshell, shading is casting darkness or shade where there is no light while highlight is a throwing of light in the areas that are directly illuminated. Shading and highlighting cooperate to make the objects in the drawings and artwork look real and three-dimensional.
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