Just a Few Tips about Shading...

Hey faeries!

So I know you wanted me to show you a step-by-step of how I draw and color hair; but I thought before we jump into something like that, I wanted to show you how to shade! Now, I don't consider myself to be really good at shading, so some of these tips might be a little off. (If they are off, let me know in the comments!) 

When I was making the edits for this post, I did half of them without realizing that I had come up with a new word! XD In real life, I often call shading "shadowing." That's not the correct word... :P SO! Let's pretend I'm a genius and that I have a right to make up new words and that shadowing is now in the dictionary with the meaning: "The act of shading an area in a drawing." BOOM. Sounds professional, right? *wiggles eyebrows*

So basically, for this post, I found four pictures online and edited them to point out where the shadows are. I edited a cat, a dog, a girl, and a guy. All the shadows I pointed out change slightly depending where the light source is coming from. But for the most bit, you can use these tips until you feel comfortable with figuring out shading areas on your own. XD It also helps to look at real people in your life and notice how the light falls on them and where the shadows are. Or you can look at someone else's art and see how they shade. XD

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To me, the most important part about shading a cat face is to shade in the ears and on the muzzle. I also really like shading eyes, it adds so much more depth to them.

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Again, the shadows in the ear are a key point in shading dogs. (For any eyes, you can shade under the top eyelashes/eyelid.)

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I forgot to add in the edit that you can shade on side of the nose. :P Lots of manga art shades either under the nose or on one side of it. And do you notice the shadows in the girl's hair, like right by the sides of her face? I forgot to mention that as well, in my edit. XDDD

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I once again forgot to say on my edit that the guy also has shadows under his eyebrows. Depending on what kind of style of manga you want, you can either shade a thin to medium line directly under his eyebrows or you can shade a small triangle under one side of the eyebrow, closest to the nose. (I've noticed that Avatar: the Last Airbender shades the latter way.)

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It's okay if you can't shade the "right" areas or something at the beginning. I still go willy-nilly when it comes to shading. XD I'm sure you'll catch onto it soon! <3

Welp, I won't be able to get my superhero drawing done by Monday like I thought I would. But don't worry! I'll still have art to post next week. ;) 

What are some of your art tips?