Hey there, Reader!

As an artist, do you relate to the following story?

You feel good because you just created a drawing that you believe looks great.

The textures look detailed. The proportions make sense. And the composition is balanced.

But oddly enough, something feels like it's lacking. But what is it, you wonder?

So you scratch your head and stare at your drawing with a puzzled look etched upon your face.

Then suddenly a light bulb turns on in your brain as the answer dawns on you: The drawing looks flat and dull!

"Where's the depth and dimension?" you say to yourself, confused as you wonder what went wrong during the drawing process.

The truth is that the drawing likely never had enough form, depth, and dimension in the first place because the values and shading are off.

But don't worry, my friend, because I've run into this problem many times throughout my art career. I've learned from my mistakes, so I have some practical solutions for you.

To help you achieve better shading in your drawings, I've published a new blog post titled How to Improve Your Shading for Better Drawing Results.​

In this blog post, you learn about:

• The importance of layering graphite to build up the values
• Using a wide range of values in your drawings to create contrast
• Why you should spend time studying light and shadow

By improving your skills in these areas of focus, you'll build a stronger foundation upon which to create your drawings.

By the time you're done reading, you'll be able to use these strategies to add more life, contrast, depth, and dimension to your drawings, Reader.

ACTION STEP: Read the blog post and then choose 1 tip that stands out to you the most. The next time you draw, apply that tip to your drawing process to improve the quality of your shading.

Talk to you again soon,

Your art instructor,

Miranda

P.S. Are you struggling with shading your drawings? Then check out this helpful blog post to learn about 3 effective tips that'll improve your shading skills.​

​

​​​