Shading?

[Mira]

What am I suppose to shade when drawing? I just put simply darker spots on random areas that i think looks bleh and consider that a shade xD like a circle? Basically Kirby and Meta Knight? And then his mask? The clothing on people? I don't know what to shade so like every single drawing, I leave it without a shade, looking incomplete.

 

[3823]

When you shade, you have to keep in mind where the light is coming from.

So after you've established that light is coming from x place you shade. The farther away from the light, the darker the shading should be. It all depends on the type of object too. So with your pencil, slowly make lighter marks on the outside and transition into darker where the light is the farthest from.

Example:

Spoiler

I didn't draw it, I wrote over it.

 

[MuffinLad]

I found it easier to do shading and lighting digitally, then in a drawing or painting...
Mostly because how much they guide you, rather than using common logic.

 

[Natsu Swagneel]

Depending on what you're drawing, it can be pretty easy, or extremely difficult. For example, the sphere that Rawr showed us would be really easy to shade. As for something else, like an anime character, it could be a lot harder. Shading is all about where the light is coming from, you can't just scatter random shadows everywhere. That's like using water with acrylic paints . It may be hard to shade properly in the beginning, but just practice shading small things like spheres, to harder things like anime characters. I remember that some dude told me that I should always practice what I suck at in art, instead of avoiding it. You know what? It worked! BOOM, I don't suck at drawing hands anymore! Well, not as much as I used to, but it's a start, I suppose ;~;

 

[MuffinLad]

The main fact, I dwell so much into digital mediums now,goes to show how much I reek at drawing by hand.
I always did really basic drawings... Something only a mother can love ;___;

@GLAcraft101 I know what you mean...
some people just got it going on everywhere!

 

[Skyshaymin]

Well, I dunno if you still need help, but I'll give a tip anyways.

In addition to what Rawrrie said, it also depends on the object. For example, metal is shiny, so you need to have high contrast and lots of shading. For something like wood, you can make the shading lighter.

 

[RaeSyndrome]

To ad to what everyone else has said, aside from dependence of the object, it also depends on the material I guess. Certain materials reflect like different than others, they sometimes have light ripples, and some don't reflect like almost at all. So keep that in mind, along with where light may be coming from. Some shapes cause light to wrap around and you'll need to be careful with that!