-- Posted by Amin mele lle at 6:01 pm on Nov. 6, 2008 So, I'm an amateur at drawing...  I need like, guides or tips when it comes to doing a lot of shading, and drawing hands and feet.  http://eumache.deviantart.com/ is my deviantart, check it out if you wish and give me some tips.   -- Posted by Amin mele lle at 6:07 pm on Nov. 6, 2008 nobody? Ugh, fantastic. -- Posted by katjassidekick at 7:21 pm on Nov. 6, 2008 So you want to know how to shadow. What I would suggest is to learn the basics of what these are: highlight, shadows, gradient, reflective light, midtones, and that's all I can remember for now. Are you working from a picture source? If so, it's a lot easier to tell where the lights/shadows are. If you're working from still life, it's also great because you know where the light source is. If it's from the top of your head, make sure you go with the direction you're planning (For example, if you plan to have the light shining down from top left, keep it that way. Don't change directions all over the paper). What I also suggest is using gradation if you're using pencils. Trust me, it's a huge no-no to smear with your fingers UNLESS you are using charcoal or the like. Okay, so I found this image on Google and I'm going to use it as an example. Can you see the shadows/highlights of her hair? Can you tell that she has full eyelids because the artist added a little shadow to show the fold? You can also tell there are shadows casting from the eyelids onto the iris as well. Her forehead also looks round because he or she shaded the edges in order for it to look dimensional. When practicing shadowing, I HIGHLY recommend using draperies. It's great because the object never moves and there are plenty of folds to work on. I'm telling you all this from the top of my head. I'm sorry if I'm being vague, but I learned this during design high school when I was a freshmen. It's a lot more difficult for me to describe using words without being able to do it myself. I'm a very visual person.