Value Scale and Shading Drawing Lesson

Drawing paper

Pencils in various hardnesses — HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B give the best range (regular pencil works too)

Eraser

Blending stump or tissue for smoothing

Ruler

Draw a row of ten small boxes across the top of your paper using a ruler. Each box should be about 1 inch square.

Leave the first box completely white. Fill the last box as solidly dark as you can get it.

Shade the eight boxes in between in even, gradual steps from white to black. This is your value scale — a reference for every shading decision.

Below the value scale, draw a large circle. This is going to become a 3D sphere through shading alone.

Decide where the light is coming from — imagine a lamp to the upper left. Mark a small arrow outside the sphere indicating the light direction.

Start shading. The area of the sphere facing the light stays lightest (values 1-3 from your scale). The opposite side gets progressively darker (values 7-9). Leave a small bright spot — the highlight — where the light hits most directly.

Add a cast shadow on the surface beneath the sphere. It stretches away from the light source and is darkest directly under the sphere.

Blend with a tissue or stump for smooth, even gradations. A well-shaded sphere genuinely looks three-dimensional on a flat page.

The value scale seems simple but it is one of the most important drawing fundamentals. Controlling ten distinct values gives you complete control over shading.

Squint at the sphere as you shade. Squinting simplifies what you see into light and dark zones, making it easier to judge values.

Layer pencil strokes rather than pressing hard. Gradual building gives smoother results than heavy pressure.

Once the sphere clicks, apply the same logic to a cylinder, a cone, and a cube — the four basic 3D forms underlying all drawing.