LIGHT AND SHADOW, CHARIOUSCARO- the most important paired categories of theory and practice of fine arts.
The volumetric shape of objects is conveyed in the drawing not only by surfaces constructed taking into account perspective cuts, but also with the help chiaroscuro.
Chiaroscuro - the distribution of illumination observed on the surface of an object, creating a brightness scale, is very important tool images of objects of reality, their volume and position in space.
Physically light represents the visible part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun, i.e. the range of oscillations of the electromagnetic field that the human eye can perceive. These vibrations, hitting the retina of the eye, cause stimulation of the optic nerves, which gives rise to a sensation of radiance. The ability of various objects and their material surface to absorb, reflect and refract light rays differently gives rise to the feeling of color.
However, the phenomenon Sveta should be separated from the concept of tonal, in particular chromatic, relationships, i.e. color. The last quality is subjective; color exists only in the process of visual perception and presentation of objects. Light - « almost darkness, the first glimpse Sveta in darkness, the first manifestation of being from nothingness«.
White, undyed light with the help of a prism can be decomposed into seven color rays of the spectrum and vice versa: the opposite tones of the chromatic series when combined give white.
However, in an aesthetic sense light indivisible; when artificially split, it loses its own quality and is reduced to materiality. Coloring Sveta- not its own property, but the result of interaction with material bodies and the light environment that it fills.
Light- goodness, a comprehensive symbol of the Divine origin of the world ( In. 1:5). Dante Alighieri in " Divine Comedy " calls " material light » empyrean ( Greek empyreios - “fiery, fiery country”). Branch Sveta from darkness, space from chaos is the basis of all aesthetic and philosophical ideas about the world.
IN fine arts these representations are expressed using polar ( opposite) symbols: solar( solar) and lunar signs, emblems of the masculine and feminine principles of nature.
Kingdom fight Sveta And darkness- the main theme of myths.
In the history of fine arts light And shadow are interconnected because they are used as visual means. Hence the generalized concept: chiaroscuro, which implies a certain quantitative relation of qualities Sveta And shadows.
Chiaroscuro Just like perspective, artists have been using it for a very long time. Using this means, they learned to convey in drawing and painting the shape, volume, and texture of objects so convincingly that they seemed to come to life in the works. Light helps convey the environment as well.
Artists E. de Witte ( « Internal view churches"), A. Make-up show ( "Evening over the Thames"), Latour ( "St. Joseph the carpenter"), E. Degas ( "Ballet Rehearsal") conveyed light from different lighting sources in their paintings.
Can be seen natural light (natural) sun and moon and artificial lighting (man-made) from a candle, lamp, spotlight, etc.
There is a special approach to lighting in the theater; it is no coincidence that lighting designers work there. They create amazing lighting effects, amazing magical world - « painting" And " graphics» light.
Light We can change artificial sources at our request, and natural lighting changes itself, for example, the sun either shines brightly or hides behind the clouds. When clouds scatter sunlight, the contrast between light and shadow softens, the illumination in the light and in the shadows is evened out. This calm lighting called light-tonal. It makes it possible to convey a greater number of halftones in a drawing.
There are many different states of the sun lighting, which can greatly change the same landscape and even affect your mood. The landscape looks joyful in bright sunshine and sad on a gray day. In the early morning, when the sun is not high above the horizon and its rays glide across the surface of the earth, the contours of objects appear unclear, everything seems to be shrouded in haze. At midday, the contrasts of light and shadow are enhanced, bringing out details clearly. In the rays of the setting sun, nature can look mysterious and romantic, that is, the emotional impression of the landscape largely depends on the lighting.
Chiaroscuro as a means of composition it is used to convey the volume of an object. The degree of relief of the volumetric form is related to the lighting conditions, which is directly related to the expression of the constructive idea of the work. In addition, the degree of illumination of the image has a significant impact on the nature of color and tonal contrasts, on the balance, interrelation of parts and integrity of the composition.
The interpretation of the volume and illumination of objects depends on black and white objects that form all kinds of contrasts shadows, penumbra and reflections, endowed with their own color qualities and properties.
Volumetric forms in nature are perceived as illuminated in one way or another. Gradations Sveta And shadows on their surface is defined by the concepts: glare, light, light separation ( semitone), shadow, reflex.
The following elements are distinguished: chiaroscuro:
- Sveta- surfaces brightly illuminated by a source Sveta;
- glare- a light spot on a brightly lit convex or flat glossy surface, when there is also a specular reflection on it;
- shadows- unlit or dimly lit areas of the object. Shadows on the unlit side of an object are called own, and those thrown by an object onto other surfaces - falling;
- penumbra- a faint shadow that occurs when an object is illuminated by several sources Sveta. It also forms on a surface facing the light source at a slight angle;
- reflex- a faint light spot in the shadow area, formed by rays reflected from nearby objects.
Image of gradations chiaroscuro helps the artist to identify the volume of depicted bodies on the plane of a sheet of paper, cardboard, or canvas.
Shadows are divided into their own ( on the surface of an object) and falling ( thrown by an object onto a plane or other objects). However, the image chiaroscuro must be distinguished from tonal ( including black and white ) image relationships that are subject not to optical, but to compositional laws, i.e., lightness relationships that the artist consciously builds on a plane, in volume or space. The artist does not depict, but skillfully composes light And shadow. Therefore we can say that chiaroscuro in nature is the optical basis of shape formation in art.
The perception of color also largely depends on lighting. If with the help of linear perspective we convey space in a drawing, then in painting we cannot do without taking into account changes in the color and tonal relationships of nature as they move away from the viewer or the light source. Dark objects at a distance acquire cold shades, usually bluish, and light objects acquire warm shades.
The great Rembrandt mastered the art of using light in painting like no other. He lit a light with his brush, warming anyone on whom it falls. Rembrandt's paintings are always illuminated by an inner light. Simple good people, depicted on them, seem to radiate it themselves. The greatness of an artist lies in his humanity. The light in his canvases helps to touch the human soul.
In his paintings, the light, illuminating the faces of those portrayed from the darkness, has some kind of witchcraft power.
The nature of illumination also depends on the height of the sun above the horizon. If it is high above the head, almost at the zenith, then objects cast short shadows. Shape and texture are poorly revealed.
When the sun decreases, the shadows of objects increase, the texture appears better, and the relief of the form is emphasized.
Knowledge of these construction patterns light and shadow can help you in solving creative problems in depicting a landscape or a thematic composition.
It is important to consider in creative work and the position of the light source. Look at the images and pay attention to expressive capabilities frontal, side and counter openwork lighting.
this is when the light source illuminates the object directly because it is in front of it. This lighting reveals little detail.
(left or right) well reveals the shape, volume, texture of objects.
occurs when the light source is behind the object. This is a very effective and expressive lighting, especially when the painting depicts trees, water or snow. However, objects in these conditions look silhouetted and lose their volume.
In the picture there may be one or more sourceslighting. For example, on the canvas " Fruits and candle“The artist I. Khrutsky skillfully conveyed the light from the window and from a lit candle, which is located behind the objects.
Shadows from objects lit by a candle, fall in different directions, directed from the candle, and the length of the shadows is determined by the rays coming from the candle fire.
Drawing falling shadow depends on the shape of the object and the inclination of the surface on which it rests. Its direction depends on the location of the light source. It is easy to guess that if the light falls from the left, then the shadow will be to the right of the subject. Near him the shadow is darker, and further away it weakens.
If you have to draw near a window or near a lamp, please note that the illumination of objects near will be much stronger than in the distance. As the light fades, the contrast between light and shadow softens. Remember this when drawing near and distant objects in a still life. This phenomenon is called light perspective.
Contrasting lighting, which is based on a clear distinction between light and shadow, is called black and white.
Sokolnikova N.M., Fine arts. Drawing Basics
The distribution of light and shadow on everything that surrounds us in the world is called chiaroscuro. Thanks to it, we see the volume of objects and understand their shape. The more accurately the relationship between light and shadow is conveyed, the more voluminous and lively the world we draw will look. Therefore, one of the primary tasks for an artist is the competent depiction of chiaroscuro.
Chiaroscuro is divided into several tones with their own names and specific locations:
- The darkest place on an object is its own shadow.
- from the side where the light source is directly directed, the most illuminated part of the object is the light.
- the place of transition from one's own shadow to light is called penumbra, or artificial shadow. The light does not fall directly on this part, but passes through it casually.
- on the shadow side there is a reflex - this is reflected light.
- and the shadow cast by an object on other surfaces is called cast.
The simplest school example for analysis, chiaroscuro is geometric bodies of different shapes, that is, with rounded and straight surfaces. For clarity, I’ll take a cube, a ball and a cylinder. A silver spray can acts as a cylinder.
How to draw a cube with chiaroscuro
The simplest and most understandable chiaroscuro on the cube.
The cube has edges and break lines that separate the elements of light and shade from each other. Moreover, the greatest contrast and intensity of light and shadow is located precisely on these edges. Your own shadow is the brightest and most intense at the border with light; it gradually fades and turns into a reflex.
The light is also whitest and brightest at the edge of the shadow along the break line. And it also loses its intensity in the direction from the break line.
There is a penumbra on top of the cube. It is darkest on the border with light along the break line. And on the border with its own shadow, it is the opposite - light, the edge is directly illuminated, it is clean and white.
The falling shadow is always the darkest, darker than its own shadow. And it has the greatest blackness and intensity at the border with light and with the object. And it fades and brightens in the direction from the edge of the light.
On the back face of the cube, its own shadow is clearly brighter and denser than the falling one, which goes behind the cube and fades out. This is clearly visible in my drawing.
How to draw a ball with chiaroscuro
On the ball, all components of light and shade smoothly transition into one another. There is a bright, clear reflection in the light and in general the ball looks gray in relation to it.
Also, a reflex is clearly and clearly visible on the ball, which illuminates the ball from the shadow side.
But you always need to remember: the reflex is part of the shadow, so it can never be as light as the illuminated part of the ball and lighter than the penumbra. Sometimes it seems that the reflex glows brightly and in the drawing because of this there is a possibility of overdoing it with its glow. Therefore, you should always pay attention so that the reflex in your drawing is not confused with light; if this happens, then it must be extinguished.
The falling shadow is very dense and bright, the most intense is under the ball, where it comes into contact with the surface of the table. But just like a cube, the falling shadow goes behind the ball and brightens there.
The ball is glossy, so it has a bright reflection, and the spray can is also reflected on the shadow side.
This is what it looks like in my drawing. Pay attention to the shading, it follows the shape of the rounding of the ball, which gives it additional volume.
How to draw a cylinder with chiaroscuro.
The can, acting as a cylinder, has a shiny surface, so it is highly reflective and confuses the viewer - it is not entirely clear where its own shadow is, where the light is, how the penumbra goes, everything is in stripes.
But all the gradations of light and shade are clearly visible on the lid - it is matte.
Everything in the can is the same, only it looks more contrasting and striped, although on the shadow side there is another black stripe - a reflection of the falling shadow on the can.
Another stripe is a white stripe on its own shadow, this is reflected by the cube. But we will not delve into all the stripes in detail, so as not to fragment the shape, we need to show the chiaroscuro in general, so that the volume of the cylinder is visible.
The lid has a break line. The most contrast is at the edge closest to the light.
That is, the penumbra here is the same as on the cube - dark and contrasting at the border and smoothly diverges into a lighter tone. In the light there is a bright highlight at the very edge of the fracture, which fades towards the bottom.
The falling shadow has a small peculiarity here. It seems that it is lighter than its own, because the table is white and the spray can is gray. However, this is not the case everywhere. Under the can, at its base, the falling shadow is still darker than its own; the reflex adds a ton of contrast to it.
And this is how it all looks in pencil.
Light on dark, dark on light is an excellent rule for any pencil work with maximum expressiveness.
This means that you do not need to cover the entire background with tone; first of all, you should emphasize the light on the subject with the background, that is, add a background from the illuminated side, and do not touch it at all on the shadow side.
The can as a whole is gray, so there is no need to add a tone around it at all. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to add a table break line - it adds space to the work, the objects immediately stand up, and not just abstractly hovering on the sheet.
Chiaroscuro transforms a flat linear pattern into a three-dimensional and lively one. Chiaroscuro on all other objects, absolutely any, with any surface has the same set of chiaroscuro elements and the same principles of distribution.
Therefore, in order to make volumetric ones, realistic drawings To comprehend the theme of chiaroscuro and learn to convey it competently is a primary task for a beginning artist.
Chiaroscuro is easy to see in a drawing of a sphere, cylinder or other simple geometric shapes. However, this is not so easy to do when an artist paints a landscape. Therefore, let's try to see light and shadow in such complex natural forms as trees.
1. I start painting in a general way, in translucent layers. oil paint. But already at this stage, brush movements should not be random. Since I am painting spruce trees in a coniferous forest, I need to make sure that the brush marks and the shape of the strokes resemble the branches of fir trees. The illustration demonstrates this stage of work: red arrows show the direction of brush movement. Since the brush is bristly and hard, it leaves “scratches” on the surface of the soil. As a result, the paint layer becomes the desired texture. And since I move the brush in different directions from the trunk, these strokes of paint create the illusion of fir branches.
2. Now let's try to paint a falling shadow from the trees. I paint her silhouette softly and blurry. On the surface of the grass, the shadow diffuses and creates soft contours. However, at the beginning, under the branches, the contours of the shadows are clear. Sunlight penetrates between the branches of the tree and creates intermittent shadows on the ground. It becomes as if “ragged”, that is, a spot of light alternates with a spot of shadow. Therefore, at the beginning, under the tree, I introduce sharp impasto strokes of paint that convey this feature of the falling shadow.
3. The shadow under the tree smoothly merges with the trees in the background, forming a dark background. Against its background, I paint the bright leaves of the bush growing in front. This needs to be done delicately, with a small brush and palette knife. The paint comes on pasty. And it is written on a dried or at least thickened layer of paint from below. The leaves of the bush are illuminated sunlight, so white and yellow will be added to green. This way I capture the light in the foreground of the landscape.
6. The crown of the fir trees consists of individual spruce branches that emerge from the shadows like the paws of a fantastic creature. They are illuminated by light from above. The inner part of the branches near the trunk is hidden in the shadow.
7. In addition to light and shadow on individual branches, chiaroscuro must also be seen as a whole, on the entire crown of the tree. For clarity, I outlined the illuminated and shadow parts of the spruce with a red line and slightly changed the color.
8. On a sunlit forest path I painted a walking man. This introduction of minor human or animal figures in the landscape is called staffage. This technique brings the plot to life. But in this work the figurine serves another purpose. It fills the void on the left side of the painting and completes the composition.
Thanks to tonal analysis, correctly adjusted light and shadow, the landscape becomes sunny. The spruce forest takes on a morning mood. Similarly, in any landscape you can convey morning, noon, evening, sunny or cloudy weather. But for this you need to learn to see how light, penumbra, shadow, reflections are distributed on complex natural forms.
When he sees a painting he likes, the viewer thinks about what exactly impressed him in the work. But the most interesting thing is how the artist himself was able to attract attention to his work. And this task is performed using visual techniques, which are used to convey mood, atmosphere, realism and the idea itself. The most important thing is the ability to see your work as a whole. With this, the artist is helped by gradations of light and shadow, which allow him to imagine all the depicted objects at the same time and distribute them into plans and groups.
Tonality in the visual arts
In order to understand the role of light and shadow gradations, which also include highlight and reflex in painting and drawing, it is worth understanding the general scheme of the image of volume. All the techniques for creating visual arts originate from the word “tone”, which translated from Greek sounds like “tension”. But most often what is meant is not the color tone, but the light tone. This is due to the way light behaves, changing the local color of the imaged object depending on the lighting itself and its surroundings.
Together with a simple line, with a variety of colors that allow the artist to depict his plans, tone is one of the main techniques. It is the laws of tone that help masters convey the texture, shape of objects, the impact of the environment and air space on them.
What is valer
Light divisions of hue or color within a tone are called valers. Their levels start with white and end with the most dark shade colors. The change in these levels depends on how much white or black is added to the But, despite the fact that this quite greatly reduces the effect of brightness, valers are very important in the visual arts. Thanks to the levels, a point is created that attracts attention, the effect of deep space, integrity and, most importantly, volume.
Paintings made using the grisaille technique show the importance of the ability to understand values. In such images, gray and other neutral tones are used, with the help of which it is easier for the artist to determine the main gradations of light and shadow - highlight, penumbra, shadow, light, reflex - in painting and graphics.
The role of shadows in painting and graphics
Shadows on the imaged object show poorly lit or not lit areas at all. They can be divided into own and falling. Poorly lit areas on the surface are called intrinsic shadows, and the darkness cast by an object is called cast shadows. The shadow that appears under the influence of weak lighting from several sources is called penumbra.
In painting, the shadow changes depending on the lighting. If it is naturally warm, then the shadows will be cold, but with artificial light they will be warm. These gradations, when interacting with light, make it possible to depict the relationship between light and shadow - chiaroscuro. But it differs from tonal values in that it is subject only to optical laws, and not to the artist’s imagination. In other words, when depicting chiaroscuro on an object, the artist relies on specific lighting, and when creating big picture By using tones, he achieves consistency in favor of composition, which is a little different from the actual vision.
The role of light in painting and graphics
How the artist will be able to convey the shape and volume of the desired objects depends on the light source. And light itself encloses space in its own laws, which are distributed in the air and are felt on surfaces. Light appears on the surface of an object exposed to direct rays. Under its influence, not only the most ordinary materials and textures change, but also glossy surfaces. If the latter is convex or flat, a glare will form under a direct beam of light. With the help of glare, it is much easier to convey reflective material due to the general connection of objects in painting with color reflex and other gradations of light and shadow.
The role of the reflex
Reflex in painting and graphics demonstrates the connection between objects and their influence on each other, which gives the work integrity. It is formed in the shadow due to rays that fall on a nearby object, and shows its reflected light. It is the reflex that complements the artist’s work.
In nature, everything is not always perfect and correct, because objects are combined into groups and plans. Residents of the paintings are written with special attention directed at their surroundings. The feeling of airy space is created by the impression of objects in the background, which arises when studying the first plan. Among the fallen autumn leaves you can notice the greenery that comes from the grass that has not yet withered. These reflexes in nature painting add a special color and atmosphere to the picture.
Reflexes and other gradations of light and shadow change depending on the lighting. The same view from the window shows all its bright and dull colors for the whole day, which is reminiscent of a film that changes the viewer's mood.
Chiaroscuro – gradations of light and dark, the distribution of colors or shades of the same color of different brightness, which allows you to perceive the depicted object as voluminous, surrounded by a light-air environment. Chiaroscuro can be roughly divided into several parts. Let's consider this situation using the example of an ordinary cylinder and a prism. If it is artificially illuminated, the gradation of light and shade will become clearly visible: a highlight on a glossy surface or bright light on a matte surface, penumbra, self-shadow, reflex, falling shadow. The reflex is lighter than its own shadow and darker than the penumbra.
The saturation (density) of the falling and self-shadow of an object depends on many factors. A significant role here is played by the distance between the object and the light source, the brightness of the light, the color and tonality of the surrounding objects in space, the purity of the air, the time of day, etc.
In real conditions, one's own shadow is never completely black, since in this part the surface is illuminated by reflected light from other objects. The ambient air, saturated with dust particles, scatters light rays in all directions, has some influence on the illumination. Reflected light in the shadow part of an object is called reflex.
The intensity of illumination of the surface of an object facing the light source also depends on various conditions, for example, on the angle of inclination of the light rays to the surface, on the saturation of the air layer, on the physical properties of the illuminated surface (matte or shiny), on the material from which the object is made, and etc. It is almost impossible to fully take into account all the phenomena affecting the intensity of light and shadow.
We can only highlight a number of general provisions (rules) in the depiction of chiaroscuro and the falling shadow of an object, which should be taken into account when drawing from life or from an idea, when composing a composition. Own shadows on objects are usually depicted as lighter than falling ones, due to reflections (reflexes) from the ground and surrounding objects. For the same reason, the top of your own shadow is slightly lighter than the bottom.
For round objects, the transition from light to shadow occurs gradually, see Figure 21.
If the object is flat-faced, then the transition from light to shadow is clearly demarcated by edges, see Figure 22.
Objects with shiny surfaces in the illuminated part have a particularly brightly highlighted area - glare.
The falling shadow weakens as it moves away from the object and the light source. The closer the light source is and the smaller the shadow itself, the clearer the shadow boundary. If the shadow is large, then the boundaries of the part distant from the object become less clear and blurry.
Figure 21 – Gradations of light and shade on round objects
Figure 22 – Gradations of light and shade on faceted objects
3.5Color relationships of local colors
"No body is ever completely
does not reveal its natural color"
Leonardo da Vinci
Local color of an object are pure, unmixed tones, which in our minds are associated with certain objects, as their objective, unchanging properties without taking into account external influences, for example: orange orange, snow white, yellow gold.
Space, subject environment, change the colors of objects. Object color in a realistic painting does not appear openly anywhere, it is always covered by an air layer, a modeling or falling shadow, a play of reflexes, it is always - complex system shades ( shade – a slight deviation of color from its basic color tone).
In painting, the artist depicts the color of an object using color relationships (a system of spots) - light and shadow, general illumination, reflexes, creates objects in the environment using the laws of color science: the coolness of colors, perspective color changes, the color of an object in light and in shadow.
Scheme for obtaining shadow color:
The object's own color is slightly darker in tone + opposite in tone + blue(if the lighting is warm).
Figure 23 – The color of the shadow on a red object.
The color of the shadow cannot possibly be the same as natural color subject. Without adding additional color, the shadow would be the same as the background color of the object, just a little darker. The shadow color has a reduced intensity and saturation - all this is due to the added additional color.
Figure 24 – reflexes in painting
Reflexes
The local color of an object is influenced by its environment. When there is a green drapery next to a yellow apple, a color reflex appears on it, that is, the apple’s own shadow necessarily acquires a shade of green. Shadows and penumbra on light objects always contain a reflex.
When depicting reality with paints, it is necessary to take into account the influence of colors on each other, that is, write in color relationships.
It is important that correctly found in the picture color relationships help to see the beauty of reality and the beauty of the work itself.
Choosing color relationships in decorative work the size of the parts of the design, their rhythmic arrangement, the purpose of the thing and the material from which it is made are taken into account. In decorative work, artists also take care of the harmonious relationship of colors, and the real colors of objects can be changed to symbolic ones. The coloristic unity of all ornamental elements is achieved using color contrasts or nuances.
