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One thing a lot of beginners forget or tend to avoid is spending time creating believable shadows.

They’re so busy getting the composition correct, using a color palette that compliments the subject matter and tweaking details that painting shadows may get short shrift.

Learning a bit about how shadows are formed and the differences between the types can help you get a handle on painting shadows that add to the strength of your composition and give your paintings a more professional appearance.

3 Types Of Shadows

Not all shadows are created equally. This means you don’t paint them all the same, nor do you always paint each type of shadow in exactly the same manner.

Some shadows have hard edges while other shadows have blurred edges that just fade away. Some shadows maintain the same value and others gradually become less distinct.

Then, of course, there’s the local color with which one has to contend. And, don’t forget reflected color. Boy, it’s a lot more involved than you might have thought, but once you get the idea down, it really isn’t that difficult. It just takes some practice and good observational skills to create convincing shadows to take your paintings up a notch.

Cast Shadows

A cast shadow is pretty easy to understand. An object blocking a light source forms the shadow. The shadow of a building on the ground and the shadow of a vase on a table are two examples.

The angle of the shadow depends on the direction of the light source and the darkness of the shadow depends on the intensity of the light. A tree at noon has a very small shadow, while the shadow it makes in the late afternoon is very elongated. A bright, sunny day will create vivid, dark shadows of the tree and a dull, cloudy day will produce very dim, weak shadows.

A cast shadow’s edges are quite sharp and crisp near the object that’s making it, but they diffuse as the shadow moves further away from the source. It also gradually becomes lighter and less defined.

The shadow edges also describe the terrain they fall upon. Shadows on a concrete path are straight while shadows falling on pebbles will have an uneven edge that mimics the texture of the gravel.

Shadows are translucent, so you need to paint them with transparent paints so the objects and terrain are visible through them. The texture of the forms will also be less definite and will appear flatter than when they’re portrayed in full light.

Form Shadows

A form shadow is what gives a shape its three-dimensional appearance. Without form shadowing, an object will appear flat, with no contour or dimension.

A form shadow appears darkest at the point furthest from a light source, so understanding where your composition’s light comes from is important to giving the objects the proper shading to bring them to three-dimensional life. This also means that different forms within the composition will have form shadows that vary. Each object lies in a slightly different angle to the light source, so the form shadows are slightly different in each.

Form shadows have diffused edges and are less defined than cast shadows, but they are still translucent so any pattern or texture on the object will still be visible through the shading.

Creating these shadows requires careful observation to see exactly where and how dark the values are, how the depth of the value fades and if there is reflected light or color cast from the plane on which the object lies.

Practicing this technique with simple objects like an egg, a vase or other plain white objects on different surfaces is a very good way to learn how to create form shadows.

Proximity Shadows

Proximity shadows explain to the viewer where an object lies on a plane or meets another surface. They have little to do with the intensity or direction of the light source and often become the deepest values of a painting.

A canister on a counter has a very dark shadow line where it meets the flat surface. This shows that it is not a part of the counter but is a separate entity. In a similar fashion, a stack of books will have proximity shadows between each volume to show them as individual elements.

Since these shadows can provide the greatest value change in a painting, it’s important to consider carefully how and where these shadows lie. They can act as a speed bump to stop a viewer’s eye from traveling across the painting or they can work as a directional cue to look in a certain direction or part of the painting.

The Colors Of Shadows

Do not pick up a tube of black to create your shadow. If you do, you’ll wind up with a lifeless piece in which the shadow sticks out like a sore thumb, as the coloration has nothing to do with your painting.

A shadow should have a life of its own. Purple and Ultramarine Blue are good starting points, and there are many hues you’ll find useful for painting shadows. You can often use the complementary color of an area to create the shadow, but you’ll bring more interest to your painting if you use more than one color.

Just remember to use transparent paints to create your shadows so what lies beneath it shows through.

Shadows are a blend of fact and fancy. It’s important to paint them with realism, but it’s up to you as an artist to use them in a painterly fashion to enhance your work.