Getting ready to draw

 Do not start your drawing immediately an object or drawing is placed before you.
Observe and study it for a minimum of two minutes.
 Placing your paper either vertically or horizontally should be determined by the
shape of the object you are to draw.
 Observe the effect of light on the object. It has to reflect on the thickness of your
strokes when shading.
 Make the figure as large as possible to fill adequate portion of the paper.
 Always centralize your drawing.
 Start drawing from the top of the paper, and from the uppermost part of the
object.
 Concentrate more on the object itself and not on the stand upon which it is placed
or the surrounding. These are meant to be treated lastly.
 Complete the sketch of the whole form before putting smaller details and shading
the object.
 Avoid rushing or making hasty and lazy lines. Draw with confidence.

Shading techniques
There are different methods that could be used in shading objects. Students are not
restricted to a particular method except the teacher specifies. The following are some
techniques in shading:

1. Blurring method - This is method of shading where the stroke of the pencil is
hardly noticed. The side of the pencil is often used, holding the pencil at an angle
to achieve this effect.
2. Hatching method – this is the use of one way strokes in shading an object. The
strokes usually come in different sizes, length and tones. The strokes can be
vertical, horizontal or slanty depending on the object and the choice of the artist.
3. Cross hatching method – it is a shading technique where strokes are made to cross
and overlap each other. Dark and heavy strokes are used for dark areas while faint
and thin lines are light areas.
4. Pointillism – pointillism is a shading technique where by which dots are arranged
to indicate tones on an objects. When thin lines cluster together, a darker effect is
achieved; while areas with small and lighter dots show brighter effect.