DRAWING TECHNIQUES:

LINE WEIGHT AND SHADOW - INSTRUCTIONS

Aims:
1. Communicate changes in level in plan using line weights
2. Practice 3D representation of elements of a design using cast and surface shadow
3. Use of free-hand drawing techniques
Materials needed:
1. A3 sheets of detail paper torn from a roll, A3 tracing sheet
2. Sign Pen, Artline 200 pen and automatic pencil
3. Soft pencil, soft eraser, crayons, grey wedge nib marker pen
Handouts:
- Plan of Courtyard (to be printed at A3 size)

INTRODUCTION:
Garden designs are typically drawn as plans and can clearly portray the ‘bird’s eye’ view of a design.
However, plans on their own cannot give an impression of the height of design features or changes in level
in the garden.
It is especially important to give an impression of the ‘third’ dimension when presenting a design to a
client who is not used to looking at plans.
Without the benefit of models, perspective drawings or 3-D digital views of a garden design, there are two
techniques that are often used in drawing plans that can give the impression of changes in level and
height.
In the first technique, a thicker line weight is used wherever a change in level occurs.
In the second technique, areas of the plan are hatched where a taller object casts a shadow over a lower
adjacent area.
This technique can be given greater effect by hatching the shaded surface of a rounded feature which is
furthest from the sun or source of light.
In the following three exercises line weight and cast and surface shadow will be used to illustrate the plan
of the courtyard garden shown in the plan download.

1.0 LINE WEIGHT EXERCISE:

The numbers on the ‘Plan of Courtyard’ plan show the height in millimetres above the level of the door
threshold.
The crosses drawn beside each level shows the location of that level.
These levels are called spot heights.
In this example the level of the door is known as the datum and has a value of zero.
Start by having a good look at the plan to identify all the changes in level shown – e.g. retaining walls,
raised beds, steps, furniture – which can be found by comparing the difference in level between two
adjacent spot heights shown on the plan.

Procedure:

• Stick down an A3 paper print of the ‘Plan of Courtyard’

• In pencil mark an ‘x’ on all the lines of the plan that represent a change in level

• Next, overlay the plan with an A3 sheet of tracing paper and carefully copy through in free-hand
Pentel Sign Pen the lines marked in pencil, including people sitting and standing

• Next accurately trace through all the other lines of the plan (except planting) in free-hand using an
Artline 200 pen
 • Planting of different heights is indicated by dot-dash lines and spot heights

• Use one of the groundcover line styles from the earlier exercise to draw in free-hand Artline 200
pen the perimeter of planting areas lower than 500 mm in height

• Use a different line style to draw the perimeter of planting that is greater than 500 mm in height

• Draw the outline of the trees using one of the symbols from the earlier exercise using an Artline
200 pen

2.0 CAST AND SURFACE SHADOWS EXERCISE:

Cast and surface shadow are now going to be added to the plan.
Here are some guidelines when drawing cast shadows:
- Cast shadows appear on the opposite side to the direction of sunlight
- The length of cast shadows will be dependent on the height of the feature
- Cast shadows of taller features overshadow the cast shadows of smaller features

Procedure:

• Stick down the tracing paper plan from the Line Weight exercise at an angle so that the lines of the
graph paper are parallel to the direction of sunlight shown on the Plan of Courtyard

• Cover this plan with a sheet of A3 detail paper and copy through two reference marks onto the
detail paper from the opposite corners of the plan and the direction of the sunlight - this will be
your rough working sketch for the cast and surface shadows

• Using a pencil and parallel ruler, start drawing the outline of the cast shadows of the tallest
features – trees, high planting and the highest retaining walls - following the lines of the grid

• As a guide, the height of the tree nearest the house above the low planting is 1250 mm high and
here the cast shadow is drawn as 15 mm long

• The length of the cast shadows of all the other garden features should be roughly proportional to
this based on their height

• Continue adding the outline of the cast shadows of the smaller items – low planting and retaining
walls, benches, steps – but omit the outline where these smaller features are overshadowed by
taller features

• When all the outlines have been drawn, remove the detail paper and the tracing paper plan and
stick back the detail paper sketch onto the graph paper with the cast shadows parallel to the graph
paper grid

• Overlay the tracing paper plan so the reference points are aligned

• Within the outlined areas, carefully draw 1 mm spaced hatching in pencil of the cast shadows so
the direction of hatching is parallel to the direction of sunlight

• Next draw the surface shadow in the same hatching for the trees and planting

• Compare your completed drawing with the completed plan in the presentation
DIFFERENT WAYS OF DRAWING SHADOWS:

Procedure:

• Stick down a paper print of your completed plan from the Line Weight exercise with a sheet of
paper beneath the print to prevent the ink from the marker bleeding through onto the graph
paper.

• Add the cast shadows of the steps and retaining walls using the pointed nib of a grey wedge nib
marker pen

• Then, using the side of the wedge-shaped nib of the marker, add the cast and surface shadows of
the trees starting with the tallest trees and working down in height order. Next add the cast and
surface shadows of the planting working in height order from the tallest planting

• Complete the plan by adding the cast shadows of the people, seats and doors

• Alternatively you could divide the plan into four equal sections and use one of the four shadow
rendering techniques shown in the presentation for each section

Copyright ©2019 Henry Mead