Just as discussed in “basic shading”, you can create the feel of a three dimensional shape by using shading. However, by manipulating the shape of the shading you can also change the shape of the object you are drawing. This is why, especially with portraits, shading, and doing it correctly becomes so important.

     Although I never heard it discussed in quite this way, I am sure that I not only did not develop this method for shading, but aware of it or not I am sure that most artists use this method, as artist have generally been found to be spatial thinkers.

     I will call this method the “shape shading” method, and it is the only method I know to use no matter what medium I have worked in, but it is by far the best method I can imagine especially for pyrography.

     There are two types of shading, shading from a line, or from a “floating” shape.

     1. Shading from a line is just simply that. Figure A shows a burn on pine that illustrates a shadow that is created by shading to a line. Many times if you are doing this you can draw the line first and then place you’re burning tip on the line and slowly move it away and pick up speed as you drag the tip across the surface. As you pick up speed the value of the burn will lighten. This can be done in layers to even out the burning value to create and even looking shadow. Figures A1 (in ink) and A2 (human eye in pencil) are sketches to show examples of where you may be shading to a line.

     2. Figures “B” and B1 are ink sketches included to show the shapes of shadows. Although these sketches are not technically shaded, they help me show shapes of the shadows by the black and white nature of the pictures.
     Figure “B2” is a close-up of a pyrographed picture showing the same thing, using shapes to create the appearance of wrinkled clothing.
Unlike shading to a line, you can not simply set your burning tip down and then start to drag it. You must keep your tip moving. The burning tip must be moving when it makes contact with the wood as well as when it breaks contact. Any pause in motion will cause dark marks to burn in areas you want consistent value in.

     Usually you will be using a combination of these methods when you create a piece.

     By visualizing shapes in the shadows you may be able to reproduce them into your art more easily. The shape of the shadows controls the appearance of the shape of the object. As critical as getting all of the features proportioned and lined up correctly were, the shapes of our shadows is equally as critical. By changing the shape of the shadows on a face, we change the shape of the face, so it is important to keep the same shape to the drawing and our shading as we have in the photo.
     Figure “C” shows a digital rendition of the photo using 5 different tonal values to illustrate the shapes of the shadows in the photo of my son. notice how each tonal value in this figure forms a different shape. Also you can see from this digital image how the tonal values graduate from dark to light as they emerge from the shadows to the highlighted areas.

     The shape of his face is what creates the shape of these shadows. The reverse of this concept is that the shape of the shadow I draw will give my drawing its illusion of shape. Although I will not use as much tonal value as was in the photo, or bring my shading into the face as far, I will still do my best to keep true to the shape of the shadows as they appear in the original picture, so that the face in my drawing will appear to be the same shape as the face in the photo.