I just finished lesson 2 and I am now doing the 25 Texture Challenge, we only have to draw cast shadows, does that mean that when drawing a mountain for instance we don’t draw the dark side of the mountain but only shadows cast by rocks or other objects on the mountain?
Another way of saying it would be: Are all the shadows on an object (like a mountain) cast shadows?
does that mean that when drawing a mountain for instance we don’t draw the dark side of the mountain but only shadows cast by rocks or other objects on the mountain?
That is correct. The "dark side" of the mountain is the result of form shading, where it's the orientation of the object as a whole that makes it lighter or darker. As explained here, we are not applying form shading in our drawings for this course, except for the crumpled paper you would have handled in Lesson 2, which is a special case, as explained in the homework section for that exercise as quoted below:
For the crumpled paper, you're actually not going to worry about cast shadows - instead, its purpose is to get you used to working with bold, clearly defined black shapes, rather than being timid and using hatching. Your crumpled paper study/gradient should be made up of clearly defined, distinct black shapes and white shapes. We find that despite breaking away from cast shadows, this helps students become bolder and more confident, which then yields better results for the other two textures that follow.
Cast shadows are always the result of one form blocking the light from reaching another surface. It's the specific shape of the cast shadow that establishes the relationship between the form casting it and the surface receiving it, and that's what we want to be focusing on here. You can also read more about this, and get more clarifications from this section of reminders.
Thanks that’s super helpful. Textures are hard…
Here we're getting into the subjective - Gerald Brom is one of my favourite artists (and a pretty fantastic novelist!). That said, if I recommended art books just for the beautiful images contained therein, my list of recommendations would be miles long.
The reason this book is close to my heart is because of its introduction, where Brom goes explains in detail just how he went from being an army brat to one of the most highly respected dark fantasy artists in the world today. I believe that one's work is flavoured by their life's experiences, and discovering the roots from which other artists hail can help give one perspective on their own beginnings, and perhaps their eventual destination as well.
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