Light, Shade and Shadow (Dover Art Instruction)

SMALL BOOK PACKED WITH INFO, EVERY ARTIST NEEDS TO READ THIS!! Invaluable info about how light hits objects and how light is reflected in concise bits of information. If you are looking at your art and something is not right it is because of 1 thing, perspective and what I did not realize is how light plays a major role in it. This book is small but it written in a direct way with pertinent info, not for the sake of words. Practical and understandable also. I never knew there was so much to how light hits an object and how it is reflected or diffused. He talks about direct, diffused, mutli angle, sun light, aerial perspective if light and ,much more with basic mathematical equations that are easy to learn and understand. Also how the texture of the object plays a vital role. This is take you from a good artist to a great artist if you are already a great artist to an exceptional artist. Took a chance and glad I did. This is really going to help me with my drawing and painting because there are a few things that you need to really understand to do great art, realistis or abstract.. 1. Colour theory, the extended version 2. Perspective 3. Composition 4. Light and value This books explains the 4th, and you need to understand all 4 concepts to understand how you want to put your story down on paper.

Not finished reading but explains things I never knew about various forms & direction of lighting. This book is going to help me bring my artwork into 3D instead of flat pictures. I always knew about shading but never knew where to where to shade. The pictures opened up a whole new world for me.

If you've asked the question, "how do you make up values from imagination?", this book can help you. It's a little verbose sometimes, but definitely worth wading through a few extra words to get the knowledge. The principles of light, shade and shadow are laid out and explained in detail, and there are exercises to follow along with in the back. It's a small book, not even 70 pages, but it packs a lot of information. Very helpful book for anyone wishing to learn more about drawing/painting lights, shades and shadows.

I am amazed that this book was offered at this price! It contains the majority of the information I learned in a course I took for my MFA and then some, it may be a bit technical for some, I find it incredibly helpful to have all this information in one book, legible (not my scribbled notes!), understandable examples and finally the step-by-step. I would DEFINITELY recommend this book to anyone working on their basic skills - whether beginner, or someone trying to move to that next level. Read it, try it, read it again and soak it up!

The cover is great, and very clear. The information needs a bit of concentration to absorb, but the information is incredible! Simple, but wonderful! I am a professional artist, and I just wanted to touch up on my light and shadow information. I love it! Big problem, though inside the book, the printing isn’t done well. Even the words them selves are somewhat faint. I tried taking a video, but the video came out better than the book. It’s kind of like how you put an iPhone at a crescent moon and get a full circle. Where are you point the iPhone in the early morning light when it’s really hard to see trying to get that really hard to see look, and instead, it is really clear. iPhone did the same thing to the pictures in the book on the video, so I am going to take pictures of all the pictures and use those to work from all reading the book. Amazon, please improve your printing method. I think that has a lot to do with the different reviews that this book gets.

The book was first published in 1914, of course the photos will be grainy compared to modern standards. This book is a bargain. The black and white photos, though grainy, are MORE than clear enough to convey the concepts the author is writing about. The black and white line graphics are very clear. Maybe the negative reviewer got a copy which was particularly poor in reproduction, but I have no complaints about my copy of this book. Sure the publisher could get new photographs taken of the same simple geometric forms as shown in the book, but then they’d have to charge much more for the book. The text is written in plain clear, English, and, considering it’s age, does not come across as antiquated or stilted. Of course if what you’re used to reading are Twitter tweets and Facebook posts, lots of texts will seem old and moldy to you.

I admit this book definitely has a "textbook" feel, but it does an excellent job of meeting its purpose: instruct in the skill of adding light, shade and shadow to your drawings! I like that it explains the technical side of it and does not leave that understanding to my intuition, because I am lacking a bit in technical intuition, even though I'm totally interested in understanding these concepts. I would highly recommend this book to any newer artist who feels challenged in creating shadows and light in their work and wants to take the time for many comprehensive lessons to improve their skills in this area.

I’m getting back into drawing and painting and watercolor and acrylics and I just needed a reminder on shading. Seems like a pretty good book.

I bought this book to help learn about light and shadow in art work. It wasn't for me. It's very academic and detailed, something you would use in university art or drafting courses, not for the amateur artist. So if you need a good book for school, grab it, otherwise it's not for a beginner.

I like the book.

O livro, embora em Inglês, não oferece dificuldades maiores à sua compreensão. Trata-se de um estudo bastante apropriado aos amantes da pintura e desenho que queiram estabelecer áreas de luz e sombra sem "achismos", sem "chutes" de onde aplicar esses elementos à sua obra. Há esquemas de Geometria a serem estudados de acordo om cada caso. Enfim, o livro é para quem leva o desenho a sério e quer agregar maior valor a seu trabalho. As fotos são "antiguinhas", mas não comprometem o conteúdo a ser estudado. Indico fortemente.

木で作成された円錐、半球、六角柱、立方体、球体、三角錐 壷を様々な角度から光を当て どの様に映るかが掲載されている。 それを、数学的な裏付けで持って図式で説明している。 最後に８種類のモティーフの持つ質感、光、陰、陰を 描き出して、画面全体に高密度の空間表現を再現している。 廉価で勉強になる本だ。

I learned more in the first few pages of this little book than I did up to A level Art 40 years ago. If that's not a good recommendation I don't know what else I could say....