B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Visual Arts: Light, Shadow and the Illusion of Depth

D1.1 D1.3 D2.2About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can blend a smooth gradation of value from light to dark.
I can shade a form with a highlight, a shadow side and a cast shadow so it looks three-dimensional.
I can use atmospheric perspective to make parts of a landscape look far away.
I can create an art work about a place that matters to me or to someone else.
I can explain how value, shading and atmospheric perspective create the illusion of depth.

Words to know

value
How light or dark something is.

gradation
A smooth, gradual change from one value to another, like light grey slowly turning to dark grey.

shading
Adding darker values to show where light doesn't reach, so a shape looks three-dimensional.

highlight
The lightest spot on a form, where the light hits it most directly.

cast shadow
The dark shape a form throws onto the surface behind or below it, away from the light.

light source
Where the light comes from: the sun, a lamp, a window.

illusion of depth
Making a flat picture look like it has space going back into the distance.

atmospheric perspective
Showing distance by making far-away things paler, blurrier, less detailed and often bluer or greyer.

Remember from Grade 4

You made value scales by mixing tints and shades, used value contrast for emphasis, and showed space with diminishing perspective (things get smaller as they go back).

In Grade 5, you will use smooth gradations of value and shadows to make shapes look solid, and atmospheric perspective to make a landscape feel deep.

The flashlight trick

Turn off the lights. Shine a flashlight on an orange from one side. Look closely:

One spot glows almost white: the highlight.
The side facing the light is light.
The side turned away is dark.
On the table, there's a dark shape stretching away from the light: the cast shadow.

That's what makes the orange look round and sitting on the table. Artists copy these lights and darks to fool our eyes into seeing depth on flat paper.

An orange on a white table, lit from the left, with its right side in shadow and a long dark shadow stretching to the right. — Find the bright side, the dark side and the cast shadow. Notice that the cast shadow stretches away from the light. These lights and darks make the orange look round. AI-generated image

Left: a value gradation bar, smooth from white to almost black. Right: a light source at the top left shines on a ball. The ball has a highlight on the upper left, gets darker toward the shadow side on the lower right, and throws a cast shadow on the ground to the right.

Gradation of value

A gradation is a smooth change from light to dark, with no sudden jumps.

With a pencil:

Press lightly for light values, harder for darker values.
Shade in small circles or short strokes, slowly adding pressure as you go.
To blend, you can gently rub with a tissue or a paper stump.

With paint:

Mix a little black or a darker colour into your colour, step by step (remember shades from Grade 4!).
Blend wet paint where two values meet so the edge disappears.

Shading a form: four parts

Highlight: the brightest spot, nearest the light. Often you leave the paper white here.
Light side: the area facing the light, with light values.
Shadow side: the side turned away from the light, gradually getting darker.
Cast shadow: the shadow on the table or ground. It falls on the side opposite the light and is darkest right next to the object.

Be consistent! If the light comes from the top left, every object in your picture should have its highlight on the top left and its shadow on the bottom right.

Atmospheric perspective: the faraway haze

Stand on a hill on a summer day and look at hills far away. The faraway hills look paler, blurrier and often bluish or greyish. That's because you are looking through more air, with tiny bits of water and dust in it.

Artists use this to show distance. This is called atmospheric perspective. Compare near and far in the table below.

About 500 years ago, the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci wrote about this effect in his notebooks. In his painting the Mona Lisa, the landscape behind her fades into soft, hazy blue-grey hills.

Near (foreground)	Far (background)
darker values, strong contrast	paler values, little contrast
sharp edges, lots of detail	soft edges, little detail
brighter colours	duller, often bluer or greyer colours

Atmospheric perspective: how near and far things look

Atmospheric perspective: three rows of mountains. The far mountains at the back are very pale and soft. The middle mountains are medium. The near hills at the bottom are dark, with a small, sharp tree.

Worked example

Example: Shading an egg with consistent light

Let's draw an egg on a table, with light from the top right.

Draw an oval egg shape, a little narrower at the top.
Leave a small highlight near the top right as white paper.
Shade lightly around the highlight, then gradually press harder as you move toward the bottom left (the shadow side). Keep it smooth: no stripes or sudden edges.
Leave a thin, slightly lighter edge along the bottom left; it shows the egg curving away.
Draw the cast shadow on the table to the bottom left (opposite the light). Make it darkest right under the egg and softer as it stretches away.
Check: is the highlight on the light side and the cast shadow on the opposite side? Yes!

A highlight, a smooth gradation to the shadow side, and a cast shadow opposite the light make the egg look three-dimensional and resting on the table.

Worked example

Example: Planning a landscape with depth

Mira wants to paint Heron Marsh in the early morning, with the far shore of the lake in the distance.

Background (far shore and hills): very pale, soft grey-blue, almost no detail, edges blurred.
Middle ground (the lake and cattails across the water): medium values, a little detail.
Foreground (cattails and a heron right in front): darkest values, sharp edges, lots of detail: individual leaves and the feathers of the heron.
Light: the sun rises on the left, so the heron's highlight is on its left side and its reflection and shadow stretch to the right.
Explain it: "I used atmospheric perspective: pale, blurry hills look far away, and dark, detailed cattails look close. The cast shadow and highlight make the heron look solid."

Using value, detail and edges on purpose creates a strong illusion of depth.

Just for fun

Riddle: What follows you all day long, but disappears as soon as the lights go out?

Your shadow! 👤

Seeing values

Squint! When you squint at an object or a picture, the details disappear and you can see the big light and dark shapes more easily. Try it on your drawing too: does the far-away part look paler than the near part?

Hands-on activity

Light, shadow and a faraway view

You need: a pencil (a soft one like 2B or 4B if you have it), paper, a tissue, a flashlight, a round or egg-shaped object (an egg, an orange, a ball), and paint or pencil crayons for part 3 (optional).

Part 1: Gradation strip. Draw a long rectangle. Shade it so it goes smoothly from white on the left to as dark as you can on the right. No stripes!

Part 2: Shade from life. Put the object on the table. Turn off the main light and shine the flashlight from one side. Draw the object with a highlight, a shadow side and a cast shadow. Move the flashlight and draw it again: watch the shadow move to the other side!

Part 3: A place that matters. Choose a place in your community or in nature that matters to you: a park, a lake, a field, the view from a window. Ask a family member which place they would choose and why. Make a landscape of one of these places with three layers: a pale, blurry background; a medium middle ground; and a dark, detailed foreground.

Write one sentence: "I made the ___ look far away by ___."

Your turn

What is a gradation of value?

Name the four parts of shading a form.

The light comes from the left. Which way does the cast shadow fall?

How do you make a pencil drawing darker?

Describe how far-away mountains look in atmospheric perspective.

Why should all objects in a picture have their shadows on the same side?

What is the highlight?

More practice: warm-up

True or false: Things far away usually look sharper and more detailed.

Is the foreground near or far?

What does value mean?

What trick helps you see big light and dark shapes?

Where is a cast shadow darkest?

More practice: on your own

Your drawing of a ball looks flat. Give two fixes.

Explain why faraway hills look bluish or pale on a summer day.

A painting has dark, detailed hills in the back and pale, blurry trees in the front. What is wrong?

The sun is low on the right in a winter scene. Describe the cast shadow of a snowman.

Use art words to explain how Leonardo da Vinci showed depth behind the Mona Lisa.

Challenge

Plan a drawing of three fence posts going back into the distance. How would you use size, value, detail and cast shadows together?

Why might an artist choose to put a strong cast shadow in a picture of an apple on a table?

Create a plan for an art work showing your point of view and a family member's point of view of the same place.

Check your understanding

Quiz

A smooth change from light to dark is called a ___.

The lightest spot on a shaded form is the ___.

If the light comes from the right, the cast shadow falls to the ___.

In atmospheric perspective, faraway things are ___.

Which part of a landscape should usually have the most detail?

Why should all the shadows in one picture fall the same way?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: For Grade 5, the curriculum's focus for space includes shading and cast shadows that create the illusion of depth and atmospheric perspective, and for value, gradation of value to create the illusion of depth. Students create two- and three-dimensional art works that express feelings and ideas inspired by their own and others' points of view (D1.1), use elements of design to communicate (D1.3) and explain how elements are used to create meaning (D2.2).

How to help:

Do the flashlight experiment in a dark room and talk about where the shadow goes when you move the light.
On a drive or walk, point out how faraway hills, trees or buildings look paler and hazier.
Ask a grandparent or neighbour about a place that matters to them; it makes a great subject for the landscape.

Common difficulties:

Stripy shading. Encourage light pressure and small overlapping strokes; build up dark values slowly.
Shadows on the wrong side. Keep the real light source in view while drawing.
Background as dark as the foreground. Squint together and compare: the far part should be paler.