Color Pencil Shading

How to shade without using black is the question this art tutorial answers? This sketchbook exercise covers how to use color relationships to add shading while also controlling the intensity of your shadows. This art lesson is specific to color pencils but is applicable to mixing paint or any other color art/drawing media.

[@usfgirl07]

What kind of subject would you choose with the black as a shadow color? I really liked this demo and I was surprised that I liked the black just fine because normally I don’t. So perhaps I was applying a layer that was just too heavy. Thank you for this.

[@ArtLessonsUnlimited]

Sure, with black we just have to be really careful how much we apply because burnishing the layers together just makes it even darker. Regarding subject, shadows can "pick-up" the colors around them sometimes, so for example, if you were drawing a subject that was next to a black object or a cool colored object then black would be a good choice in that case, but it's really about how intense you want the colors to be, including the shadows. Using black and/or a complementary color results in a natural look, while analogous colors in a shadow really pumps up the color-some people like that. Thanks for the comment.

[@usfgirl07]

@@ArtLessonsUnlimited Thanks for the really helpful response!