A non-digital medium to learn lighting?

[ScottGurley]

Hello! I'm brand new here and loving the SVS content and community!!

Does anyone have recommendations for non-digital mediums to learn lighting?

I have been working with alcohol markers, but finding they are difficult to work with if I don't perfectly plan for where light and shadow need to be ahead of time. I'm assuming something like graphite, pastel, charcoal - something that where I could more easily back out mistakes, but wanted to check to see what others have found helpful.

Thanks in advance!!
Scott

[irinasavu]

@ScottGurley hello Scott! Im currently experimenting on how to learn lighting as well. I use watercolor as a medium and i found 2 color combo that work beautiful - a darker blue like indanthrene and warm yellow, this way its quicker than graphite.
I used colored pencils im the past but it takes time to fill in with color. !

What i plan to and that I recommend is to use a paper that already has a shade- like toned paper and use white gouache and some brown medium like ink for contrast

[A Former User]

@ScottGurley First thing I would do is study Will Terry’s class on this subject. It is excellent. Also, I can recommend a book to learn more about rendering. @irinasavu Gave you good advice on using colored pencils on toned paper. That was my favorite for years.

The book: How to Render; the fundamentals of light, shadow and reflectivity. By Scott Robertson with Thomas Bertling.

[Mimi Simon]

I think charcoal is definitely your best bet as its cheap and simple and can be easily added or removed and even pushed around like paint a bit. Its super forgiving as long as you're not too heavy handed. check out this great video on doing a lighting study with charcoal.

[ScottGurley]

@irinasavu Thank you so much! And I apologize for the late reply. I've been away from my computer for about a week.

I really appreciate the idea to use watercolor. I've not experimented much with it, but I will definitely give it a go. And I love the cool + warm color idea.

When you talk about using white gouache on toned paper, is the idea to use the white to provide lighter shades?

[ScottGurley]

@thomas-young Thank you for telling me about Will Terry's class, I didn't know there was one. I'm in the middle of Lee White's Light and Shadow for Illustrators, which is excellent, but focuses on digital drawing. I will definitely look up Will's class! And thank you so much for the book recommendation. I love Scott Robertson and will definitely check it out!

[ScottGurley]

@Mimi-Simon Whoa! I'm loving the idea of charcoal. I hadn't thought about the aspect of it being cheap, but I really appreciate that because I've been using just 3 Copic grayscale markers for months and am finding I need a LOT of ink and nibs, and that can get expensive. The video is fantastic by the way. Thank you!!