Free Art Lesson: Shading with color

These lessons are meant for educational use only and may not be copied without the author's permission.

Shading with Color

Learn how to shade your color compositions using color, not black. These principles will help you to shade with color using pastels, colored pencils as well as paint.

For a more complete overview of color theory, get "The Phonics of Drawing" CD.

Don't reach for that black or brown pastel, pencil or paint when shading colored objects in a drawing. Instead, try adding the complementary color:

Complementary Color Pairs:

RED - GREEN

BLUE - ORANGE

YELLOW - VIOLET

Examples:

	*Red apple shaded with green.*

	*Yellow pear shaded with violet.*

	*Green apple shaded with red.*

Medium Guide:

Soft pastels	Layer and smudge the colors in this order: main color / complement / main color.
Oil pastels	Use many small strokes of the main color and the complement next to each other.
Colored pencils	Layer several light applications of the main color and the complement, alternating back and forth until the desired darkness is achieved.
Paint	Mix the complement into the main color on your palette and apply.

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