Sketching-People

MODELING LIGHT
As artists moved from medieval art and into the beginning of the
Renaissance, the use of light in art began to change from local color
to what I call modeling light. Modeling light defines form by assigning
darker values for planes as they turn away from the viewer. A plane
that faces the viewer is white but grows progressively darker in
value as it turns away. This means that an outside contour line is black
because the side plane faces away from the viewer at the greatest
angle. It is almost as if the viewer is the light source.
RIGID RULES, CLEAR RESULTS
Modeling light is the most
descriptive system of light. Its
rigid rules force the artist to
clearly define every turn of
the surface, but the result
is a form that has a strong
sense of volume.
MODELING LIGHT
DEFINES THE FORM
Notice how the surfaces that
face the viewer are light and get
darker as they turn away. This
simple concept requires a clear
understanding of the form.