2014-07-17

【Aiden in English】

        Shading is one of the most frustrating techniques of sketch drawing. It captures the light, so every stroke counts. The darkness of each line is crucial to illustrate your own idea. And if the shading is done correctly, the outcome will look spectacular.

        Today, I learned that shading isn't as frustrating as I expected @ the Summer Camp of Guanghua Chinese School. When shading large areas, I could just take a tissue and rub the pencil marks to shade. In fact, the shading of my picture took a lot less time than I thought. Unfortunately I was drawing a deer. A deer had a pair of small antlers, which were tough to shade. I had to carefully rub my finger to spread the pencil shading. It looked ridiculous, but worked well. In addition, if shaded too dark, you felt too difficult to erase it. That made shading even harder because it's a confined space.

        As hard as shading is, the outcome is worth it. It seems to bring life to the picture. In fact, by shading, life is given to the picture.

【红霞译文】

        浓淡处理或许是素描艺术中最难把握的技巧之一，随着光影流动，其形体结构也发生相应变化，线条的明暗特征突出表现了创作意境，一旦浓淡程度拿捏得当，必将提升作品的感染力。

        今天在宾州光华中文学校夏令营里，笔者通过亲身经历欣慰地体验到，浓淡处理并非像从前想像的那么可怕。当铺大调子涂抹深色暗影时，我借助纸巾揉擦铅笔留下的痕迹，确实毋需花费太多功夫。只不过这次刻画的对象是一只鹿，而鹿脑袋上又长有一对小羚角，对浓淡处理要求很高，我得仔细用手指头擦拭色调，虽说看上去有点滑稽，但效果很好。除此之外，下笔时不能过重，否则事后难做调整﹔如果要在限定的区域内打底作画，那么浓淡处理的难度变得更大。

        浓淡处理的确不容易掌握，但还是值得为之付出努力的。它让笔下生辉，使整个画面充满活力。