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Dynamic Light and Shade
Mastery of light and shade - rendered with accuracy and expressive power - is the key to three-dimensional form in drawing and painting. Here is the first book on this essential subject, the product of years of study by one of the world's great teachers of drawing and an artist of international renown, Burne Hogarth.
Hogarth begins with the simplist kind of light and shade, showing how a dark silhouette on white paper can communicate form and space. He then shows how the silhouette is transformed into three dimensions with the addition of minimal light - the highlight.
Following these instructory chapters, Hogarth devotes a separate chapter to each of the given basic categories of light and shade: single-source light; double-source light; flat, diffused light; moonlight; and sculptural light. In these chapters Hogarth illustrates the effects of these different kinds of light on a variety of subjects and examines both natural and artificial light sources.
Moving on to more complex lighting effects, Hogarth explains spatial light - how light and shade can create a sense of "near and far"; environmental light - the effects of weather, time of day, and the changing of seasons; textural light - how light reveals the surface qualities of forms that range from rough stone to silk and satin draperies; transparent light - the effects passing through transparent materials like glass and water, and translucent substances like moving water or sailcloth; fragmentation light - the disrupted light we see in such subjects as fire, rain, and flying snow; radiant light - the intense light we see when we look into the light source itself, which may range from the sun to a candle flame; and finally the various kinds of expressive light invented by the artist - such as the symbolic and mystic light of religious art, or the paterns of light and shade that convey a mood or a psychological state.
Burne Hogarth illustrates every effect of light and shade with brilliant drawings in pencil, charcoal, carbon, pen and ink, and brush and ink, encouraging the reader to experiment with diverse drawing media.
Dynamic Light and Shade is an essential volume for everyone who draws and paints.
Hogarth begins with the simplist kind of light and shade, showing how a dark silhouette on white paper can communicate form and space. He then shows how the silhouette is transformed into three dimensions with the addition of minimal light - the highlight.
Following these instructory chapters, Hogarth devotes a separate chapter to each of the given basic categories of light and shade: single-source light; double-source light; flat, diffused light; moonlight; and sculptural light. In these chapters Hogarth illustrates the effects of these different kinds of light on a variety of subjects and examines both natural and artificial light sources.
Moving on to more complex lighting effects, Hogarth explains spatial light - how light and shade can create a sense of "near and far"; environmental light - the effects of weather, time of day, and the changing of seasons; textural light - how light reveals the surface qualities of forms that range from rough stone to silk and satin draperies; transparent light - the effects passing through transparent materials like glass and water, and translucent substances like moving water or sailcloth; fragmentation light - the disrupted light we see in such subjects as fire, rain, and flying snow; radiant light - the intense light we see when we look into the light source itself, which may range from the sun to a candle flame; and finally the various kinds of expressive light invented by the artist - such as the symbolic and mystic light of religious art, or the paterns of light and shade that convey a mood or a psychological state.
Burne Hogarth illustrates every effect of light and shade with brilliant drawings in pencil, charcoal, carbon, pen and ink, and brush and ink, encouraging the reader to experiment with diverse drawing media.
Dynamic Light and Shade is an essential volume for everyone who draws and paints.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
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About the author
Burne Hogarth
96 books86 followersBurne Hogarth started young. Born in 1911, he was enrolled in the Chicago Art Institute at the age of 12 and an assistant cartoonist at Associated Editors' Syndicate at 15. At the age of 26, he was chosen from a pool of a dozen applicants as Hal Foster's successor on the United Features Syndicate strip, "Tarzan". His first strip, very much in Foster's style, appeared May 9, 1937. It wasn't long before he abandoned the attempt to maintain the original look of the strip and brought his own dynamic style to the Sunday comics page.
In 1947, Hogarth co-founded (with Silas Rhodes) the School of Visual Arts which became his new direction in life. He was able to pass his unique methods on illustration to his students in the classroom and, in 1958, to the readers of his first book, Dynamic Anatomy.
Hogarth retired from the SVA in 1970 but continued to teach at The Parsons School of Design and, after a move to Los Angeles, The Otis School and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. During his years teaching, Hogarth authored a number of anatomy and drawing books that have become standard references for artists of every sort, including computer animators. Dynamic Anatomy (1958) and Drawing the Human Head (1965) were followed by further investigations of the human form. Dynamic Figure Drawing (1970) and Drawing Dynamic Hands (1977) completed the figure cycle. Dynamic Light and Shade (1981) and Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery (1995) explored other aspects relative to rendering the figure.
After more than 20 years away from strip work and being hailed in Europe as "the Michelangelo of the comic strip," Hogarth returned to sequential art in 1972 with his groundbreaking Tarzan of the Apes, a large format hardbound book published by Watson Guptill in 11 languages. It marks the beginning of the sober volume of integrated pictorial fiction, what is currently understood to be a graphic novel.
Burne Hogarth passed away in 1996 at the age of 84.
In 1947, Hogarth co-founded (with Silas Rhodes) the School of Visual Arts which became his new direction in life. He was able to pass his unique methods on illustration to his students in the classroom and, in 1958, to the readers of his first book, Dynamic Anatomy.
Hogarth retired from the SVA in 1970 but continued to teach at The Parsons School of Design and, after a move to Los Angeles, The Otis School and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. During his years teaching, Hogarth authored a number of anatomy and drawing books that have become standard references for artists of every sort, including computer animators. Dynamic Anatomy (1958) and Drawing the Human Head (1965) were followed by further investigations of the human form. Dynamic Figure Drawing (1970) and Drawing Dynamic Hands (1977) completed the figure cycle. Dynamic Light and Shade (1981) and Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery (1995) explored other aspects relative to rendering the figure.
After more than 20 years away from strip work and being hailed in Europe as "the Michelangelo of the comic strip," Hogarth returned to sequential art in 1972 with his groundbreaking Tarzan of the Apes, a large format hardbound book published by Watson Guptill in 11 languages. It marks the beginning of the sober volume of integrated pictorial fiction, what is currently understood to be a graphic novel.
Burne Hogarth passed away in 1996 at the age of 84.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 4, 2012
This book is excellent, but for very different reasons than Hogarth's other art instruction books.
In the other books Dynamic Anatomy, Dynamic Figure Drawing) you could draw the images and learn. For this book, it's best to just read through it and absorb as much as you can. Study the drawings and pay attention to what Hogarth points out to you.
As an example of the way I would utilize this, first I would plan out a painting or drawing. Then I would decide what kind of light I would like. Then I would look up how Hogarth describes it in the book, and use it as a guide for my own drawing.
The only thing is that I wish it had at least one section on color, or at least have some of the paintings in color. Everything is black and white.
In the other books Dynamic Anatomy, Dynamic Figure Drawing) you could draw the images and learn. For this book, it's best to just read through it and absorb as much as you can. Study the drawings and pay attention to what Hogarth points out to you.
As an example of the way I would utilize this, first I would plan out a painting or drawing. Then I would decide what kind of light I would like. Then I would look up how Hogarth describes it in the book, and use it as a guide for my own drawing.
The only thing is that I wish it had at least one section on color, or at least have some of the paintings in color. Everything is black and white.
January 4, 2016
Nice, instructional book that helps the artists give items a three dimensional look. Like most of Burne's book, it helps the artist understand the mechanics behind why certain things act the way they do. That said, this is a bit mechanical and stiff approach. It's great background and storybook knowledge, but is not as accurate as drawing from life.
August 13, 2012
An excellent book on lighting. Seeing as I prefer drawing with figures in "heavy shadow", this book was quite useful for me.
January 5, 2022
Some solid illustration advice here, with well-chosen black-and-white examples. I like how Hogarth talks about light— I mean, he's pretty good at explaining the features he's pointing out, but I also just enjoy how much he enjoys it. I also like his practicality: he'll explain various things about how things are supposed to work, but several times he ends up saying basically "It's fine to fudge this and fake it if you think that looks good" or "There's literally no way to work this kind of effect out theoretically, you should just find a real-life example and draw that."
The oddest thing in this book, which made me really wonder whether Hogarth just happened to like this piece and made up an excuse to include it, or if he thought it was funny, or what, is when he throws in a small muddy black-and-white copy of a painting by Don Punchatz that is either a bitter satire of American macho jingoism and xenophobia, or a sincerely creepy example of the same, whose central character is a grimacing muscle-man in briefs with a big star on his crotch. It has nothing to do with light and shadow except in the sense that there is one glowing thing in it, which Hogarth refers to as "Charismatic Light" but come on.
The oddest thing in this book, which made me really wonder whether Hogarth just happened to like this piece and made up an excuse to include it, or if he thought it was funny, or what, is when he throws in a small muddy black-and-white copy of a painting by Don Punchatz that is either a bitter satire of American macho jingoism and xenophobia, or a sincerely creepy example of the same, whose central character is a grimacing muscle-man in briefs with a big star on his crotch. It has nothing to do with light and shadow except in the sense that there is one glowing thing in it, which Hogarth refers to as "Charismatic Light" but come on.
June 1, 2019
Pretty helpful overview of how Hogarth views light.
July 11, 2019
Chiaroscuro techniques discussed in depth. Highly recommended
July 2, 2018
Best book I've ever come across for understanding light in drawing.
Visually simple, but offers, teaches, provides all you need, to understand and learn.
For beginners, to intermediate, or those simply wanting a different point of view than they're used to.
Visually simple, but offers, teaches, provides all you need, to understand and learn.
For beginners, to intermediate, or those simply wanting a different point of view than they're used to.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews