Drawing Light & Shade: Understanding Chiarascuro

by Giovanni Civardi

A practical easy-to-follow guide, which shows how to observe and draw light and shade.

Genres: Art, Drawing, Nonfiction, Reference

64 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Giovanni Civardi is a sculptor, ritrattista and illustrator.

In parallel with his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brera, he studied medicine and surgery.

Ciondolo for more than ten years, he worked as an illustrator for newspapers, magazines, also making book covers.

He has made numerous personal exhibitions in Italy and abroad.

Author of drawing books for amateurs and aesthetics, he has been a professor of anatomy and drawing of the human body in public schools and private establishments.

Reviews

[Hon Lady Selene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am irked at the unfeasibility of Learning to Draw by Reading - this only happens by actively drawing and by Looking and Seeing - and clearly I am better at Reading than Looking.

Civardi's little manuals are my favourites - detailed, well printed sketches in various mediums and styles, with bits of explanatory text. This puts one in the bewildering position of having to Look more than Read - which is the purpose of this exercise - albeit it is a painful one, perhaps I've built up some tolerance for it recently?

And chiaroscuro is one of the gems in my crown. Georges de La Tour deploys the technique to great success, especially in The Repentant Magdalene, The Repentant Magdalen and The Penitent Magdalen.

[Kahveci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bilgisayarda çizim yapmaya ilgi duyduğum bu günlerde yaptığım ilk basit çizimlerde ışık ve gölgenin olmazsa olmaz olduğunu fark ettim, kitabı bu sebeple edindim.

Işık ve gölge tonlamalarının nasıl yapılacağı bol örnekle anlatılmış. Benim için oldukça faydalı bir okuma oldu. Uygulama yaparak tekrar okumayı düşünüyorum.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent teaching book. It explains light and shade clearly and simply. It doesn't go into any scientific explanations of light (other than including reflected light) so it keeps things clear and easy for people starting out to know what to most importantly and primarily focus on. A lot of the examples would be useful to copy. Particularly interesting to me was that he does some tonal sketches of some famous paintings (no details--just rough darks and lights--not enough to really see much figurative info) and you can tell right away what paintings that are. He also has a little piece about simplifying fabric that's useful. I think this book would genuinely set someone starting out on the right course.

[Sarah]

არ მომწონს ფანქარში ეს ტექნიკა, მაღალი კონტრასტები მდიდარი ნახევარტონებითაც შეგიძლია მიიღო და ჩემთვის მანდ უფრო საგრძნობია მთლიანობა.

[Eaglewings · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the images are in black & white, except the covers. The examples are very inspiring... I wish there were many more of them. The theories on "tonal values" and "form shadow---cast shadow" are very helpful.

Pages have been wasted by photographs of a "plaster-cast head",which could have been filled with more artistic sketches by the author. The cross-hatching and irregular hatching styles of the author are superb. A good book in need for more examples/demos.