12 – Animals The Leonardo Collection

Of all the artistic genres, the still life is the one that gives the fullest measure of the ingenuity and plastic imagination of a creator. Not only the work but also the theme is the artist's creation. Still life becomes, in expert hands, something full of life, intensified by a creativity that knows how to turn the simplest objects into truly expressive signs full of meaning. However, this is only possible when you have a solid knowledge of the basic fundamentals of drawing. This work deals with these fundamentals and many other aspects: from the rudiments of drawing simple objects to the most sophisticated finishes of a drawing, the reader will find in it plenty of inspiration to develop their own work.

Shading is the most used resource in drawing manuals, and one of the ones that requires the most learning time. The placement of shadows is not an arbitrary matter, but rather responds to systematic rules that determine their position, shape, extension and density. This work exposes several procedures to rationalize shading and get the most out of its representation. It studies how shadows are drawn, what the most common methods are, their correct relationship with light, and how to represent volumes with basic chiaroscuro techniques to achieve the desired three-dimensionality and depth effect. In short, it is a very complete compendium that tells novice artists how to correctly solve any shading variant, based on exercises and steps by step that serve as inspiration and encourage them to put into practice all the techniques described.