Art of Drawing: Drawing Light and Shade

GIOVANNI CIVARDI was born in Milan in 1947. While training to become a sculptor, portrait artist and illustrator at the Free Life-Study School of the Accademia di Brera, he also studied medicine and surgery. For over a decade, he worked as an illustrator, producing commissions for newspapers, magazines and book covers. During frequent trips to France and Denmark, Civardi put on one-man exhibitions of this work and pursued his interest in studying the relationship between medical anatomy and the human form as depicted by the artist. His experience gained from teaching anatomy, life drawing and portraiture in schools and institutions over many years has led to the publication of numerous books in which Civardi's experiences are brought into focus.

• * Includes step-by-step demonstrations* Clear instructions on using light and shade to create what you see

Nov 06Any artists will know how complex it is to achieve the accuracy of lighting on a scene. Accomplishing 'chiaroscuro' - the graduating tones in picture, sets the mood and volume in a drawing. I wondered whether there was a structured way to achieve 'chiaroscuro' and after reading this book my questions were answered. Detailed diagrams in this book implore the importance of finding what angle the light source is emitted to achieve a realistic result. Chapters on shadows, perspective, tone and graduation illustrate every aspect of chiaroscuro. The book features tons of drawings and photos to emphasise the structured way to achieve 'chiaroscuro'. To me this book has been a non-stop source of reference. The photos in the book which are intended for you to draw to produce shaded drawings are excellent exercises for you to truly understand this technique. This book has provided me with loads of information on how to inject the real-life accuracy in to my drawings. An excellent read!