I have been relatively passive in this thread.

But you dun goofed.

Evidently you need a physics lesson.

Technically shadows don't exist and therefore they can't be flat.

You see a shadow is an effect of the perception of light.

When you see light, the darker area due to the absence of light caused by an object blocking a light source is known as a shadow but there is no "shadow cast", it is merely where the light isn't.

Light travels in one direction but it is NOT 1 dimensional as it travels through time, which is a dimension of it's own.

Despite the fact that Arcacio is correct when it comes to shadows being cast on "3D objects" as having 3D properties (Width, Height and Depth) when relative to the viewer (he is also correct when it comes to light being absorbed through an object with a translucency which creates a shadow with depth relative to the origin of the light), The fact he is blunt enough to state that most of the thread isn't helpful is by no means a result of his ego...

An ego is: a person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance.

Whilst every poster has to have somewhat of an ego to post their perspective in a forum and not be a lurker (Heads up to all the lurkers out there, without you guys the views would be in the 10's and not the 100's) that doesn't mean that the information conveyed is an egotistical diatribe.

This is an egotistical comment...
"Please rate my work"
...because it relates to a person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance.

This is an arrogant comment...
"My work is the best"
because it may have or may reveal an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities.

I need to clarify one major point. You don't need to be good at an art style to criticise its effectiveness or how it is achieved. You only need to know how it looks and possibly the techniques involved in production.


Don't worry, I don't condescend (betray a feeling of niceness or helpfulness in order to belie a feeling or superiority)

If a work is shit, I will just say 'well that's shit'.

It's called honesty, it's a virtue.

For future reference this is what condescension looks like:
"Very good... you should try putting more shadows in."
(Like the qualifier for a work being good is the person saying that it is so and that 'qualifier' is a lead in to advice."

Here's what honesty looks like.

What happened to the shadows?

When people say things like: If you don't have anything nice to say... don't say anything at all.

That's the most condescending, because the person saying it, thinks everybody can't take a bit of blunt criticism and that underestimates a lot of people.



As for this, this isn't helping anybody and you certainly do NOT speak for me and that doesn't make me full of myself for me to not want any part of that.

------------------------
You can draw a shadow quite easily without even touching it.

Start on a black canvas and draw only what you see. You will soon find that where the lack of drawing occurs, is where the stronger shadows are.

It's only because the convention is white paper to black pencil representation that the world of shadowing gets confused.

When creating believable shadows, always take into account (for one) what kind of surface on to which you are placing the shadow. The technique (at least for me) will be different between placing on smooth and textured surfaces. If it's a flat surface, normally a painted shadow w. layer set to multiply or overlay (w. gradients, masks, fading etc), depending on the effect (shiney, dull etc.) you are looking for. ...and to make things more difficult you also have to take into account the temperature of the light...ie mid-daylight often creates blue shadows...etc. So in short, (arcaico, pretty much said it) observe what's around you, and try to copy what you see. You do it enough times and you'll figure it out. For practice , go out and take a photo of something casting a shadow, composing the photo in a way to leave space so you can duplicate that shadow later ...open in PS (or your choice)....try different methods (blending modes,adjustment layers w.masks, etc) of copying the shadow in the empty area....and eventually......

*!*

Wow!
It didn't take long to go from the physics of shadows to the psychology of affirmation!

"A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down."

Whenever I'm moved to criticize a chop for a major error (usually perspective or shadows) I try to sweeten it with a compliment. If it's so bad I can't find anything good to say, I don't say anything. (Probably not fair to the chopper.)

Look. What the woman was trying to explain is... that a shadow... the ones that DO exist... in a drawing... should "appear" flat in relation to the scene. If you've ever looked at a beginner's drawing you will see shadows that appear to not lye against any surface, but rather seem to stand up from the ground,floor or whatever. And it's not just a child's drawing that shows this lack of "flatness", contact with another object or HOWEVER you want to put it. That's all there is to that.
As far as how you wish to express yourself, that's up to you. But there is a thing called "tact" and it is not condescending to be tactful. See, my comment about the truck was NOT tactful. But neither was it meant to be. And it sure wasn't tactful to say that what I wrote was a bunch of garbage.
I grew up in a world where being polite was the norm. But then again I'm 54. The world was surely no better off before politeness was confused with condescending. The internet has blunted civility to a great degree.

But I do appreciate your input and I will give it a lot of thought because it's obvious that you grasp the theory far better than myself.

Would that be a puddle with a shadow - by any chance!

LMFAO

One example of 3D shadowing.

It's creeping into the glass as the translucency blocks more of the light.

It's creating "shadowing" inside itself which gets progressively darker.

dont like to say that, but he's right!