Light, shadow and shading — Art and painting for kids

Artist's tip

Find the light — “decide where the light comes from, then shade the side away from it”

1. Highlight = brightest spot; shadow side = away from the light; cast shadow = thrown on the surface, away from the light.
2. Hatching = parallel lines, cross-hatching = crossing lines, stippling = dots, blending = smooth tones.
3. Press harder or add more lines to go darker; a value scale runs from white to black.

Use it for: Drawing fruit, balls and faces that look round, and pencil sketching.

Worked example: ✏️ Which shading method uses lots of tiny dots? → stippling

✏️ Practice

Work it out in your head or on paper, type the answer and press Check. Stuck? Press “Show me how”.

🏁 Lesson 12 test

20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.

🏅 Sign in with Google to earn the 💡 Light and Shadow Shader badge when you pass — and a certificate when you finish all 8 lessons of Part 2 · Drawing and painting basics. You can still take the test without signing in.

🖨️ Shading Worksheet for Kids

• Worksheet set 1 (PDF)
• Worksheet set 2 (PDF)
• Worksheet set 3 (PDF)