While there are a lot of techniques that go into painting realistic elements in a painting, let’s talk about one secret for achieving the same. There is one secret to paint realistic elements that make them look more real instantly.
Secret to paint realistic revealed
Although I mainly paint abstract and semi abstract paintings most of the time, I like to add some realistic elements in my paintings once in a while. If you are adding realistic elements, see if you can incorporate shadows as well.
Adding shadows is not always possible when the background or main theme is abstract. However, I try incorporating shadows whenever possible.
How to get better at making shadows?
As emphasized in my previous blogs, regular sketching practice is very important for every painting artist. Sketching helps in various ways and understanding of shadows is one of the major advantages of regular sketching practice.
One example where I used the secret to paint realistic objects
If you observe my painting, “In The Lap Of Nature”, it is a partially abstract painting. Here, the lady sitting under the tree is a realistic element in the painting. Just to make her look more realistic, I added a shadow of her on the ground as well. This shadow added more realism to the human figure.
With lots of sketching practice, I knew that the shadows are not always as accurate as the object itself. The detailing of the shadow depends on the intensity of ligt and direction. As most of the above artwork is geometric/semi abstract and there is less emphasis on sunlight, I decided to keep the shadow as lesser detailed. The shadow is just a suggestion of the presence of something realistic.
Last words on shadows
If you are working on an idea of an artwork and feel something is missing, try adding shadows wherever possible. You will instantly see the difference. It’s fascinating that a shadow is not actually the realistic element but it adds so much to the realism!
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