Chapter 1 | SHADOW IMAGES

Shadow images (or silhouettes) are elusive forms. They lack details and are sometimes very vague.

Schimmenspel, tekenles over schaduw

Exercise 1: Place a few small newspaper or magazine clippings of recognizable/realistic figures loosely on paper and trace their outlines as lightly as possible. Move the clippings aside and fill in the remaining shapes as evenly as possible with shades of gray (2B pencil or softer) or dark colors.

In my example, the clippings of a dog and a bird are included. The other two shadow images were leftover clippings that I thought would complement them nicely.

Shadow shapes of four newspaper clippings, 20 x 20 cm.

In a famous shot from an old horror film, the shadow image of a creepy figure (Dracula) walks up the stairs to the door of a room where his victim is. Besides black, the shot contains different shades of gray.

Shot from the film Nosferatu, (Murnau, 1922)

Exercise 2: Draw a frame of 15 x 10 or 12 x 8 cm. Try to redraw the film shot. You may alter the figure of Dracula if you like. Use a soft pencil (2B or softer). Pay attention to the different transitions between dark and light, sometimes sharp, sometimes blurry. You can first make as light a line drawing as possible, like the one below. Eventually, the lines should no longer be clearly visible.

EXTRA 1: Look around you now and then to see if you come across clear shadow images, for example projected on a wall in the evening. Choose a part that you like to redraw, perhaps in a small frame.

EXTRA 2: Create your own shadow play with fantasized shadow shapes in a style you like.

Shadow

Curriculum

Chapter 1 | SHADOW IMAGES

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