Egg Step by Step Basic Shading Tutorial

This tutorial explains how to shade an egg with a simple surface and background and demonstrates the use of various types of pencil strokes.

For an explanation of the different types of strokes used in this tutorial see:

Shading Techniques and Stroke Types

Step 1 – Outline the Shape of the Egg

The egg is a very basic shape so there is not much to do in the initial step. Simply draw its outer shape similar to an oval where one end is pointier then the other. You can also add a straight horizontal line to indicate the edge of the surface it’s sitting on.

Step 2 – Determine the Light & Dark Areas

As you can see based on the finished drawing the light will be coming from the upper left. This means that the upper left side of the egg will be its lightest area. The egg will get darker towards the right as its surface curves away from the main light source.

You will also notice that a little bit past the middle it once again becomes lighter. This is due to the reflection of the main light source from the surface the egg is sitting on illuminating its bottom right side. However this area will not be as bright as that lit up by the main light source.

The egg will also cast a shadow to its right (directly opposite the main light source). The base of this shadow will be the darkest area of the drawing. As the shadow moves away from the egg it will become lighter and more blurred.

Keeping all of these things in mind you can move to the actual process of shading the egg.

Step 3 – Determine the Direction of the Shading Strokes

The strokes in the above example show the general directions and stroke types which you will want to shade the different parts of the drawing.

In this example, curves strokes are used for the egg, straight one directional strokes are used for the surface it’s sitting on and straight cross hatch strokes are used for the background.

You can see the two different directions of the background strokes on each side of the drawing. These will overlap to create the crosshatch.

Step 4 – Shade Each Surface Area

Continue shading the drawing by applying strokes in the directions described above. Also, add a shadow cast by the egg onto the table below. You can start building it up using crosshatch strokes.

Step 5 – Refine the Shading & Finish the Drawing

Finish the drawing by applying more layers of strokes to each of its areas. You will also want to gradually darken the “in shadow” sections and create smoother transitions from light to dark. For the egg itself you can blend the strokes to the point of barely visible to show that it has a smooth surface. Do the same for its shadow making it lighter and more blurry as it moves away from the egg.

If you look at the example you can see that the background is generally darker than the egg and the surface lighter. However, you can leave a tiny white edge around egg’s outline where you are worried it might blend into the surrounding shading.

Conclusion

Drawing an egg along with a basic surface and background may seem fairly simple but there is still quite a bit to know if you want to create a realistic looking drawing. Hopefully, this tutorial helped you gain a better understand of applying different types of pencil strokes as well as shading in general.

For more on shading simple objects see:

Drawing & Shading Basic 3d Shapes Tutorial