Drawing is a fundamentally three-dimensional medium, despite the flat surface it is rendered upon. In our 15 years installing… One of the key techniques that can bring a sense of depth, volume, and sculptural presence to a drawing is the careful consideration of light and shadow. By understanding how light logically interacts with form, artists can create a powerful illusion of materiality and physicality on the two-dimensional plane.
Now, this might seem counterintuitive…
This exploration of mark-making in drawing is inspired by the insights of art writer Susan Askew, who examined the relationship between drawing and sculpture through the lens of contemporary artists like Ian McKeever. Askew noted that “drawing has always been an essential tool to the sculptor,” with many sculptors using drawing as an autonomous medium that is intimately linked to their three-dimensional work.
Similarly, the Henry Moore Institute has explored the blurring boundaries between drawing and sculpture, observing that “the pre-fabricated and the hand-made are combined seamlessly in works that challenge artifice and celebrate how the work is constructed.” This interplay between the two- and three-dimensional is a key focus of this article, as we examine how the qualities of mark-making can imbue a drawing with a sculptural presence.
Mastering Light Logic
One of the most essential aspects of creating the illusion of form and volume in a drawing is understanding “light logic” – how light behaves as it interacts with an object. As art instructor Dan Scott explains, “Light always travels in a straight line. The shadows that are made by the light are always in a direct response to whatever the light hits, whatever angle the light is coming from and the intensity of the light source.”
This logical behaviour of light and shadow is crucial for depicting the three-dimensional nature of an object. A single light source will create a cast shadow with a sharply defined edge, while softer, more diffused lighting will result in a shadow with a more gradual, hazy transition. Paying attention to these nuances of light and shadow is key to conveying the sculptural qualities of the subject.
Scott breaks down the essential components of form and shadow into three main areas:
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Light Side: This includes the Highlight (the lightest part where the light directly hits the object) and the Halftones (the lighter tones that blend into the shadow side).
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Shadow Side: This includes the Form Shadow Core (the darkest part of the shadow), the rest of the Form Shadow (which fades into the Reflected Light).
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Cast Shadow: The darkest part directly under the object, transitioning to a lighter midtone and finally a soft, hazy edge.
Understanding these fundamental elements of light logic is essential for capturing the illusion of form, volume, and materiality in a drawing. As Scott emphasizes, “The shadow line is the transition between the light side and the shadow side. This can have many names, bed-bug line, shadow line, terminator, form shadow line to name a few. The main thing to remember is to keep each area clearly defined.”
Expressive Mark-Making
While the principles of light and shadow are crucial for conveying a sense of sculptural presence, the expressive qualities of the drawn mark can also dramatically influence the perceived dimensionality of a work. As the Drawing Book editor Tania Kovats observes, drawing has a unique ability to “bear witness” and “take things apart and reassemble in a way that makes new connections.”
This experimental, investigative quality of drawing is exemplified by the work of sculptor Antony Gormley, who sees drawing as “entirely experimental” – a form of “thought-process” that allows him to explore the intrinsic qualities of materials and the “behaviour of the unconscious.” Unlike the more deliberate and pre-planned nature of sculpture, drawing offers a spontaneity and immediacy that can bring a raw, tactile energy to the depiction of three-dimensional form.
Similarly, the artist Rachel Whiteread uses drawing as a “crucial process of discovery” that is “intimately bound up with her sculptures and installations.” While some of her drawings relate directly to the sculptural objects she creates, others explore more abstract, psychological states – demonstrating the capacity of drawn mark-making to evoke a sense of materiality and embodied experience.
This interplay between the drawn mark and the sculptural form is a rich area of exploration for contemporary artists. As Adrain Searle observed in his review of Lucia Nogueira’s drawings, the works “relate more to the transformations of an inner imaginary process” than to any literal depiction of the artist’s sculptural objects. The “bodies are reduced to blobs of black matter” – an evocative, expressive rendering that suggests physical presence without resorting to strict representation.
Drawing as Collage
One innovative way that contemporary artists have bridged the gap between drawing and sculpture is through the medium of collage. As the Drawing Book explains, collage “can be used to juxtapose different ideas and perspectives; it speaks to the multiverse and to complexity and difference.” By incorporating found, printed, or manufactured materials into a drawing, artists can create a compelling interplay between the hand-drawn and the pre-existing, the subjective and the objective.
This approach is exemplified by the work of artists like Hannah Höch, who used collage techniques to make “brutal or radical connections” and offer a biting social and political commentary on the era of Weimar Germany. Similarly, the contemporary artist Julian Pacaud employs collage to tell visual stories, combining found imagery with expressive mark-making to create surreal, dreamlike compositions.
In my own practice, I have found collage to be a powerful tool for exploring the sculptural qualities of drawing. By incorporating cut-out elements – whether from my own sketchbooks or found source material – I can create dynamic juxtapositions that challenge the flatness of the page and suggest a sense of depth, layering, and materiality. The collaged elements can push back against the drawn marks, or they can be seamlessly integrated to create a cohesive whole.
For example, in a recent series of drawings inspired by the theme of aging and the “performance” of older age, I combined found images of older athletes with humorous song titles and my own expressive mark-making. The interplay between the photographic elements, the drawn lines, and the collaged text allowed me to construct a multi-layered narrative that played with notions of physicality, identity, and social expectations.
Casting Shadows, Building Form
Ultimately, the exploration of light, shadow, and mark-making in drawing is not just a technical exercise, but a means of engaging with the very nature of three-dimensional form and the human experience of the material world. As Gormley suggests, drawing has the capacity to “bear witness” and “take things apart” – to reveal the hidden structures and textures that underlie our visual perception.
Whether through the careful rendering of light logic, the expressive spontaneity of the drawn mark, or the juxtaposition of collaged elements, the artist can bring a powerful sculptural quality to the two-dimensional plane. In doing so, they invite the viewer to engage with the drawing not just as a flat surface, but as a window into a tangible, embodied reality – one that evokes a sense of materiality, presence, and the endless potential of the creative process.
By understanding and manipulating the interplay of light and shadow, line and form, the artist can breathe life into the drawing, transforming the static page into a dynamic, three-dimensional space. It is through this mastery of mark-making that the drawing can become a vehicle for exploring the very essence of our lived experience – a means of casting shadows, building form, and ultimately, uncovering new ways of seeing the world.
Example: Modern Abstract Painting Series 2024