Tutorial 137 - Chiaroscuro
Added 2016-05-21 20:01:24 +0000 UTCChiaroscuro (ki-aro-sku-ro) is an Italian word, chiaro meaning light, scuro meaning dark. It was a technique used to full effect by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt and Caravaggio to name just a few.
Chiaroscuro is a technique used in the visual arts to produce interesting compositions of light and dark that communicate a strong sense of volume. Usually the result is a powerful and dramatic image, striking and sometimes theatrical looking, but the main concern is to convey three-dimensionality on a two-dimensional surface. Traditionally, this is achieved by starting with toned paper moving into the dark with one medium, such as charcoal and then into the light with another, such as white chalk or gouache.
To achieve the chiaroscuro effect we can follow a few principles:
- Place the subject in the light but partly obscured by the form shadows merging into the dark of the background.
- There should be interesting variation of hard and soft edges on the form shadows as light passes over the subject.
- Use reverse gradation, discussed in this tutorial: https://www.patreon.com/posts/tutorial-122-5399831
Chiaroscuro is commonly observed in film, photography, painting and drawing and even in theater.
