Drawing and form

Member lesson

Rendering materials and surfaces

Lesson 3 of 14 in Drawing and form.

Glass material rendering · Brunel Design Society
Lesson

Materials are distinguished almost entirely by what they do to light, and a drawing communicates metal, glass, cloth or skin by getting those behaviours right rather than by drawing texture.

litterminator · where it turnsreflected light, alwaysdarkercast shadow
A sphere with terminator, form shadow, reflected light and cast shadow.
Three balls on a table under one window: shiny metal with a tiny sharp highlight, soft purple felt with a broad dull sheen, and clear glass with a bright rim.
A metal ball, a cloth ball and a glass ball under the same window. What each one does with the light, above all its highlight, tells you what it is made of.
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  1. Question 1, locked

    Which of these words means this? “The bright reflection of the light source. Its size and sharpness say what the surface is.”

    • Contour versus cross-contour
    • Negative shape
    • Specular highlight
    • Line of action
  2. Question 2, locked

    Which of these words means this? “Light scattered evenly. Matt surfaces.”

    • Diffuse reflection
    • Axonometric
    • Specular highlight
    • Thumbnail
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which of these words means this? “Light entering a material and coming back out. Skin, wax, marble, leaves.”

    • Subsurface scattering
    • Quantity first
    • Visual library
    • Sight-size

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