How to draw SHINY things
- Helen Carter
- Oct 10
- 4 min read
How to draw shiny things without using metallic pencils is something that comes up in relation to pet portrait collars and tags at lot. A tangle of chrome rings can look daunting if you don’t know where to start. The principles for drawing metal tags are the same as making anything look shiny or metallic, so let’s look at how to create the shiny metal effect without metallic pencils.
Firstly, metallic pencils aren't great when used alone. They can be a super fun addition to illustrations, but for realism they kinda suck. When drawing metallic objects, really it's best to see the object as a collection of shapes filled with colours. Once you get your head around that, you can break those 'colour-blocks' apart and start to unravel how everything in realism works!
Drawing believable metallics is all about contrast. The contrast between your dark and light values is really important for creating believable shine. Bold colour-blocks with sharp, well-defined edges are often situated right next to highlights. Deep shadows and super-bright highlights are essential. The reason that metallic pencils don’t tend to look reflective is because they aren’t particularly shiny. It is up to us to create that mirror-like effect using contrast in the reflections we draw.
Reflections are important too. They are what give our shiny object form and dimension on the page. And to really push the realism, those reflections need to follow the planes of the surface they are reflected on. They must distort around curves, and bend across angles. They should squash and stretch in all kinds of ways. Without this, the shiny object you are drawing can become unreadable. So it’s important to pay close attention to these shapes.
And one last thing about reflections, particularly if you’re drawing chrome - the colours should be the same as the thing being reflected. Though it can sometimes look like the reflections are shades of grey, they aren’t. However, if the object is coloured, like these balloon dogs, you can get away with darker versions of that colour. There may still be some of the reflected colours in there somewhere, and that would give it a more unique feel. Use your artistic eyes to decide where.
Going back to the tags momentarily, they aren’t often chrome or super shiny. More likely the tags themselves have a duller more matte appearance, but still reflective. Take a look at MISSY's tangle of tags. They have fewer sharp contrast areas, softer edges between colour blocks which blur the reflections together, giving it a more matte appearance.
Let’s take a closer look at these balloon dogs.
High shine and reflective
Notice how the dark reflections stand out against the lighter areas and how some of the brightest edges facing the main light source are omitted completely. The contrast between the darkest and lightest value is significant.
And there are relatively few distinct values in the ‘mid’ range, which means the darks seem darker and the lights lighter.
The colour blocks, or shapes of colour, within each part of the dog are all well-defined, especially the darkest ones. I haven’t softened the edges or blended them into each other. There is minimal blending between values throughout.
Reflections are warped around the form. The straight edge of the table edge has become curved and stretched and appears in multiple places, with different distortions. But we still know it’s the table edge.
Matte Shine and reflective
In this example I have gently blended everything and toned down the contrast. The darks aren’t as dark as before and the lights aren’t as light.
The reflections are all still there, but with far less definition. They still curve and flow around the dog’s shape, but you can’t tell what they are.
Those well-defined shapes of colour within each element have disappeared into each other to create a much less reflective, less shiny surface. But still a bit metallic.
This is the approach I take when drawing pet-tags. It’s shiny enough to give the right effect. If the tag is a matte chrome, I’d use some colours from the animal as these work well for the blended reflections.
Minimal Shine and low reflective
This last example shows how further blending of all the reflections into smooth, gradual transitions can remove all appearance of shine and reflectivity. I’ve deliberately left some hints of reflections in there for this example, but they are very nebulous.
The contrast has been dialled back again, with the darkest dark being reserved for only the deepest shadows and those bright highlights darkened to a light midtone.
Subtle gradients help to create the three-dimensionality of each part. Shading that flows around the surface, following the form will result in a realistic drawing. Just as the reflections gave the balloon dog its surface texture and form in the first example, here, it is defined by the transitions of dark to light across the surface.
Why don’t you try copying these techniques to create different levels of shine and reflection. Use the simple reference (top of page) and line-drawing (below), or find your own shiny object to practice on.
I'd love to see how you get on. Remember to tag me on social media, or send me a photo.
Comments