How to Shade With Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a viable tool for digital artists with the addition of more powerful drawing tools introduced in the Creative Suite version. Photoshop makes it more straightforward for artists to color their line drawings with options in the layers menu, and even includes the ability to shade sketches with the Airbrush tool. While users with a drawing tablet will find it easier to shade in Photoshop than users who draw with a mouse or trackpad, Photoshop will accommodate the shading needs of any user.

  1. Open the drawing you wish to shade in Photoshop by clicking on the “File” menu and choosing “Open.” Navigate to the file you want to open, highlight it and then click “Open.”
  2. Step 2

    Create a new layer by clicking on the “Create a new layer” button in the “Layers” pane. This will isolate your shading to a single layer so that it is easier to remove if you make a mistake.

  3. Step 3

    Select the “Paintbrush” tool. Open the “Brush” drop down menu and choose a very soft brush (for example, one with 0 percent hardness). Set the “Flow” to 50 percent and click on the “Airbrush” icon on the right side of the toolbar. If you are using a mouse or trackpad, you may also want to lower the opacity to 50 percent so that errant lines are less noticeable.

  4. Step 4

    Select black as the foreground color, or press the D key on your keyboard.

  5. Step 5

    Click and drag your cursor over the areas of your drawing you wish to shade. The softness of the brush, light flow and airbrush effect will produce a soft, gray tone that can be gradually built up for darker shading, just like a real pencil.

  6. Step 6

    Use the “Eraser” tool to remove mistakes. Because your shading is on a different layer, the drawing underneath will remain untouched.

Tips & Warnings
  • If you are using a drawing tablet with pressure sensitivity, Photoshop can interpret the pressure you apply to the tablet in a variety of ways. The best setting to use for pressure when shading is to adjust flow. This option will be available in the “Brush” menu if you have a pressure sensitive drawing tablet connected to your computer.
  • Set the Eraser tool to 50 percent flow to use the eraser like a tortillion. A tortillion is a tool used by artists to remove graphite from paper, softening the effect of shading.
  • Use the “Smudge” tool in the same way you might use your thumb to blend shaded areas together on a real sketch.

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