How to Draw a Sphere
This can seem like a boring exercise, but it will provide you with a basic understanding of shading a sphere that you will be able to apply on all future drawings.
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Form in Art
The elements of art are the fundamental principles used to create art. Form is one of the elements of art. The others are, line, shape, texture, space, color, and value.
Form is the three-dimensional counterpart to shapes. A square becomes a cube. And a circle becomes a sphere.
Using forms in our artwork helps us create a 3D illusion on a two dimensional surface (our paper).
So understanding how to illustrate forms will help us create more interesting works of art.
How to Draw a Sphere
As mentioned earlier, a sphere is the 3D counterpart to the circle. Creating the illusion of depth on a 2D surface is done using shading.
But before we can properly shade a sphere we need to understand the construction of its form.
Begin by drawing a circle. This can be done freehand by moving your arm from your shoulder. Start moving in a circular motion before making contact with your pencil on the paper.
Start with light pressure and then darken up your lines as you refine your shape. You’ll probably end up going over your circle shape a few times before getting a nice round shape.
You could also use a drawing compass or a template for your circle. For this exercise you don’t need to have a perfect circle though.
The next step is to add some shading to illustrate the roundness of the sphere. But before we do that, let’s look at how the sphere is formed.
This is illustrated using contour lines. A contour line is the outside edge of an object. But it’s also used to describe the inside shape of an object as well.
We can start by dividing the circle in half in both directions. But this makes the object appear flat. So we need to add those contour lines to the interior of the circle.
Anything above the centerline will curve up. And anything below will curve down. The curve should match the curve of your circle.
The same principle can be applied for the other direction of the circle, with the contour lines curving to the left and right.
So, in looking at our sphere with some contour lines drawn in we can see which areas stick out the furthest, and which areas will be hidden in shadow.
How to Shade a Sphere
When shading your circle to create a sphere, keep the contoured drawing in mind. And think about what those lines are actually representing.
First you need to decide where your light source will be coming from. This will determine how your shading will be applied.
For this example the light source is coming from the upper left. You can draw an arrow, light bulb, or sun to represent this if you want.
So with that in mind, let’s think about how the contour of the sphere is. We know that the center divide in both directions are the points that stick out the farthest.
Therefore, anything past that point, in the direction away from the light source, will be in shadow. Because a shadow is created by the light source being blocked.
So your darkest area will be the section closest to the center divide and on the opposite side of the light source.
I find it easiest to shade the darkest area first, and then work outward from there. So begin by shading in that section right below the center point.
You’ll also want to lightly mark where your lightest area will be as well. This will be the area closest to your light source, and placed slightly away from the edge of your circle.
The area between your highlight and darkest shadows should be a gradation between the two points. We cover how to do this in our post on How to Create a Value Scale. Learning how to create different values will benefit you when learning how to draw a sphere.
The easiest way to make a nice graduated sphere is by working back and forth between using your pencil and a kneaded eraser.
You can also use a blending stump to smooth out your pencil lines.
You can also add a cast shadow on the side opposite from the light source. Also note that there will be a reflection of light off of the surface creating a lighter area at the bottom by the cast shadow.
Final Thoughts About Drawing Spheres
Learning how to draw a sphere, and add proper shading, will help you with any future drawings that involve 3D circular objects.
By understanding how to illustrate basic shapes and forms you can make your drawings appear 3D.
So although you may think learning how to draw a sphere is pointless or boring, you’ll benefit from understanding how to do it in future projects.
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