Here’s a little something I whipped up for Patrons last year, since a few were wondering how to shade and highlight a flat, reflective surface.
I thought I should share this with the public at the suggestion from my wife.
Firstly, when a surface is highly reflective, there will be a ‘hotspot’ of light that will represent the light source (sun) on the surface of the blade.
This will be in the direction of the light source, and it will be the whitest and brightest point.
Two things to remember:
1. Never go to pure black, unless you are painting a surface black.
2. Never go to pure white, unless you are painting a surface white.
Keep all of your deepest shades dark greys, blues, greens, reds, etc. These should be a slight tint of the respective colour, so it will appear as a pure black, but it really isn’t.
The exact same goes for white.
If there are any questions, feel free to ask below.