10d (edited) • 👁️The Assignment
Assignment #13: Painting with Shadows
Thank you all for the great submissions for the Close-Up Assignment! I really appreciated the details and textures you managed to find in the mundane—it was awesome to see how everyone changed their perspective!
Now that we've focused on getting extremely close to our subjects over the last two weeks, it's time to shift our focus to something completely different and infinitely more dramatic. We are looking at the dark side.
The Assignment: Painting with Shadow/Negative Space
The Art of Seeing isn't always about what you illuminate—often, it's about what you choose to hide. "Chiaroscuro" is a classic art technique used by master painters like Caravaggio and Rembrandt to create deep contrast, mystery, and intense mood.
Your task is to create a captivating image where at least 70% of the frame consists of absolute shadow or darkness.
Examples of chiaroscuro images:
- A single motivated light source
- Careful control of edge transitions
- An emotionally charged subject
(Important Note: You do NOT need expensive lighting gear for this. I already see you making some new purchasing excuses & :D)!
You can use natural light from a cracked door, light breaking through window blinds, a single street lamp at night, or a simple desk lamp in a dark room. The goal is to be highly intentional with your contrast and composition.
Visual Ideas:
-Isolation >Figure swallowed by black
-Memory >Only fragment visible
-Fear >Unknown space dominates
-Faith >Candlelight in darkness
-Identity >Partial portrait
-Mortality >Still life with decay
The Goal: To train your eye to control high-contrast scenes and to understand how letting the shadows tell the story can completely change the emotional weight of an image.
📝 How to participate:
- Go out and shoot/edit your shadow image.
- Create a New Post inside the "Assignments" category.
- Title Format: Please use Assignment #13: [Your Title]
- Number of pictures: 1 photo
- Details: Include a short "Gallery Statement" – tell us briefly about your intent, the emotion, or the "Why" behind the image.
If you can't make it to the live call, just leave your specific questions in your post and we will cover them in the recording!
⏰ Deadline & Review Call: Submit your work before our next live review call on Sunday, May 31.
Have fun, embrace the darkness, and stay creative!
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Assignment #13: Painting with Shadows
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