Paper CraftsNo. 6271 · The 2026 edition
Playing with shadows…an easy painting techinique
Turn ordinary shadows into art with this simple painting technique that uses light and a brush.
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at craftberrybush.com.
This easy painting technique uses a light source to cast a shadow of your subject onto canvas. You then trace the shadow outline with pencil and paint over it with a fine brush. Adjust the light's distance to control the size and sharpness of your traced image.
You'll need
Directions
- Set up a light source behind the object you want to trace. Moving the light closer creates a smaller, sharper shadow; moving it farther yields a larger, softer shadow.
- Lightly sketch the shadow's outline onto your canvas with a pencil.
- Use a fine tip brush and your chosen paint color to carefully trace over the pencil lines.
More photos
Photos hosted by craftberrybush.com.
