How can I improve my lighting/shadow illustration skills?

Question

I was curious to know if there are any resources, books, blogs that focus on perfecting object shadowing and lighting with Photoshop and/or Illustrator? I have and know how to do basic shadowing and lighting but it is an area I know I need to improve and I would like to know some resources I can review or hopefully learn from. Studies are welcome, too.

Answer 1

I think one of the best methods is practicing from real life. So setting up an object next to a good source of lighting, (window, lamp, etc), and really examining the object/environment, how the light is bouncing off the object, and the shadow reflections. This way, you will be able to see how each individual object with various surface textures will be affected by light.

If you have a portable lamp/light source, trying moving it around the object and seeing how it's manipulative the shadow (I used to do this in college).

Great video sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3WmrWUEIJo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdqKc7klwE0

let me know if you have any questions!