Create your own shadow art!
See the extraordinary in the ordinary while creating your own shadow art. This project can be done either inside or outside — artists choice! To begin, grab your sketch book or a piece of paper of any size and a pencil and take a look around your house, yard or neighborhood. What do you see that you think might have an interesting shadow? Place your piece of paper somewhere below an object of your fancy and trace the shadow you see. If you are doing this project inside, you may have to play around with your lighting. Repeat this process as many times as you wish! When you are satisfied with your drawings, you can add color (optional).
This project was inspired by Japanese-contemporary artist Kumi Yamashita. Kumi Yamashita is thinking of the relationship between shadow and light the whole time she is creating her artwork. Yamashita strategically places a number of every-day items on the wall under a single light source to create beautiful shadows that appear to be crisp silhouettes. Learn more about Kumi Yamashita’s work here and see an example of her work, tutorial videos and a picture of my final product below.
Other helpful and interesting links about shadow art can be found here and here.
Suggested materials:
-Colored pencils, markers, paints (whatever you want to use to add color)
Happy making!
Video of my process.
My final product! Shadow art of my pencil cactus.
City View, 2003, Kumi Yamashita.
“Without black, no color has any depth.”
— Amy Grant