Light and Shadow for Illustrators by SVS Learn

SVS Light and Shadow for Illustrators is an online class from the School of Visual Storytelling, taught by children's book illustrator Lee White. It gives you a clear, repeatable approach to lighting a drawing: establishing local tone, adding form and cast shadows, controlling edges and then adding light. The class has 33 lessons with about seven and a half hours of video and four assignments, and it is included in the SVS Learn membership.

Light and shadow are often the reason an image looks wrong even when the drawing is good. This class tackles that problem with six recurring scenes, from a simple ball to a robot, a room and an exterior, so you see the same principles applied at increasing complexity.

What You Will Learn

• What local tone is and why it comes first
• How dark shadows should be and where to place them
• The difference between form shadows and cast shadows
• Edge control: hard, firm, soft and lost edges
• Adding light without overdoing it
• Common problem areas and how to fix them
• Applying light and shadow in both stylised and realistic work

Who Is SVS Light and Shadow For?

The class suits illustrators whose drawings are solid but whose finished images look flat. It is useful for children's book, comic and editorial illustrators, and for anyone moving from line work to painting. Lee demonstrates in Photoshop, but the concepts apply to any medium; traditional artists are advised to use an opaque medium such as acrylic, oil, marker or coloured pencil.

Course Structure

The class is divided into 13 sections:

• Introduction and tools
• Local tone, with two assignments
• Local tone applied to six scenes: ball, beach ball, multiple objects, robot, room and exterior
• Value and edge control, with an assignment
• Shadow on the same six scenes
• Adding light on the same six scenes
• Finding your style: stylised and realistic examples, with a final assignment
• Conclusion
• Supplemental pencil and marker demonstrations

Price and Access

Light and Shadow for Illustrators is included in the SVS Learn membership. SVS lists its Studio membership at $29.95 a month and shows a $300 annual option on class pages. A 14-day free trial is available with a card and converts to a paid subscription unless cancelled. Members get the full class library, live events and a monthly art challenge.

About the Instructor

Lee White is a children's book illustrator based in Colorado and a co-founder of SVS Learn. He has been illustrating books for about 20 years, with more than 30 titles to his name, including This Pretty Planet, and he co-hosts the 3 Point Perspective podcast about illustration.

How It Fits the SVS Curriculum

Light and Shadow for Illustrators is part of Level 1 of SVS Essentials. It prepares you for the painting classes in Level 4, Painting Color and Light and Painting Texture and Details, which assume you can already place shadows and control edges. The six recurring scenes also make useful reference: many students come back to the room and exterior lessons when lighting their own illustrations.

Things to Consider

• Time: seven and a half hours of video plus assignments; plan for several weeks.
• Software: Photoshop is used in the demonstrations, but Procreate or any painting app works.
• Traditional media: use an opaque medium so you can paint light over shadow.
• Before this: basic drawing and perspective help; How to Draw Everything is a good primer.
• After this: The Magic of Color and Painting Color and Light take the ideas into colour.

Start the Course

Interested in learning with SVS Learn?

Start Light and Shadow for Illustrators

For the full curriculum and membership options, visit the official SVS Learn website.

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Last verified: October 26, 2026