Reflection

Mechanics p REFLECTION

Refection is movement across surface

On refective materials – water, metals, glass, etc. – light can refect indefnitely. No only does the light source bounce, but picked-up colors get grabbed up and carried along.

Te best way to convey a sense of refection is to echo the same colors and values throughout a drawing, usually in mirror image. Te only question is how ‘unbroken’ does the surface appear? Calm water (see photo at right) causes maximum refection. Choppy waters cause a broken-mirror refection.

Remember: anything that’s wet will refect. Tink of how city streets act afer the rain. Tey behave just like a lake’s surface. Depth of water doesn’t matter. A shallow water puddle refects just like a lake, even if one is but a flm and the other is 90-feet deep.

Te basic rule for refection is like that of the ancient Greek world: “as above, so below.” In other words, whatever refects is pretty much a mirror image, based on surface of the conveying object.

Make your refected angles exactly the same angle as the originating shapes. Angles don’t change, only the

Digital photo, Jim Chapman

Atmospheric perspective

Te basic idea is that things get less defned in color and lighter in value as they recede – because there’s a veil of air between the subject and viewer. Tings closer are seen without much atmosphere and therefore appear more crisp and colorful.

Te photo at right shows how atmosphere obscures the fartheraway objects while afecting the foreground less drastically.

Drawings done without at least implying atmospheric perspective usually seem fat.

Digital photo, Jim Chapman