Reflected Light and How it Affects Art

Let’s talk about light today. Specifically, reflected light and how it affects art.

That may sound intimidating. Don’t let it scare you. Once you understand the concept, it becomes easy to put into your art. Do a few drawings using reflected light and you’ll begin wondering how you ever worked without it!

But first, let’s define the subject. Just what is reflected light?

Reflected Light and How it Affects Art

There are two general types of light: Direct light and indirect light. Every form of light, no matter the source, falls into one of these two categories.

The most noticeable light is direct light, whether from an artificial source or a natural source. This light comes directly from the light source and strikes your subject.

Indirect light bounces off one object and strikes another. “Reflected light” is another term for indirect light.

For example, sunlight is direct light. Moonlight is indirect light—it’s sunlight reflecting off the moon and back to us.

No matter what subjects you draw or paint or how you draw or paint them, you’re working with light. How well you draw light determines how three-dimensional your drawing turns out.

How well you draw reflected light determines how strong the illusion of three-dimensions is.

So it’s important to know and understand just how reflected light works.

Let’s take a closer look.

Inanimate Objects

Here are two apples that might make a perfect still life subject.

The light source is above the apples, to the left and slightly in front of the apples. You can tell by the location of the brightest highlight on the apples. It’s most noticeable on the apple to the right.

There is a highlight on the left hand apple, too. But it’s not facing the light source as directly, so it’s not as bright.

But there is plenty of reflected light.

Examples of Reflected Light

Remember that reflected light is light that’s bouncing off one object and striking another object. There are three places where reflected light appears on these two apples. I’ve marked them with light blue arrows.

The brightest occurrence of reflected light is on the right edge of the apple on the right (top blue arrow). In that place, light is bouncing off the white cloth onto the object. The first object (the white cloth) is quite light in value, so the reflected light is also relatively bright. It’s not as bright as the cloth, but it is brighter than the other occurrences of reflected light.

The second occurrence is just below the first. In that area, light is reflected from a darker portion of the cloth onto the apple. You can still clearly see the reflected light, but it’s not as obvious.

The third area is on the opposite side, in the lower left portion of the left hand apple. This is also light reflected off the cloth under the apples.

Finally, there is a very dim area of reflected light under the stem. That light is reflected from one apple to the other.

Horses and Other Animals

Reflected light appears on animals, too. Take a look at this photo.

This horse is in strong sunlight from the upper right of the image. The cast shadow is directly beneath the horse and stretches out behind. The shadows are all exactly where you expect them to be.

But note that his belly and the downward facing planes of the chest are light. The darkest part of the shadows is not on those surfaces but partway up the horse’s side and chest.

The light areas are light bouncing off the sandy ground and illuminating the underside of the horse. The affect is especially noticeable because the primary light source is very strong, the horse’s coat is smooth, and the ground is flat, bare, and reflective.

Reflected light would be more noticeable on a wet horse.

If the primary light source was dimmer (as in a cloudy day or indoor light), if the horse had longer hair, or if the ground was grassy or muddy, there would be less reflected light on the horse’s undersides.

Also take a look at the top slope of the horse’s rump. Note that it’s well lighted even though that part of the horse doesn’t face directly toward the light source.

The light across the top of the rump is another form of reflected light. This time, the light reflected is from the sky, hence the bluish tint.

Direct Light or Reflected Light?

It isn’t always easy to tell the difference between reflected light and direct light. Take the highlight along the top of the mane, for example. Is it directly from the sun, is it reflected from the sky, or is it a little of both?

That is beyond the scope of this post. However, if you carefully draw what you see in the reference photo, it doesn’t matter so much whether you know for sure if it’s reflected or direct light. Seeing it in the reference and including it in your art is the important thing.

Another Example

Just to show you reflected light does appear on long haired animals, here’s Max. Asleep in a patch of sun falling on a pink towel.

Pink reflects up onto Max between his eyes, on the underside of his outstretched paw, and in the fur around his neck. It also appears in shadows and in mid-tones.

TIP: Reflected light is especially important if you’re drawing something that’s highly reflective like chrome or water. If you want to learn more about drawing reflective surfaces, read 3 Tips for Drawing Reflective Objects.

The Bottom Line

Not drawing or painting reflected light won’t make your art bad. I painted portraits for years without understanding this aspect of light and lighting.

But a good understanding of reflected light and how it affects art can make your artwork better.

Knowing how to accurately draw or paint it also makes your subjects look more three-dimensional. It is a valuable addition in your art toolbox no matter what your preferred subject.

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