Instructions: Practice drawing three-dimensional spheres. A sphere is a three-dimensional form with where all points are the same distance from the center. A sphere looks like a round kickball.

Showing the three-dimensional character of a sphere requires drawing and shading a circle and its shadow. To shade an object and draw a shadow, you must also consider the source and direction of light.

Materials: Drawing paper, drawing implements such as pencils, fine-tipped pens or markers, or charcoal.

Keywords: Sphere

Step 1: Place a spherical object (orange, ball, sphere you sculpted) near a bright light source like a lamp without a shade. Look at how the light hits the object. The object is brightest nearest the light source and gets dimmer the farther away you move on the object. The object casts a dark shadow.

Step 2: Using a pencil, draw a faint two-dimensional circle (you will later erase this outline).

Step 3: Imagine the spot where the light will hit. This will be the lightest part of the circle. The farther from your imagined spot, the darker you shade your circle.

Step 4: Shade the circle.

Step 5: Erase the outer line as shown below.

Step 6: Examine the final three-dimensional sphere below.

Step 7: Practice drawing additional spheres.

Step 8: With a fresh piece of paper, draw anything you wish, but incorporate at least one sphere into your artwork. Use glue, scissors, colored paper, markers, paint, or anything else you desire to create your artwork.

See below the painting 'Melancholia' by German artist Albrecht Dürer. Find the sphere in the painting and examine how the artist shaded the shape to make it three-dimensional. Identify where the light hits the sphere and where the sphere's shadow falls. What other shapes do you see in the painting?