- Definition
Shade is when you make a color darker by adding black to it, or it's a way artists make parts of a picture darker to show depth and shadows.
Pressing harder with a pencil to make the underside of a drawn apple darker is a way to shade it.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: A shade of a colour is like what you see when part of a toy is in shadow — it’s the same colour, just darker.
Ask your child: How can you make this part of the drawing look like it's hiding from the light?
Common mix-up: Kids may think shading just means colouring something black. Shading is actually about creating darker values of any colour to show form and shadow.
Examples
- Adding a little black paint to red paint creates a darker shade of red, like maroon.
- Using criss-crossing lines to make one side of a drawn box look like it is in shadow.
shade is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
