With a piece of paper, pencil, and eraser at the ready, start creating droplets by following these steps: Draw one to three circles on your paper. Select which angle you will have a light source coming from. The example above shows the light source shining from the upper left corner of the paper. Sketch a crescent moon shape on the light source’s side of the circle and shade it with a medium to light gradation. At the outer edge of the crescent, the circle’s outline will have the deepest shaded value. It should lighten and fade toward the center of the circle. The lightest value should be at the circle’s center and out toward the opposite side. Students may want to use their erasers during the blending process.
Add “shine” highlights on the crescent by creating rounded rectangular shapes. Complete the effect with the shadow cast on the side farthest from the light source by shading it with the deepest value.