Shading Technique
Thin henna lines make a pale stain.  Henna smears make a pale stain.  Thick henna lines make a dark stain.  If you work with thick and thin henna by making wispy lines and smears contrast with thick henna lines, you can create depth and shading in your pattern!

Begin shading

Begin your shading by making fine, wispy lines.  Some artists just do these little shading lines, and leave it at that, or feather them out a bit more with a toothpick

detail 1


shading 2

You can also smudge the fine lines to make a thin shading layer.  A toothpick or bamboo skewer is great for smudging.  Its easier to get a smooth smudge if you dip the pick in water.

detail 2

shading 3
You can add more wispy lines to build up contrast for a more dramatic pattern.

shading detail 3

Keep fiddling around until it's done!
Want more details on how to do this?  Go here!
Want to see what was this was like when it was finished?  Go here!

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