Stippled shadows

English

Noun phrase

Shadows rendered through many small dots, specks, flecks, or broken marks rather than smooth gradients or solid black areas.

Expanded Definition

A visual shading technique where darkness is built up by placing tiny marks close together. The denser the marks, the darker the shadow appears. In illustration, comics, engraving, manga, photocopied art, and retro print styles, stippled shadows create texture, age, grit, and handmade depth.

Plain-English Version

A shadow made from lots of little dots instead of smooth airbrushed darkness.

Example Usage

“The portrait used stippled shadows around the eyes, giving the character a haunted, old-print texture.”