most renowned teacher of anatomy and figure drawing, Robert Beverly Hale. If all the edge and shape of a cast shadow is drawn correctly, nobody will even give it thought. Leggiing PDF/EPUB Artistic Anatomy: The Great French Classic on Artistic. Their interesting arrangement may be exactly the reason for drawing it in the first place. In a lot of modern work, the cast shadows on a table of a still life actually form the basis for the whole composition. There's some choice as to which aspects get preference, especially if working from life where over time there can be several different variations in position of the subject or lighting. But the artist does not draw literally what he sees. This is what he means when he says that the artist does not draw what he sees. That being said, there are lots of opportunities for choosing and editing the shape and length of cast shadows, especially when composing your own illustrations, not just studying. I would argue that if you look at any painting by a good artist, notice how most do have a cast shadow under the nose! It would look silly if they were omitted. I very much disagree, and I don't think Hale is an artist particularly good at naturalism himself.