By overlapping such flat shapes, an artist can show that one object is in front of another object. In this way she can give some feeling of depth and distance in a picture.

The same three flat objects are placed here one behind another, and each on a higher table level. This technique shows more depth than the shapes in the diagram on the previous page.

Sometimes an artist may wish to show even more depth and solidity in a work. He may make use of a light shining on the objects to show that the forms have more than one surface: that they have 3-dimensions.

The light shining from the left side of this picture divides the solid objects into two parts: a light side and a dark side.