[{{ paag_pillow_shading.png|a) pillow shaded shapes\\ b) raytracing output from a single light source illuminating simple volumes}}]
**Pillow Shading** refers to gradients of [[tint|tints]], [[value_and_key|tones]] and [[shade|shades]] which hug outlines or contours instead of following any light and shadow logic by imagined light as it would illuminate volumes in three dimensional space.

Although with a straight frontal light source of an infinite amount of parallel rays going into the picture plane, objects might appear a tiny bit similar to as they appears when pillow shaded, pillow shading is the result of a flat, shape based, two dimensional thought process which considers neither perspective nor volumes, nor the nature of how light is manipulated as it hits surfaces.