CREATIVITY LESSON 2: Tonal Values
You will make a nine-value scale, like the one below, and use it in this and future works to evaluate the values of colors that you see and then make a work of art. Tone is another word to describe values, usually used when referring to the value of colors. A full value scale has highlights, midtones, and shadow tones.
To see objects as they actually appear is to be aware of how light affects the objects we see. Light is why we see color. Light is why we see form. By redirecting our attention away from a focus on the separate objects making up our picture, to a more advanced way of seeing, we create better art. That advanced way of seeing is to look for planes and the values of those planes. Identify the planes. Identify the values in terms of highlights, midtones, and shadow tones. The artist no longer thinks about objects, but focuses on the elements of art: planes, values, and color tones.
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Make a nine-value scale using black and white acrylic paint. Start at the edges with white and black. Then add the smallest amount of black into white for the second step. Continue to add very small amounts of black until you reach the midtone, in the center of the scale. Work from the darkest step to the midtone by adding a bit more of the white to black in each step. Because acrylic paint covers well, you can paint over any step to make it lighter or darker. (1) A value study of the apple was painted using the full tonal range. (2) Then the apple was covered in one mixture of green glaze. The values show through to make the greens appear different. The area surrounding the apple was covered in one red glaze, over the value study.
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