Value
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| value/ˈvæljuː/ | The relative lightness or darkness of a colour or tone. |
| value scale/ˈvæljuː skeɪl/ | An ordered series of tones ranging from light to dark. |
| highlight/ˈhaɪlaɪt/ | The lightest area of an image or object, often where light strikes or reflects most strongly. |
| midtones/ˈmɪdtəʊnz/ | The greys or colours between the lightest and darkest values. |
| core shadow/kɔː ˈʃædəʊ/ | The dark band on the side of a form turned away from the light; the paired Chinese term names the boundary where the light stops. |
| reflected light/rɪˈflektɪd laɪt/ | Light that bounces from a nearby surface onto an object, often illuminating part of its shadow side. |
| cast shadow/kæst ˈʃædəʊ/ | The dark area formed on a surface when an object blocks the light reaching it. |
| chiaroscuro/ˌtʃaɪərəˈskjʊərəʊ/ | The use of light-dark contrasts to describe volume or create visual and dramatic effects. |
Light and dark
- Value 明度 is the lightness or darkness of a tone.
- A value scale 明度阶 runs from white through greys to black.
- Value is the strongest tool for showing three-dimensional form.
Value refers to the ____ of a tone.
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Value is how light or dark a tone is.
Light on a form
- Light on a form has a highlight 高光, midtones 中间调, and a core shadow 明暗交界线.
- There is also reflected light 反光 and a cast shadow 投影.
- Reading these lets you make a flat circle look like a round sphere.
Joseph Wright's A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery: one hidden light in the centre creates strong value contrast (chiaroscuro 明暗对照法), lifting each face out of the dark
Which part of light on a form?
Sort each description by the light region it names.
The bold use of strong light and dark to model form is called ____.
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Chiaroscuro uses dramatic light and dark to show form.
Select all regions of light on a rounded form.
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Highlight, core shadow, and reflected light are light regions; the colour wheel is not.
Match each term to its meaning.
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Value scale = tones; highlight = brightest; cast shadow = on the ground.
Contrast and chiaroscuro
- Strong value contrast creates drama and a clear focal point.
- Chiaroscuro is the bold use of light and dark to model form.
- Squinting removes colour and helps you judge value.
Squinting at a scene helps you judge value by reducing colour detail.
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Squinting removes colour so you see the light-dark pattern.
Value matters more than colour for showing form. A drawing with correct value but wrong colour still reads as solid; correct colour with flat value looks flat. When a picture feels weak, check the value range first.
To draw a sphere, place a highlight where light hits, blend down through midtones to the core shadow, add a hint of reflected light on the shadow side, and drop a cast shadow on the ground. The flat circle becomes a solid ball.
Value is lightness/darkness, shown on a value scale. Light on a form gives a highlight, midtones, core shadow, reflected light, and cast shadow. Strong value contrast and chiaroscuro model form and create a focal point.
Write from a 5-step value scale
- A full scale has 5 steps from white to black.
- The drawing uses only the lightest and the darkest.
A value scale has 5 steps from white to black, but a drawing uses only the lightest and the darkest. Why does the drawing look flat, and what would the middle steps add?
A jump from white to black has no steps between, so a surface looks flat.
Why does the drawing look flat?
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Two end values, with the three middle steps missing, cannot turn a form.