Value: form in light

Value: form in light

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• 2.
  The aim ofrealist value drawing is to show the light and shadow and surface tones, creating a three-dimensional illusion.
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  Value is arange from highlight (the brightest highlight being white) to shadow (the darkest being black) and all of the tones in between. The 3 tones to know are white (highlight) middle grey, and black (shadow).
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  We can usevalue to make a 2D drawing look 3D. For example, we can make this circle look like a sphere by using a range of value to give the illusion of form.
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  Outlines only definevisible edges and don't tell us anything about light and dark. Linear drawing and value drawing are two different systems of representation.
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  One of thesedrawings has been made using both outline and value, the other only uses value to describe a cube. By eliminating outlines and using value to describe the differences in the surface of an object a drawing becomes more realistic.
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  A good wayto begin using value in a drawing is to assign each shape in the drawing a different value. Notice the different shapes of value in this ink wash drawing.
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  This ink washdrawing also uses value to define shapes. It has, however, limited itself to only two values: black and white. This is a two-tone drawing. Two tone drawings are not limited to black and white, they can be made by pairing any two values from black, through intermediate grays, to white.
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  Notice that thepumpkin is defined only by light and dark, not by outline. By filling in the background with value, the light edge of the pumpkin is visible. Most successful value drawings use light and dark throughout the entire composition.
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  Value drawing islike painting in graphite or charcoal. Although the process is different than using a brush, you need to think in terms of areas as opposed to lines. Shade the darks, observing the shape and value while being careful to shade up to the edge of adjoining light areas. The astounding realism that we see in some images is this approach taken to a very high degree of detail, where the tonal values are closely observed and finely drawn.
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  When creating avalue drawing, you need to shift out of line-drawing mode. The best way to do this is to forbid yourself to draw a line, and focus on areas of value. You might use the lightest of lines to get down the basic shapes. From there, build up the shading. Often the 'outline' will be at the join between two different values, and is created by the contrast between the light and dark area.
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  Contrast! Remember thelines between values? Well, those hard lines form contrast. Of course, contrast comes in shades of grey, too. High contrast is when subjects are illuminated by a bright light source and cast dark shadows – which can look dramatic. Light and dark values will be next to each other. In the value chart, you would be skipping a value or two (or more!).
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  Low contrast, onthe other hand, often uses values that are next to each other on the value chart. (In fact, something that has only one value would be “no contrast”). With low contrast, values close together will define the bulk of the subject. You could selectively highlight or accentuate portions with lights or darks.
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  A Value Scaleis a valuable tool to help you find value in your subject matter. Our first class exercise is to create a NINE STEP Value Scale to accompany your drawing.