Drawing Class
Value
What is value?
•Value
is how
light or dark an
object is (or
appears to be)
•Value is one of
the Elements of
Design
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Create contrast – the difference between
light and dark
Create form – the illusion of 3D shapes
Create texture – the surface quality of an
object
Create variation – using different values to
create interest in an art piece; variation in
value helps “set the mood” of the piece
The light face next to the dark background creates contrast
Value creates the sense of eggs on otherwise flat paper
Value creates the cat’s fur
The use of different values in the same drawing creates variety
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One of the most
common ways to
learn about value
is to make a value
scale
Value scales are named
by how many boxes
there are
Below is a six-part
value scale
Value Scales
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Get a piece of drawing paper, a ruler, and a
pencil
Create a strip (anywhere on the paper) that is
1” x 7”
1” tall
7” long
Use the ruler to divide the box into 1” compartments
(You’ll have 7)
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Use the same
process to create
two more 1”x7”
strips
Divide the strips
into 1”
compartments
You’ll need:
•Your 3 drawing pencils
•Your blending stomp
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Starting with the second box of your top strip,
create the lightest value you can
I recommend going SLOWLY and using your
4H pencil
Make it close to white, but a little darker
Like this!
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Continue this process for each square, making
it a little darker than the one before it
Your last square should be as dark as you can
make it, without pushing hard

Don’t push so hard you make it “shiny” or break
your pencil, rip your paper, etc.
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Blend each square separately!
Blend by pressing the stomp to the
paper lightly and “scrubbing” in
little circles
Try to keep your dividing lines neat
 Don’t scrub your values together!
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On your second strip,
do the same thing but
use the process of
hatching and crosshatching
This means to make
lines going in one
direction (hatching)
Or many directions
(cross-hatching)
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Do the same thing as
the last two, but use
the value technique of
scumbling/scribbling
This is a technique
where overlapping
scribbled lines make
value
Baseball Drawing Warm-Up
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When drawing, it’s important to make sure
your shading follows the form
If your shading doesn’t follow the form, it will
visually flatten what you worked so hard to
make appear 3D