Value
“The degree of
lightness or darkness in
a particular shade of
gray or color”
Used to show
contrast and
light/shadow
Value
Lines do not exist in
the natural world:
Lines are how our brain
translates movement and
changes between values
Value to Show Space:
Negative Space
Negative space is the
space around and in
between the subject
More complete understanding
of the proportions and positive
space of the object
M.C. Escher
Sky and
Water I
Woodcut
1938
M.C. Escher: Tessellations
Values
High Values: Light
Low Values: Dark
Pencils: H & B
H = Hard (Light)
B = Black (Bold, dark, Soft)
Pencils: H & B
8H = Lightest
4H = Lighter
H = Light
HB = Neutral
B = Dark
4B = Darker
8B = Darkest
Charcoal
Vine & Willow Charcoal
Lighter
Easily manipulated & erased
Compressed Charcoal
Darker: Used for darkest darks
Difficult to manipulate & erase
More permanent
Blenders
Used instead of
your hands to
blend charcoal
for smoother
value transitions
Value and Light
Light Source: Direction where
light is coming from
Highlights: The brightest
areas where the light hits the
object directly (High values)
Midtones: The areas that receive an amount
of light between the highlights and shadows
(Middle values)
Value and Light: Areas of Value
Shadows: Areas on object that
receive the least amount of light
(Low values), on the opposite side
of the light source
Cast Shadow: Dark area on surface
where light is blocked by object (Low values)
Reflected Light: Where light reflects
from surface onto object
Drawing Value
-Identify and focus on areas of value (squint your eyes
to find them)
-Focus on the values of different planes (flat surfaces)
-Avoid contour lines
-Use at least 7 different values (more are better)
-Achieved with different
techniques (including crosshatching, blending, etc.)
Hatching and Cross-Hatching:
Using line to create form and value. (This is also
part of the elements of shape, form, value, and
texture)
Value & Contrast
Values are one way give an image
more variety and contrast
Variety & Contrast makes
an image more dynamic,
interesting, and
distinguishable
Lack of variety and
contrast is boring, dull,
monotonous
Robert Longo
American Painter & Sculptor: Born 1953
www.robertlongo.com
“Intimate
Immensity”
2008
Robert Longo
Series: “Men in the Cities,” 1979, Charcoal & Graphite
“Untitled” 1980
Robert Longo
Series: “Men in the Cities,” 1979
“Men Trapped in Ice” 1980
Robert Longo
Series: “Men in the Cities,”
1979, Charcoal & Graphite
“Untitled”
1981 - 1987
Robert Longo Series: “Men in the Cities,” 1979
“
“Untitled (Frank and Glenn Fighting)” 1981
Baroque Art
Beginning 1600 in Rome, Italy
High Value Contrast
Exaggerated motion, clear & easily
interpreted detail
Drama, tension, & magnificence:
idealization & splendor
“The Entombment of Christ”
Caravaggio, 1602-1603
Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer
Italian Painter
1571 – 1610
Realistic physical
& emotional
human portrayal,
graphic Bible
Illustrations
Dutch Painter
& Etcher
1606 – 1669
Portraits &
Bible
Illustrations
Dutch Painter
1632 – 1675
Domestic
interior scenes:
Middle class
life
“The Calling of Saint Matthew” Caravaggio, 1599-1600, Oil
Dutch Golden Age
-1600s, during & after Eighty
Years War (1568-1648) for
Dutch Independence
-New Dutch Republic was
prolific and prosperous in
European trade, science,
and art
-Baroque style, but less idealized
& magnificent: more realism
“The Milkmaid”
Vermeer, 1658-1660
Oil
“The Nightwatch” Rembrandt, 1642, Oil
“The Girl with the
Pearl Earring”
Vermeer, 1665, Oil
Value
Study Guide
Please review the following terms,
techniques, concepts, and artists:
Negative Space
Value to show
Value:
- High and Low
Form
and
Space
- vs. Line
- Contrast
- How to Draw Value
- Areas of Value
Drawing Pencils: H & B
Charcoal: Vine, Willow, Compressed
Baroque Art
Dutch Golden Age
Artists:
-
Traditional: Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Leonardo da Vinci
Contemporary: M.C. Escher, Robert Longo, Dorothea Lange
Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci
1503-1505
Oil on panel
Italian Renaissance
Baroque Art
Beginning 1600 in Rome, Italy
(After the Italian Renaissance)
High Value Contrast
Exaggerated motion, clear & easily
interpreted detail
Drama, tension, & magnificence:
idealization & splendor
“The Entombment of Christ”
Caravaggio, 1602-1603
Dutch Golden Age
(About the same time as Baroque Art)
-1600s, during & after Eighty
Years War (1568-1648) for
Dutch Independence
-New Dutch Republic was
prolific and prosperous in
European trade, science,
and art
-Baroque style, but less idealized
& magnificent: more realism
“The Milkmaid”
Vermeer, 1658-1660
Oil
Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer
Italian Painter
1571 – 1610
Realistic physical
& emotional
human portrayal,
graphic Bible
Illustrations
Dutch Painter
& Etcher
1606 – 1669
Portraits &
Bible
Illustrations,
Softer light
Dutch Painter
1632 – 1675
Domestic
interior scenes:
Middle class
life, realism
The Calling of Saint Matthew
Caravaggio, 1599-1600, Oil
The Inspiration of Saint Matthew
Caravaggio, 1601, Oil
The Entombment of Christ
Caravaggio, 1602-1603
The Nightwatch, Rembrandt, 1642, Oil
Self-portrait, Rembrandt, 1629, Oil
Self-portrait, Rembrandt, 1630, Oil
The Girl with the Pearl Earring
Vermeer, 1665, Oil
The Milkmaid
Vermeer, 1658-1660
Oil
Sky and
Water I
M.C. Escher
1938
Woodcut
Robert Longo
American Painter & Sculptor: Born 1953
www.robertlongo.com
Intimate
Immensity
2008
Charcoal &
Graphite
Robert Longo
Series: “Men in the Cities,” 1979, Charcoal & Graphite
Untitled 1980
Robert Longo
Series: “Men in the Cities,” 1979
Men Trapped in Ice, 1980
Robert Longo
Series: “Men in the Cities,”
1979, Charcoal & Graphite
Untitled
1981 - 1987
Robert Longo Series: “Men in the Cities,” 1979
“
Untitled (Frank and Glenn Fighting), 1981
Migrant Mother
Dorothea Lange
1936
Film Photograph