Understanding Values
Learning to use and understand values is one of the most critical skills an artist can have.
I’ve heard more than one art teacher, artist, or art judge say that if your painting is off, your values are probably off.
Values are used to create form and to keep your painting from looking flat.
Understanding and using value is one of the most important aspects of painting and will give you the most satisfaction in your artwork. You should get out your paints and brushes and any paper you want to paint on and play in your paint and experiment with values and how to give something form.
You do it by starting with one color, say blue, take some of the blue and pull it off and add some white to it, then pull off some of that mixture and add more white to it. You should have 3 different small piles of paint that are the same color, but each has a different value. You can do this as many times as you need, but every item needs at least 3 values.
Now as you paint, decide where your light is and start with the darkest part of your object that is furthest away from your light source, then use the medium value on the part that is nearer the light and use your lightest value on the part that is closest to the light.
Try painting a tulip, a cup, a box, or anything else to see how to use value and how it gives your painting life, movement and reality.
Click HERE to watch the video.
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