Painting Tips On Establishing Accurate Values

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Six Do's and Don'ts For establishing Accurate Values

1. When painting, never judge a value independently but always in relationship to at least two other values. for study purposes only, however, it's perfectly legitimate to isolate a value and seek to determine its individual place on the tonal scale.

2. Always aim for a strong, simple tonal effect rather than for a complex, fragmented one, wich usually serves only to weaken a painting.

3. Be selective, simplify, don't attemp to render all the tones you see, since this is beyond human capacity.

4. Pay special attention to your halftones, they are subtle, delicate creature, and given render loving care and attention they will respons by lending beauty, character and sensitivity to your painting.

5. In painting highligths, pain just what you see, resist the temptation to render them lighter than they are just because they are hightlights.

6. Keep a tight rein on your reflected lights lest they distort the shadow by their overaggressive, deadly attraction. nothing can kill a shadow faster than a gorgeously over stated reflected light.

While value is, for artistic purposes, separated into nine degrees of tonality, it is also-for the same reason-divided into six different kinds. They are:

1 . L I G H T. 

Those planes that lie generally at a right angle to the main light source are judged to fall within the light value and are painted accordingly.

2 . H A L F T O N E . 

Once you tilt the plane so that it no longer faces the main light squarely but somewhat at an angle, it becomes a halftone.

3 . S H A D O W. 

When a plane turns completely away so none of the main light falls upon it, it becomes a shadow.

4 . R E F L E C T E D L I G H T. 

Light that bounces back into the shadow whether as a reflection of some object illuminated by the original light source or issuing from some secondary light source constitutes reflected light. 

A word of caution:

Be extremely skeptical of such lights, as they tend to appear brighter than they actually are. One must exercise harsh restraint in rendering reflected lights and understate rather than overstate them lest they negate the strength and solidity of the shadow areas. Reflected lights are a terrific temptation for beginners and must be carefully monitored. 

5 . C A S T S H A D O W. 

When a light is intercepted by a form that then projects the effect of this interception onto another plane, a cast shadow is created. These cast shadows are usually darker than the regular shadows since they are notdiluted by any reflected lights.

6 . H I G H LI G H T. 

A highlight appears where a plane-due to its shiny or reflective character simply reflects the original light source. This happens most often on the tip of a nose or in the, eye, creating what photographers call a catch light.

To warn you, however, that this is one instance in which you must take some liberties with what you think you see. Do not ever paint this catch light smack in the center of the pupil which gives the eye a glassy, unreal appearance but instead place it just at the junction between the pupil and the iris at what aerial gunners would describe as the ten o'clock or two o'clock position.

One final word: Contrary to what you may have been led to believe, a highlight is not necessarily higher in value than a light!