Title: Value
Course: EN_Overall composition > Section: 3. The elements of art and design

Reflection and Exercise

Look around you and observe the light in your surroundings. How does it fall into the room? How are different objects illuminated?

- Take three photos showing light and shadow on objects.

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Artists are able to create the illusion of light using different color and tonal values. Value defines how light or dark a given color or hue can be. Values are best understood when visualized as a scale or gradient, from dark to light. The more tonal variants in an image, the lower the contrast. When shades of similar value are used together, they also create a low contrast image. High contrast images have few tonal values in between stronger hues like black and white. Value is responsible for the appearance of texture and light in art.

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Watch the respective video and complete the work-table.

Elements of Art: Value | KQED Arts (3:36)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAwYHNo31ZQ

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The chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro is a method for applying value to a two-dimensional piece of artwork to create the illusion of a three-dimensional solid form.
This way of working was devised during the Italian Renaissance and was used by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael.

1. Highlight is the lightest value of an object. This is where direct light hits the surface.
2. Light - as the surface curves, it does not get as much light, so value becomes slightly darker.
3. Shadow - once the surface curves away from the light source, it does not receive any direct light, but it does get some indirect light from the surroundings - that's why it is not completely black.
4. Reflected light is light that is bounced off the surfaces (surroundings), making the value slightly lighter.
5. Cast shadow is the darkest value, but further it is from the object - lighter it gets.

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Practise

Now take your photos again and look at the light-shadow representation.

- Try to depict by drawing one element adding a range of value by "shading".
- Material: paper and pencil

A help can be the following tutorial:
How to Shade Basic Forms - Pencil Tutorial (09:21)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMr6eimcolc&t=6s

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Photography can be defined as drawing with light. Photographers often capture high-contrast colors to emphasize parts of an image, and low contrast colors to add dimension, foreground and background.