Value 1

Learning how to use values is one of the simplest and most effective ways to understand light and shadow dynamics. Using values in your drawing can also elevate your art, creating suspense as well as points of interest. In this article, we will break down the fundamentals of using values, starting with basic concepts and gradually moving towards applying these skills to more detailed subjects.

1. The basics of value

Before we discuss values, we need to have a good understanding of greyscale! To put it simply, greyscale is the range of achromatic tones ranging from black to white.

When you are drawing with value, you would mainly use greyscale to train your eyes to “see like an artist.” Value can be shown as light intensity, depth, and shadows reflected on an object without looking at the colors. Here's an example to make it easier to understand!

By removing all the colors from the drawing above, what remains is the contrast between light and shadow.

See how the skin tone is lighter than the trees in the background? That’s because the skin tone has a higher value than the trees with lower values! When something is lighter, it has a higher value (closer to white), and when it is darker, it has a lower value (closer to black).

Its core value is about light: when light hits an object, some areas are illuminated, and others fall into shadow. You can learn more about lighting in videos Lighting 1 & Lighting 2, but here is a brief overview of how light interacts with a sphere and the key components involved.

A light source can be anything that emits ambient light, such as the sun, lightbulbs, fire, and more. Note that the intensity of the light source and the material of the object can affect the light reflected. For example, polished armor being more reflective than a piece of rock.

The highlight is the brightest area on the object, representing where light directly hits and reflects.

Core shadow is the purest and darkest shadow shown, usually an area where light is barely reflected.

Midtone is the tone that sits between the lightest (highlight) and darkest (shadow) areas.

Reflected light is generally a secondary light source because light is emitted in all directions, and it bounces off surfaces to illuminate shadow areas.

Occlusion shadow is the darkest shadow directly where the object and the surface meet. It is where ambient light is entirely blocked, serving as the grounding point.

Cast shadow is the shadow cast by an object, like a silhouette.

Here are some examples of different directions of the light source and shadows on the same sphere, following the same logic of how light falls.

The way light falls applies to other shapes as well, as you can see below.

I highly recommend practicing light and shadow on a variety of shapes. It will not only improve your understanding of form, but also help you develop a stronger sense of value in objects.

Once you understand values well, adding color becomes much easier––color still follows the same light and dark structure underneath. You can read about how to go from greyscale to color in Value 2!

2. Relationships Between Values

Sometimes, the difference of tone surrounding the same values can affect how we see them. In the image below, squares with the same value are surrounded by different toned backgrounds that can make them appear different despite being the same tone!

This is because of simultaneous contrast. The visual illusion happens when our brains interpret colours not objectively, but rather in the context of its environment. To put it simply, a color can look lighter, darker, brighter, or duller depending on the colours and tones surrounding it, even if the color itself hasn’t changed at all.

Here’s a fun fact: Our eyes act somewhat similar to a camera. When we see something in a room, our eyes interpret the "white" or lightest point in a scene as white and adjust everything else proportionately. Our eyes don't judge light on its own; it understands it by comparing an object to what’s around it. That is why an object that is bright relative to a dark room will look dark if placed in a bright room.

3. Start seeing everything as value instead of focusing on details; it’ll save you a lot of time.

Our brains naturally group shapes and patterns into a larger, more meaningful picture through perceptual organisation. When we look at values in a painting, we treat them as shapes of light and dark immediately before registering the details. For example, when we see 2D images, the brain combines them and turns them into 3D because of the depth and shading of the images. Step back and try to notice which areas are in the light and which are cast in shadow, and you'll slowly understand the logic.

Thinking in terms of value simplifies the whole process of drawing without worrying too much about the details—it keeps your drawing balanced and prevents you from spending hours on things that are detrimental to the overall harmony.

4. Real Life As Values

I’ll show you these 4 steps to help you start drawing with value.

First, squint your eyes and look at things around you. If you see them merging together, then you can consider them to have similar values. For example, your surroundings will start appearing somewhat like the photo below. This is a blurred out photo I took on the way to London!

Use greyscale to see your values. I use darker values to outline the positions of the clouds and canopies of the forest.

Then, work out where the brightest values are and start blocking out the highlights. Here, you can start drawing and outlining the general shape of your subjects:

Slowly use values to refine your drawings:

And here’s the final results! Try this exercise with different subjects and experiment!

5. Communicate your intention through values

Many famous artists use value to show the aspect of storytelling in their illustrations.

I really recommend studying master paintings with big contrasts of light and shadow to understand how old master painters convey their ideas. In particular, ‘The Calling Of Saint Matthew’ by Caravaggio is a great example of manipulating values to Convey story lines and emotional expressiveness

In the paintings, light is a guide that shows you what is in the big picture.

In this drawing, we see a big area of light shone into the dark room. This leads our eyes to the highlighted hand signaling to people,whose faces are illuminated showing expressions of surprise, uncertainty. Looking closer, we see fingers pointing at a man questionably, then the man rummages through his pile of coins, like it’s really important.

And this is why light is so important in drawings, from the tiniest glimpse of highlights and shadows. The contrast and emphasis of values can portray powerful visuals and evoke emotion, whether it be awe, sorrow or peace!

Here are some examples of my personal drawings where I tried to use value to create focal points.

For the first example, I used higher values to surround my main subject, making it appear brighter compared to the rest of the scene.

In this piece, I used contrasting values for two characters: one appears brighter and illuminated, whilst the other one extrudes a sad reflection.

For this piece, I did something similar to the piece above with contrasting values in a subtle way. Higher values are used to show light direction, and the character in the middle and lower values reveals the painting behind.

Try to analyze and think about the dynamics of values in your paintings. With some practice you'll be able to see a major difference in terms of storytelling, creating focal points and symbolism!

I hope this tutorial helped you understand one of the key fundamentals of artistic expression. I look forward to seeing more aspiring artists strive towards their vision and wish you well on your journey!

References

Caravaggio. “The Calling of Saint Matthew, 1600 by Caravaggio.” Www.caravaggio.org, 2026, www.caravaggio.org/the-calling-of-saint-matthew.jsp