The Value Scale
Introduced| English |
|---|
| value/ˈvæljuː/ |
| value scale/ˈvæljuː skeɪl/ |
| high-key/haɪ kiː/ |
| low-key/ləʊ kiː/ |
| local value/ˈləʊkl ˈvæljuː/ |
| squint/skwɪnt/ |
Light before colour
- Value 明度 is lightness and darkness — the backbone of drawing.
- We see form as light before we see colour, so value carries the illusion.
- A value scale 明度阶 runs from white through greys to black; a smooth 9-step scale is the classic exercise.
A drawing made mostly of light values is called ____.
High-key = mostly light values.
Select all true statements about the value scale.
Beginners usually draw too LIGHT, not too dark.
High-key, low-key, local value
- High-key 高调 drawings use mostly light values (airy); low-key 低调 use mostly dark (heavy, dramatic).
- Local value 固有明度 is how light the object's own surface is — separate from the lighting on it.
- A white cup in shadow is still a white cup: local value + lighting = what you see.
High-key, low-key, or full range?
Sort each drawing plan by its value strategy.
A white object in shadow has changed its local value.
Local value belongs to the surface; lighting changes what falls on it, not what it is.
Match the term to its meaning.
Three value vocabulary terms.
Squint and push the darks
- Squint 眯眼 at the subject: detail vanishes and the big value shapes appear.
- Beginners draw too light and too narrow — push the darks to use the full scale.
- Full range is a score signal: black-to-white confidence stands out immediately.
To see the big value shapes, ____ at the subject.
Squinting removes detail and reveals value shapes.
Grey-on-grey timidity is the most common weakness scorers see. If your darkest dark is a middle grey, the drawing has no light — audit every finished piece against a real black.
Draw a 9-step scale, then an egg using only steps 1, 5, and 9. Three values already model the form; the other six refine it. This is why squinting works — it reduces the world to a few values.
Value is drawing's backbone: build a full white-to-black scale, know high-key from low-key, separate local value from lighting, and squint to see the big shapes.