Experiments with values, part 1

Day 802 of my sketchbook practice

Previous posts in the series about values:

Swatching crayons by value, part1

Swatching crayons by value, part 2

New experiments

• I improvised some simple still lives from imagination to play with values and used my value charts to choose colors.

• For example, I would choose a color for the background and then move down in my chart to select a color for the shadow cast on the background.

• The color could come from the same family or be completely different.

• I would repeat the same for other elements, such as the shadow on the table and the vase.

• Today, I am showing you the first batch of my experiments.

• My first conclusion: For two colors to have distinctly different values, there should be at least ten colors between them on my color charts. 

• Disclaimer: The photos have a filter applied to them, so the values might not be scientifically correct! ;)

Notes:

In the comments section for the previous post, Niina shared a link to a website with the color analysis of Neocolors 2, including values! They have analysis for almost any other colored material. I will be visiting this site often.

Artist Pigments - NeocolorII

Main materials

• Neocolors 2

Paper/Sketchbook

• Clairefontaine Trophee tinted ivory A4 printer paper 160g

This sketch includes an underpainting color done with a brown color marker. For me, neocolors need underpainting to shine. Do you agree?

This last sketch is also where I started to understand the distance between light and shadow on my value charts.