If color feels confusing, start with values. Value is how light or dark a color is — and it is the backbone of believable drawing and painting. At Art Tutor Hanoi we teach values early because once you see them clearly, both realism and composition become much easier.
Value is one part of color
Color has three components: hue (red, blue, yellow…), saturation (how intense the color is), and value (how light or dark it appears). When you remove hue and saturation — for example by converting a photo to black and white — all that remains is value.
A full-color street scene and the same scene in grayscale show the same subject, but the grayscale version reveals the value structure directly. That structure is what your eye needs to read form, light, and depth.
Why values matter
Realism
Most of the realism in a painting comes from choosing the correct value. Saturation often matters more than hue for the remaining effect — which is why expressive painters can use “wrong” colors for sky or foliage and the work still reads convincingly when values are right.
Our eyes also lie about value: reds and oranges often look lighter than they really are. Training values separately helps you avoid those traps.
Design and notan
Values are not only about copying nature. The pattern of lights and darks across your canvas — sometimes called notan — gives a painting its abstract strength. Strong value design can carry a piece even before color is refined.
How artists use values
- Structure the composition and guide the viewer’s eye
- Describe form and the direction of light
- Create a focal area with contrast (think Rembrandt or Caravaggio)
- Suggest distance through atmospheric perspective — lighter values often recede
A simple way to see values
Take a phone photo of your subject or find a master painting online. Convert it to grayscale in any photo editor (Image → Mode → Grayscale in Photoshop, or Colors → Desaturate in GIMP). Suddenly you are not distracted by hue — only light and dark.
Tip: camera photos often crush shadows darker than your eye sees them. When you paint from a photo, compare shadow areas to mid-tones carefully; you may need to lighten shadows to match how you perceive the scene in life.
Value scales (preview)
Artists often organize value into scales — a row of swatches from dark to light. Common setups use three, four, five, or nine steps. Limited scales (three to five values) are useful for studies and notan exercises; a nine-step scale helps with subtle matching. We cover building scales hands-on in the next foundation lesson.
Try it before your next class
Exercise 1 — Old masters in grayscale
Choose six historical paintings and six contemporary works from museum websites. Convert each to black and white. Ask: are the values clearly separated? Pick one piece with unrealistic color — does it still read as a believable scene in grayscale? Note the artist, title, and date when you save references.
Exercise 2 — Your baseline painting
Paint or draw a subject you enjoy — from life if you can, otherwise from your own photo. This is a baseline, not a masterpiece: something you can compare against later as your value skills grow. Photograph the work, convert a copy to grayscale, and ask whether the lights and darks describe the forms convincingly.
Common questions
- What is the difference between value and tone? — In studio practice we use them similarly: how light or dark an area is.
- Do I need to paint in gray first? — No, but grayscale studies and photos are the fastest way to check your structure.
- Can I get feedback on my value exercise? — Yes. Submit your baseline or grayscale study through our free art feedback page.
Want a trained artist to look at your values?
Get free art feedback View drawing courses Complete Drawing GuidePart of the Complete Drawing Guide. More chapters and lessons are listed on the main guide page.