A. Graded Use of Media
grayscale
Weber-Fechner Theory - to get equal steps in scale
mix paints geometrically
( +1 unit of white = 2nd step; +2 u.. = 3rd step; +4 u. = 4th step:
+8u. = 5th step; etc. )
toning - giving an all over mid-value to a surface (as
opposed to stark white) before beginning the work
continuous tone - a gray scale or color image not made up
of series of lines, dots or shapes (photograph, oil painting)
B. Optical Mixtures - varying amounts of whites and blacks can
be juxtaposed to create the illusion of shades of grey
Albrecht Dürer Self Portrait at 22
pixels (short for picture elements) - mosaic like
blocks whose position is numerically specified by the computer
programmer
digitize - scanner reads the values of each area in an
image, then directs the computer to convert them into pixels of
corresponding value
1. thickness and positions of mark
Bedrich Fritta Terezin Theater
c.1940s
(in design, bolder, more closely spaced text gives the page a
“darker” value Paul Siemson
Picasso
1978)
2. surrounding values change the perception of a value (ex.
the same shade of middle gray will look darker when surrounded by
white, and lighter when surrounded by black.)
example
3. spontaneous interaction - the colorful optical effects
created when the eye cannot focus on either the figure or the ground
of a design Arthur Hoener
Color Action Drawing--Internal Echo 1979
C. Local and Interpretive Values
1. local value - the value at which an object (say, in
indirect N. sunlight) would normally have (trees are dark, eggs are
light, etc.) Edgar Degas
The Cotton Exchange 1873
2. interpretive value - when the artist uses values in
relationship to the other values on the page
Pablo Picasso
Two Youths 1905
D. Emphasis and Interest
1. both light and dark areas both can be used to
steer the viewer’s eye toward a focal point
2. extreme contrast in 3D objects draws attention to the
form’s abstract shape or pattern Georges
Seurat Sleeping Man
E. Spatial Effects
1. modeling of forms Gordon Cook
Eggplant
ca.1972
a. gradual change in value indicated by a gradual rounding
toward, or away from, the light source
b. more abrupt transitions cause the contours of a form to
appear more angular
2. pushing values forward and backward via their surrounding
values
a. often darks and lights can be seen in the near
distance, but only grays can be seen further away
Georges Seurat Bathers 1883
b. you can have gradiations going along two different
planes
Gerard Doudera Gray Water with Shadow, 1976
3. depth in space from value
a. areas in the same value range tend to flatten
out
b. scattered values create depth
Charles Sheeler Church Street
El
1920
c. ebb and flow from one extreme value to another creates
depth George Caleb Bingham
Daniel Boone Escorting the Settlers Through the Cumberland Gap
1851-2
