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| Using the Value Scale in a Painting |
There are actually two ways you can create value change within your watercolors. The first, by diluting it with water and making several puddles of color each of a different value. The second, with technique, by
varying a watercolor's value through softening inside edges.
Below is an example of |
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Using the same image from above, I have now removed all of the color, and only allowing it to display as a black and white. This helps you see more clearly how the five values were used in the painting. |
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| How to Make a Value Scale - Tutorial |
First, trace two rows of five squares each on a small piece of scrap watercolor paper. Then choose a tube of yellow paint and a tube of purple. The yellow
shown here is New Gamboge and the purple is Permanent Violet.
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Light
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Light
Medium |
Medium |
Medium
Dark |
Dark |
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2 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
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Step 1. Starting at the right-hand side of each row, make a small
puddle of each color. The puddles should be thick in consistency containing the least amount of water, but not
looking like pure pigment. You want to have the colors at their darkest value. In the project instructions,
I have labeled this as a color's dark (dk.) value.
Step 2. Now move over to the left-hand side of each row. Take a small brush-load of
the dark color and make a new puddle, adding enough water to make a light (lt.) value.
Step 3. Next, move to the middle squares in each row. Make another new puddle by
adding a brush-load of the light value of each color and a brush-load of the dark value to make an approximate
medium (med.) value.
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You have now established three value ranges for these two colors: a light, a medium and a dark. But quite a few
of the colors that you will be mixing for the projects fall somewhere between the light and medium values and the
medium and dark values. So let's break the values down further.
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Step 4. In a new puddle, mix a brush-load of the light value of each color with a
brush load of the medium value and make an approximate light/medium (lt. / med.) value.
Step 5. In the final puddle, mix a brush-load of the medium value of each color with
a brush-load of the dark value and make an approximate medium/dark (med./dk.) value.
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You now have established the five most commonly used values for both colors. So, you will be able to make the
appropriate value of any color that the projects call for. When you are gauging the colors' values, make them
approximate. A little too dark or a little too light will not make that much difference.
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Basics
