Seeing values
Light logic also requires that you learn to see differences in tones of light and dark. These tonal differences are called "values." Pale, light tones are called "high" in value, dark tones "low" in value. A complete value scale goes from pure white to pure black with literally thousands of minute gradations between the two extremes of the scale. An abbreviated scale with twelve tones in evenly graduated steps between light and dark is shown in Figure
Portrait of the Artist. Courtesy of
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Find the four aspects of light logic in Fuseli's self-portrait.
1. Highlights: Forehead, cheeks, etc.
2. Cast shadows: Cast by the nose, lips, hands.
3. Reflected lights: Side of the nose, side of the cheek.
4. Crest shadows: Crest of the nose, crest of the cheek, temple.
11-4 in the color section following page 210.
In pencil drawing, the lightest possible light is the white of the paper. (See the white areas on Fuseli's forehead, cheeks, and nose.) The darkest dark appears where the pencil lines are packed together in a tone as dark as the graphite will allow. (See the dark shadows cast by Fuseli's nose and hand.) Fuseli achieved the many tones between the lightest light and the darkest dark by various methods of using the pencil: solid shading, crosshatching,
Portrait of the Artist. Courtesy of
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Find the four aspects of light logic in Fuseli's self-portrait.
1. Highlights: Forehead, cheeks, etc.
2. Cast shadows: Cast by the nose, lips, hands.
3. Reflected lights: Side of the nose, side of the cheek.
4. Crest shadows: Crest of the nose, crest of the cheek, temple.
"Shadows are capricious. They change constantly—with time of day, wattage of light bulbs, placement of lamps, and changes in your own location. Although you depend on shadow for visual information about the form of an object, you are not usually aware of it as a quality separate from the object itself. You usually discount the shadow and exclude it from conscious perception of the object. After all, shadows change, but objects do not."
Principles of Visual Perception, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1976
and combinations of techniques. Many of the white shapes he actually erased out, using an eraser as a drawing tool. (See the highlights on Fuseli's forehead.)
In this chapter, I'll show you how to see and draw lights and shadows as shapes and how to perceive value relationships to achieve "depth" or three-dimensionality in your drawings. These skills lead directly to color and subsequently to painting, as I outlined in the Preface.
As we proceed, keep in mind the following: The perception of edges (line) leads to the perception of shapes (negative spaces and positive shapes), drawn in correct proportion and perspective (sighting). These skills lead to the perception of values (light logic), which leads to the perception of colors as values, which leads to painting.
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