Color Variations 4 - Value

Color Variations 4 - Value

.

Colored pencil on paper, 6.5" x 10"
.

Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color. As an artist adds white to a color, it becomes paler or higher in value, and as an artist adds black to a color it becomes darker or lower in value.
Different hues have different values, for example yellows have a relatively high value and reds generally have a low value. Artists can use this knowledge to put yellows next to blacks for greatest contrast, or next to whites for less contrast. In the same way, dark blues or reds will not stand out well against black, although they do show up very well when placed next to white.

In this drawing, I placed yellow lines against a white background. Because the yellow and the white are almost the same value, the lines appear to be fading away, giving a sensation in the picture of blinding white light exploding into a dark space.
.

.