Creating a value scale with oil paint is a fundamental practice for artists to understand and control tonal relationships in their work. It involves mixing shades of gray using black and white paint to create a gradient from pure white to pure black.
A value scale is a series of tonal steps, usually presented as a strip of painted boxes or segments, ranging from the lightest value (pure white) to the darkest value (pure black). Intermediate boxes contain various shades of gray. Practicing this helps you accurately perceive and reproduce different levels of lightness and darkness in your subjects and compositions.
For oil painters, mastering value mixing is key to creating dimension, form, and mood.
Step-by-Step Guide: Making Your Oil Paint Value Scale
Based on the provided steps, here's how to create a basic value scale using oil paints:
Step 1: Prepare Your Surface and Draw the Scale
Begin by preparing your surface. According to the reference, you should "Use a canvas or oil painting paper to make your value scale." Choose a small piece large enough to draw several distinct segments or boxes. Use a pencil to draw these boxes in a row; each box will hold a different value. The number of boxes depends on how many values you want to represent (commonly 5, 7, or 9).
Step 2: Mix Your Mid-Tone
Next, focus on mixing your first shade of gray. In oil painting, "your whitest white is going to be your white paint" straight from the tube, and your "darkest dark will of black" paint straight from the tube. To create a mid-tone, you will mix these two. "Mix the Mid Tone" by starting with a small amount of white paint and gradually adding tiny amounts of black paint. Mix thoroughly until you achieve a gray that appears to be roughly halfway between pure white and pure black.
Step 3: Mix Light and Dark Gray
Once your mid-tone is mixed, you can create additional shades to fill out your scale. According to the reference, the next step is to "Mix Light and Dark Gray."
- Light Gray: To make a light gray, take some of your mid-tone mix or start with white paint and add a very small amount of black. The goal is a shade lighter than your mid-tone but darker than pure white.
- Dark Gray: To make a dark gray, take some of your mid-tone mix or start with black paint and add a small amount of white. This shade should be darker than your mid-tone but lighter than pure black.
Carefully apply each mixed value into its designated box on your drawn scale. You can then fill the end boxes with pure white and pure black. By varying the ratios of black and white paint, you can create multiple distinct shades of gray to complete your value scale, practicing control over your tonal range.
