Lab One | Lab Two | Lab Three | Lab Four
Light and darks are refered in art as value. Low-key values are dark and high-key values are light values. A standard yellow is greater lightness then a standard blue but the yellow may be modified to a point where they become virtually equal in value.
The value often sets the mood of the art-work. A work with large dark areas creates a atmosphere of gloom, mystery and drama or menace. Prepondrance of light areas produce the opposite effect. Artists must take liberties with light and shadows to create their own visual language.
They often use value as a creater of objects, shapes and space. When artists describe an image using only the naturally occuring values of those objects, they are working with local value.
Value is the necessary element that artists use to create shadows, light sources, reflections and other perceived objects, in art.