Creating Value with Line Strokes

Mrs. Comstock

What is value again?

Value, or tone, refers to the use of light and dark, shade and highlight, in an artwork. Black-and-white photography depends entirely on value to define its subjects. Value is directly related to contrast.

How do I create value with line strokes?

When you create line strokes, the farther apart they are, the LIGHTER the area looks. However, the closer together you place them, the DARKER the area appears.

Example of Close Together & Farther Apart:

So what are types of line strokes?

There are different types of line strokes. Contour Criss Cross Cross Hatching Parallel Scribbling Stippling Wavy Lines

Let’s look at some examples of these different line strokes.

Cross Contour line strokes

Cross Contour Example

Criss Cross Line Strokes

Criss Cross Line Example

Crosshatching Line Strokes

Parallel Line Strokes

Cross Hatch Line Example

Scribble Line Strokes

Scribble Line Example

Wavy Line Strokes

Wavy Line Stroke Example

A VARIETY of Techniques

And Finally, The Stippling Technique

These lines can be used to create different textures as well as value.

Let’s talk more about the stippling technique.

Stippling is a common art technique used to create shading and texture in their drawings, particularly line drawings. Stippling can be done with a wide variety of mediums.

The bottom line is that with the stippling technique there is no line work whatsoever. Everything is comprised of dots.

Examples of Stippling:

You can still combine this technique of stippling with the other line strokes.

For the project we are going to do, I would like to see you combine stippling with at least one other line stroke for some of the features (i.e. the hair or be adventurous and mix it up). Remember the example of the bear we saw- it showed value and texture… you could use that on parts of your image if appropriate.

The MOST Important Part:

Remember, no matter what line stroke you choose, the closer together you put the lines or dots, the darker your value will appear. The farther away you put the lines or dots, the lighter your value will appear.

You will try to find an image that has

STRONG contrast in value. Let’s look at a few examples of good

images.

Just Remember:

Whatever image you find, be sure you LOVE it. You will be working on this for a while. Be sure it has a LOT of value range. You will do a beautiful job! I can’t wait to see them finished!