Drawing with Confidence, Part 6: Understanding Value Scales and Contrast

Create depth and dimension through light and shadow

Image by Aleks Marinkovic

Drawing with Confidence is a free online art course. Develop your drawing skills through playful exercises and thoughtful experimentation. Overcome barriers to self-expression and embrace the joy of mark making.

Part 6 — Key concepts we’ll explore:

• Light and shadow techniques create depth and dimension in drawings

• Using value intentionally can create three-dimensional forms and spaces

• Playing with contrast can create mood and emotional impact

Understanding value scales and contrast

Light and shadow transform flat shapes into three-dimensional forms. Understanding how to control values is essential for creating convincing volume and space.

The Value Scale

Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a tone. A standard value scale ranges from pure white to pure black with gradations of grey in between.

To create a basic value scale:

1. Draw a rectangle divided into 10 equal sections

2. Leave the first box white (value 1)

3. Fill the last box with solid black (value 10)

4. Create a smooth gradation between these extremes

This scale becomes your reference for judging and creating values in your drawings.

Types of Contrast

1. High contrast: Dramatic difference between light and dark areas (think spotlight in a dark room)

2. Low contrast: Subtle difference between light and dark areas (think overcast day)

3. Gradual contrast: Smooth transition between values

4. Abrupt contrast: Sharp edge between different values

Each type of contrast creates a different mood and visual impact:

• High-contrast drawings appear dramatic and bold

• Low-contrast drawings can feel atmospheric and subtle

The Zone System

Adapted from photography, the zone system helps simplify complex value relationships:

• Zone 1: Pure white/highlights

• Zone 2: Light values

• Zone 3: Mid-tones

• Zone 4: Dark values

• Zone 5: Pure black/deep shadows

When analysing a subject, try to assign each area to one of these zones before beginning detailed rendering.

Value Matching

Find a black and white photograph with clear value contrast. Draw a 5-step value scale beside it, then identify areas in the photograph that match each value on your scale. This trains your eye to see and categorise values accurately.

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Image by Anna Evans

Exercise: Value Study

Discover how light shapes our perception of form. This exercise will transform how you see and render light and shadow. By carefully observing and reproducing the distinct value zones created by directional lighting, you’ll develop the essential skills to create convincing three-dimensional forms on a two-dimensional surface. You’ll gain confidence in seeing and recreating subtle value variations that bring your drawings to life.

Materials

• Drawing paper

• Range of pencils (HB to 6B)

• Eraser

• A simple white object (egg, cup, ball, or paper box)

• A single light source (desk lamp)

• Dark background (optional)

Instructions

1. Set up your object with a single, strong directional light source

2. Draw a value scale on the side of your paper (5 steps from white to black)

3. Draw the basic outline of your object

4. Map out the five main value areas: highlight, light area, midtone, core shadow, and reflected light

5. Carefully render each value area, referring to your value scale

6. Add the cast shadow, noting how it relates to your value scale

7. Step back and assess the overall effect, making adjustments as needed

Process

• Identifying and reproducing specific values

• Understanding how light reveals form

• Developing control of pencil pressure and shading technique

Reflection

• Which value transitions were most challenging to perceive and render?

• How did the presence of reflected light affect your understanding of the form?

• What surprised you most about the relationship between the object and its cast shadow?

• How might you apply this understanding of value to more complex subjects?

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Art in Focus

Development of Chiaroscuro in Baroque Art

The dramatic use of light and shadow to create volume and mood reached its pinnacle during the Baroque period (17th century) with a technique known as chiaroscuro.

Chiaroscuro comes from Italian words meaning ‘light’ (chiaro) and ‘dark’ (scuro). While the concept dates back to ancient Greece, artists fully exploited its potential during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Leonardo da Vinci developed sfumato, a technique of subtle gradation between tones. But Caravaggio revolutionised painting with his theatrical use of tenebrism—an extreme form of chiaroscuro with dramatic contrasts.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610)

Caravaggio, The Calling of St. Matthew, 1599-1600. Source

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio used stark lighting effects to create powerful three-dimensional forms. He used these effects to direct the viewer’s attention to significant elements, heighten emotional and psychological intensity, and convey spiritual themes through physical reality.

Caravaggio’s tumultuous life, marked by violent incidents and legal troubles, paralleled the intensity of his art. He frequently used live models drawn from the streets of Rome, bringing unprecedented authenticity to religious scenes. His rejection of idealisation in favour of depicting ordinary people, often including the poor and marginalised, with unflinching naturalism broke with the artistic conventions of his time.

Works depicting religious scenes demonstrate his ability to capture decisive moments with emotional power and startling immediacy. In paintings like The Calling of St. Matthew, Caravaggio uses a shaft of light to illuminate the central action while surrounding figures emerge from deep shadows.

Despite falling into obscurity after his death, Caravaggio’s dramatic style experienced a remarkable revival in the 20th century. Art historians now recognise him as an important artist who bridged Renaissance idealism and Baroque emotionalism.

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653)

Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes, 1650. Source

Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the most accomplished artists of the Baroque period. She is widely regarded as one of the most important female painters in Western art history. Gentileschi’s work is characterised by dramatic compositions, masterful use of chiaroscuro, and powerful depictions of heroic women from biblical and mythological narratives.

Her most famous paintings include several versions of Judith Slaying Holofernes, which portray the biblical heroine with unflinching realism and psychological intensity. Many art historians view these works as expressions of female empowerment and have connected them to Gentileschi’s personal experiences, particularly her traumatic assault at age 17 by her tutor Agostino Tassi and the humiliating public trial that followed.

Despite facing significant personal and professional challenges throughout her life, Gentileschi achieved extraordinary success while working in Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples, and London. Her artistic legacy was largely overlooked for centuries after her death, but since the 1970s, there has been a significant scholarly and public reassessment of her contributions.

Connection to Your Practice

The dramatic value contrasts mastered by Gentileschi and Caravaggio demonstrate how light and shadow can create an emotional impact beyond mere representation. Their work teaches that purposeful lighting can convey narrative, direct viewer attention, and create psychological depth. By studying their techniques, you can learn to use value not just as a tool for rendering form but as an expressive element that creates mood and meaning in your drawings and paintings.

Observation Practice

Create a simple still life with a single strong light source (like a desk lamp in a darkened room). Arrange 2 to 3 objects with interesting forms. Draw the scene focusing on the dramatic contrast between light and shadow.

Try to channel the theatrical quality of Baroque lighting in your study. Select a reproduction of a Gentileschi or Caravaggio painting and place it beside your drawing setup. Notice how they used reflected light in shadow areas and employed value contrast to create focal points. Note how their shadow edges vary from sharp to soft, and try to incorporate similar subtleties in your scene.

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Drawing with Confidence

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References

Artists & Illustrators. (2016). How to Master Caravaggio’s Tenebrism Technique. [online]. Available at: https://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/how-to/oil-painting/how-to-master-caravaggios-tenebrism-technique/.

Beaven, L. and Ndalianis, A. (2018). Emotion and the Seduction of the Senses: Baroque to Neo-Baroque. Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University.

Camara, E. (2015). Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes. [online] Smarthistory.org. Available at: https://smarthistory.org/gentileschi-judith-slaying-holofernes/.

Google Arts & Culture. (n.d.). Artemisia Gentileschi. [online] Available at: https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/artemisia-gentileschi/m03bgcm?hl=en.

Google Arts & Culture. (n.d.). Caravaggio. [online] Available at: https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/caravaggio/m020bg?hl=en.

Harris, B. and Zucker, S. (2015). Caravaggio, Calling of St. Matthew – Smarthistory. [online] smarthistory.org. Available at: https://smarthistory.org/caravaggio-calling-of-st-matthew/.

Jones, J. (2016). More savage than Caravaggio: the woman who took revenge in oil. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/oct/05/artemisia-gentileshi-painter-beyond-caravaggio.

The London Magazine. (n.d.). The Renaissance as the Birth of the Multifarious Self. [online] Available at: https://thelondonmagazine.org/article/the-renaissance-as-the-birth-of-the-multifarious-self/.

McGregor, G. (2020). Leonardo’s Sfumato. [online] Glennis McGregor. Available at: https://www.glennis.net/post/leonardo-sfumato.