In this project, you'll do Value Thumbnails to help you see value relationships and organize them into groups. You'll simplify the drawings into just 2 or 3 values. This practice will improve your ability to observe and interpret values in your drawings.

Thumbnails are small sketches. They are intentionally small to help you avoid drawing details. Don't draw the details! Focus on designing the large shapes and assigning them a value.

Reference

In the downloads, you’ll find several images of master paintings. Use the images I provided, and if there's another master painting you're excited about, feel free to study it as well.

Two-Value Studies

Two-value drawings (Notan) use just lights and darks. You'll choose a threshold: anything lighter goes into lights, anything darker into darks. This threshold is up to you, based on your interpretation of the image.

Lights
Darks

Three-Value Studies

Optionally, incorporate a mid value into your thumbnails. The mid value is useful for areas that aren't clearly light or dark and could belong to either group. Including this value helps to categorize those ambiguous areas.

Lights
Mids
Darks

Level 2: Still Life Photos

For more challenge, set up your own still life, compose, light, and photograph it. Use a direct and clear light source to create distinct light and dark areas. Choose a subject that interests you.

Then, do value thumbnail studies from your photo. This is harder since you're working from a photo, not a master paintings, which have a lot of the composing, designing, and simplifying already done. Photos present raw details and noise. You'll need to filter out unnecessary information, focusing on big shapes and value groups. Fight the urge to include all the details.

Remember, this project isn't about beautiful drawings. It's about improving specific skills to help you make beautiful drawings later.

Deadline - submit by Nov 15, 2024 for a chance to be in the critique video!

C. A. Corbell

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[Moved - I originally posted under the Demo comments, accidentally.] Here are my first thumbnails - I have not yet watched the demos. In my three-value study I see a couple of places I could make corrections, mainly where mid tones should actually be dark. I think I'm pretty happy with the Sorolla Notan thumbnail. I'll be interested to watch the demos & critiques - I've downloaded a bunch of master paintings I like to continue these studies.

Rafael Rangel

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Somehow, its one was pretty tiring! ‘:D

@ironfern

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14d

Hi! Here are some of the value studies I did for the assignment! It was definitely challenging figuring out where to put the mental threshold for the value groups. I'd appreciate any feedback! Thank you!

Smithies

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20d

Had a go with the references! Feel like I was kind of getting in the swing of making decisions by the end. Not sure how consistent I was with matching the value groups, rather than trying to make something readable…. but I’ll have a look through everyone else’s and the critiques and demos now to see the answers! Posting them in the order I did them. That first Schmidt landscape felt like absolute madness… Feel like I learnt a lot doing this, but couldn’t tell you what it was haha

Rachel Dawn Owens

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19d

Looks like you went on quite the journey. These are all great simplifications. The Sorolla and Payne studies have the most harmony. The shapes fit together the best. Like puzzle pieces. Looks like you started to get that idea more somewhere around those ones. Looks really great. Thanks for sharing!

Sofy

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20d

Level 2. The first photo is from Pinterest. Don’t know who took it unfortunately.

Rachel Dawn Owens

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20d

That teapot drawing has so much mood! All those vertical lines make everything feel so heavy. The contrast of that white steam make it more interesting too. cool stuff.

Sofy

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21d

Two more level 1 thumbnails:

Rachel Dawn Owens

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19d

Oh, I like these too!

Sofy

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22d

First attempt at Level 1. A little bit confused overall, especially about the first one but will keep at it and see what happens :)

Sofy

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22d

Went back and improved this one

Wibble Wobbles

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25d

These were with paper and graphite. I think I prefer doing these studies digitally.

@sosoph

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25d

Hi :). Here is my level 1 assignment. This exercise helped me see how the artists used big shapes and the contrast between them to their advantage. Finding and sticking to one or two thresholds was hard sometimes, especially when comparing values from areas that were far apart or that were of different colors. Do you have any tips to help me better understand the value of each color? From what I understand, using different colors, even if they have similar values, is a way to add contrast (more information to help differentiate the shapes). At times, I found it hard to ignore the colors and focus only on their values. Thank you :)

Melanie Scearce

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24d

The best way to develop a good understanding is to experiment a lot. I recommend using the value tool (https://www.proko.com/values). Run color images through it to see how the values are compressed. Make hypotheses before you run each image to test yourself, and investigate the why if you were incorrect. Here is a quick graphic I made to show the elements of color and how they affect each other. Brightness is the most important element to focus on here. Understanding the inherent values of different color groups and how saturation affects them will help you develop your eye to isolate brightness. Hope that helps :) Your Notan studies look great!

Luis

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25d

Here are my value master studies. In general, the three-value studies seemed easier to me than the two-value ones, but by the end I think the two-value studies were coming out decent. Except maybe the one from Rembrandt, I don't think I "got" that one.

Michael Yoila

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1mo

Level 2 work

@deepanshu12

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1mo

Gloria Wickman

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2mo

Did a mix of two and three values for these depending on what I thought would work better. I think i was most surprised at how a few well placed darks or lights could keep a figure from disappearing into the background even with it sharing the same value. I noticed this most on the Zorn image.

@mwalker

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2mo

It was challenging to split into just two values - lots of squinting.

Rachel Dawn Owens

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2mo

Wow. You got it though. Perfect notan studies.

Rynhardt van Vuuren

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2mo

I've done a few other but not quite happy with them and have done these over a few weeks. Will do more. Starting to get the hang of it.

Arthur Nesbitt

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2mo

Here's my lvl 1 submission with a couple marler attempts as well. I did a couple before watching the demo then the rest after, it was tough trying to ignore details and try to focus on the larger shapes/composition.

Martha Muniz

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2mo

Solid work!

Chauncey Holder

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2mo

did the 2 vaules it was really diffcult not gonna lie but i had fun

@offworld

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2mo

L1: Did 3 values. Possible that a 4th value snuck in there on a couple of bits. I was definitely overthinking it.

Abitha J

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2mo

Moses

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2mo

ok seeing the values is difficult! i wanted to do all the provided references but lost patience after ten :D i'll have to work on the cleanliness of my shading, too

Melanie Scearce

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2mo

10 drawings in one sitting is great! Nice work 👍

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Stan Prokopenko

Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.