value

In art, a property of colour referring to the relationship between tones (ranging from light to dark), and the degree of lightness or darkness of a colour: it is one of the formal art elements. Value is represented on a nine-step scale, with white at one end and black at the other. The lightness or darkness of a value is relative to the surrounding values. Reflected light (light that bounces off an object making it visible), shading (a technique used to make a form look solid), and chiaroscuro (Italian ‘light-dark’), are all vocabulary associated with value.

Value can also convey a mood or feeling; use of high value contrast (values from each end of the nine-step scale) can represent a certain frame of mind or state. In general, artists use very low value contrasts, keeping to the middle of the scale.