tonal value

[jump11]

hi there
how do you uses a tonal value finder
i know you can get diffrant coloured ones like green or red but are they all the same and do you look through them or do you hold them away from your eyes and how do you mach the colouls from your finder to your painting.
from paul

[querin]

I place the red acetate over the image this only gives you the value where an area is lighter or darker, it does not help to match colors. this is a link to a value scale chart it's handy to see when the color becomes dark enough .
http://www.toadhollowstudio.com/imag...wing-tools.pdf
querin

[creativechrissy]

Hi Jump11,

Sound like you are fairly new and need some help seeing colour tone. Doing some tonal exercises will help. For instance the colour wheel is set up to reflect the tonal values of the hue (colour) -very simply put.

Example Tonal Value for Hue
Lightest tonal value 1 -would be yellow
Mid range tonal value 5 -could be red
Darkest tonal value 9 -could be violet

Start be familiarising yourself with a greyscale. Draw a rectangle and divide into 9 squares. White paint box 1 - Black paint box 9. Mix 50/50 for box 5. Now start from the lightest side, and mix your light grey incraments getting darker towards the centre, continue onto the other side getting more dark towards the darkest value.

Now try it with a single colour hue -maybe red because it is a mid value colour.

Once you understand how to "See" tone, then you can use a tonal vaue finder like mine I created.

See if this link will help -it's a tool I created I use for myself I put on my blog to help others http://artycraftystudio.blogspot.com...ale%20template

Because you now understand tone, you can use the "tonal value finder' to judge which tone your hueis. -Use it as a guid. Still use the 'traditional method' of squinting your eyes.

[Einion]

Originally Posted by jump11

how do you uses a tonal value finder
i know you can get diffrant coloured ones like green or red but are they all the same and do you look through them or do you hold them away from your eyes and how do you mach the colouls from your finder to your painting.

I would caution against using one of the strongly-coloured ones Paul as they will distort some value relationships. Read more in this thread from Oil Painting from a couple of years ago:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=612456

And some related threads you might find useful:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=490952
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596920

Einion

[sidbledsoe]

Originally Posted by jump11

hi there
how do you uses a tonal value finder
i know you can get diffrant coloured ones like green or red but are they all the same and do you look through them or do you hold them away from your eyes and how do you mach the colouls from your finder to your painting.
from paul

I have found it kinda difficult and tricky myself. Here is a value finder I made with 9 values, I am holding it in front of a plein air I was painting.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/show...3&postcount=49
I liked the idea that it was painted values on a clear plastic that you could look through and then you could better compare things and values on the painting which are underneath. I think it works ok when you are holding it over a painting but then here I am using it for reference against the subject:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/show...0&postcount=46
Now look at value 3 vs value 4. In this photograph value 4 on the finder looks lower in value than value 3 but it actually is not, value 3 is lower. Value 2 looks about the same as value 4, and 3 and 5 look the same too ! This is no doubt due to the differences in the surrounding contrast of the dark shadow side of the barn vs the brightly lit side of the barn.
I think that the kind with holes in them that have the value reference surrounding the hole that you look through are easier to use in the field, it seems that they isolate the spot better, so I have one of those too.