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February 9, 2018 at 10:23 pm #451072
Hello forum:
A while ago I posted two videos on the topic of value plan (https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1438899), and moderator ColinS kindly invited me to do a MTM Classroom. I thought I’d give it a shot, I will try to explain what I know about value plan, thumbnail sketch, and design/composition, mainly for representational art. Since I’m self-taught, there is no real system to this, I will just share everything I learned from books and the internet with my personal interpretations. Hope you will find something useful from this thread.:)
What is value plan, thumbnail sketch, and design/composition?
To me, these terms are too intertwined that I won’t try to define them separately. Basically, it is the placement and arrangement of shapes and values in a painting. It is the abstract quality of an image. It is the skeleton and essence of a painting, in my opinion. The goal is to come up with an image that best represents what YOU intend to create. In other words, it helps you turn your abstract ideas into something concrete to work with. If you know exactly what you want in your mind, you probably don’t need this tool.What’s the practical use for them?
1. You can use them to quickly jot down your ideas for a painting, especially from imagination or on-location.
2. You can use them to solve any problems on a small scale before starting a larger work, which saves you a lot of time
3. You can use them to experiment with different formats (landscape vs. portrait vs. square vs. round, etc.), different value schemes (high key vs. low key vs. medium key, etc.), different shapes, edges, and even colors (which is called a “color study”)Can you give an example?
Think of your favorite painting, if one day you see it in a black and white newspaper and the image is just the size of your thumbnail, would you still be able to recognize it? I’d say probably yes, and probably it will still be very interesting to look at. That is essentially the value plan of a painting. Although there will is no colors and no details at all, there is intrinsic beauty that can be achieved with simple shapes in a particular way with particular values, and that is the key to success in a painting.Now show me some real examples!
I like to sketch paintings that I find interesting on the internet. Below are two pages of thumbnail sketches I did (the original paintings are not done by me). I try to do them very quickly to capture the only two things that matter – values and shapes.How should I start?
My recommendations are:
1. No details, only big shapes allowed
2. Keep values simple, about 4 is enough. White, black, and two midtones
3. Limit yourself to 5 minutes to capture the essence and nothing elseWhat tools should I use?
There are lots of options. I use Pentel ink brush pens (one for darkest dark values and one for midtones) and ballpoint pen because it feels more like “painting” to me. Many people use greyscale markers, which are very effective for getting 4 distinctive values. You can also use graphite, charcoal, or anything that allows you to create a wide range of values.What makes a “good” design?
In my opinion, whatever you think is beautiful or best represents your intentions. Some factors to think about are:
– directional lines: are they horizontal, vertical, diagonal? where are they point towards?
– balance: does one side feel heavier than the other? is that what you intend it to be?
– rhythm: is there a smooth visual path? is there a sudden stop because of something blocking the path?
– pattern: is there variation within a repeated pattern? is that what you intended?
– focal point/center of interest: is there a dominant focal point? where is it situated? does it need to be balanced out by other elements?
– overall impression: does it “read” well? is it memorable?I have got a good thumbnail sketch, now what?
Once you are satisfied with your sketch, you can easily turn it into a studio painting. Because by now, you have figured out:
1. Where the lightest light, darkest light, and everything in between goes
2. The shapes of value masses
3. All other elements of composition and designAnd most importantly, you know that the painting will be good because you have already proven your concept in the thumbnail sketch. Maybe you still need to tackle colors and edges and textures and all the other stuff…but I think at least 80% of the work is already done when you have got a good thumbnail sketch.
What are some good artists to study value plan from?
My personal recommendations are: JMW Turner, John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, Richard Schmid, Jeremy Lipking, Edward Seago, Richard McKinley, Joseph Zbukvic, Casey Baugh, Glenn DeanI will be happy to answer any questions! I’m planning to do another demo video to show the actual process of doing a thumbnail sketch and then a finished piece. Stay tuned!
I make concise videos explaining the key concepts in representational art.
I'm self-taught so I make these videos as a way to teach and motivate myself.
https://www.youtube.com/c/DecompressArtFebruary 10, 2018 at 7:50 am #563058Update #1
More things came to mind after posting the thread…Planes of a landscape
Usually a landscape has at least 4 distinctive planes, which directly relates to their values because of the amount of light received on the planes. I find it useful to simplify it like this while doing the sketches. These are not rules, but rather general patterns.1. Sky: often the lightest of all planes because it’s the light source, but sometimes darker on a more gloomy day. The sky is very effective at setting the mood for the painting.
2. Distant forms: often a light midtone, can be distant mountains, trees, etc., most affected by atmospheric perspective, often has a muted color and soft edges. The distant forms creates depth in the painting.
*The sky and distant forms probably make up what we usually call the “background” in a landscape painting
3. Upright forms: often where the focal point is or where the most “action” takes place, receives least light therefore has the darkest value. Can be trees, figures, buildings, or whatever that’s upright. The upright forms often has the most contrast and the sharpest edges. It’s not always the focal point though, you can have a painting where the sky takes up 80% of the canvas, and the upright forms is just a thin strip at the bottom.
4. Foreground: often a light to dark midtone depending on if the foreground is land or water. Water reflects sky’s light so it’s lighter than land. The purpose of foreground is to lead the viewer into the where the action is. Foreground should work with background to create a sense of depth in a painting. I personally don’t recommend packing a lot of details in the foreground, because I think it stops the viewer’s visual path from going deeper into the painting. Keep the foreground simple.
I make concise videos explaining the key concepts in representational art.
I'm self-taught so I make these videos as a way to teach and motivate myself.
https://www.youtube.com/c/DecompressArtFebruary 10, 2018 at 12:08 pm #563054Someone told me the best way to consider the light-medium-dark composition is to think in terms of pint-quart-gallon. Does this work for thumbnail sketches?
February 10, 2018 at 12:58 pm #563059Someone told me the best way to consider the light-medium-dark composition is to think in terms of pint-quart-gallon. Does this work for thumbnail sketches?
Can you explain a bit more about pint-quart-gallon? It’s my first time hearing about it but sure sounds interesting.
I make concise videos explaining the key concepts in representational art.
I'm self-taught so I make these videos as a way to teach and motivate myself.
https://www.youtube.com/c/DecompressArtFebruary 10, 2018 at 7:56 pm #563056Wow what a lot of work you have put into this! Very good information.
I have not heard of the pint-quart-gallon analogy either.
Perhaps that’s because we use metric up here! I almost forget what a ‘quart’ looks like. I suspect it is a small amount of light (pint); a moderate amount of medium (quart) and the rest dark, or vice versa.
I will try and do some of these exercises. Will have to pick up a good pen.
"None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm." - Henry David ThoreauModerator Acrylics Forum~~~Reference Image Library
February 10, 2018 at 8:35 pm #563060Wow what a lot of work you have put into this! Very good information.
I have not heard of the pint-quart-gallon analogy either.
Perhaps that’s because we use metric up here! I almost forget what a ‘quart’ looks like. I suspect it is a small amount of light (pint); a moderate amount of medium (quart) and the rest dark, or vice versa.
I will try and do some of these exercises. Will have to pick up a good pen.
Hey Colin! Good to see you again, this thread exists because of you
And that makes sense now! I have heard of something similar called “80-15-5” rule, which suggests you can build an effective image by having a dominant value (80%), some supporting value (15%), and little accents of the remaining value (5%). I personally don’t follow this rule very much because I often find a more even distribution between light and dark pleasing. But it can definitely be a useful guideline.
I make concise videos explaining the key concepts in representational art.
I'm self-taught so I make these videos as a way to teach and motivate myself.
https://www.youtube.com/c/DecompressArtFebruary 10, 2018 at 11:47 pm #563055Decompressart
Three values lite-med-dark
Three sizes – pint, quart=2 pints, gallon=8 pints
L 1 1 2 2 8 8
M 2 8 1 8 1 2
D 8 2 8 1 2 1
look at the nude in your series. L=1, M=2, D=8
The landscape upper rt. L=1, M=8, D=2February 11, 2018 at 7:23 am #563052sounds like a Las Vegus casino game to me!……IMHO, rules are made up by people to sell books of ‘rules’…..just paint and enjoy!…..:angel: :thumbsup:
February 11, 2018 at 7:36 pm #563061Decompressart
Three values lite-med-dark
Three sizes – pint, quart=2 pints, gallon=8 pints
L 1 1 2 2 8 8
M 2 8 1 8 1 2
D 8 2 8 1 2 1
look at the nude in your series. L=1, M=2, D=8
The landscape upper rt. L=1, M=8, D=2Impressive haha, thanks for doing that. Yes, I think having one dominant value and two other values playing the supporting role can produce effective value plans, but certainly not the only way. For example you can have 50% light and 50% dark, like the girl with pearl earring
I make concise videos explaining the key concepts in representational art.
I'm self-taught so I make these videos as a way to teach and motivate myself.
https://www.youtube.com/c/DecompressArtFebruary 11, 2018 at 7:47 pm #563062sounds like a Las Vegus casino game to me!……IMHO, rules are made up by people to sell books of ‘rules’…..just paint and enjoy!…..:angel: :thumbsup:
I’m not a fan of rules either, but I think sometimes certain technical ideas can be quite useful, like the one old_hobbyist mentioned. For another example, in order to draw accurately, one must be familiar with ideas like proportion, angle, alignment, unit of measure, etc…sounds like terminology straight out of a math textbook, but I find that these technical ideas actually make art much more enjoyable (at least for me :))
I make concise videos explaining the key concepts in representational art.
I'm self-taught so I make these videos as a way to teach and motivate myself.
https://www.youtube.com/c/DecompressArtFebruary 12, 2018 at 7:11 am #563053each of us have our own methods to enjoy our art work….if all that technical data brings out the best in you, wonderful :thumbsup: ….I’d rather spend my time painting (but also researching forthcoming color schemes for furniture, drapes, etc., so my paintings will be wanted for the complete make over)….this is know as ‘art marketing’….:thumbsup:
what you have presented is well thought out and factual….my complements to you…:thumbsup:
February 12, 2018 at 7:47 am #563057I agree with Bluefish – whatever floats your boat.
All that about angles, etc I regard as training aids. The real key to success is practice, practice and more practice. As proficiency increases, reliance on training aids should be reduced, lest the work become mechanical and stilted.
A painting is never really done as long as I can get my hands on it.
February 12, 2018 at 9:14 am #563063I agree with Bluefish – whatever floats your boat.
All that about angles, etc I regard as training aids. The real key to success is practice, practice and more practice. As proficiency increases, reliance on training aids should be reduced, lest the work become mechanical and stilted.
Thanks for the input Cliff. I was more talking about the concept rather than any actual devices, because the concept will remain the same whether or not you use any external aid (I personally don’t use any).
For example, Sargent uses plumb line to check vertical alignment when he’s doing a formal portrait. But even if he is not using a plumb line, he is probably still applying the concept of a plumb line with his eyes.
I believe good fundamentals, if taught properly, will not hinder or limit one’s creativity and spontaneity.
I make concise videos explaining the key concepts in representational art.
I'm self-taught so I make these videos as a way to teach and motivate myself.
https://www.youtube.com/c/DecompressArt -
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