What Does Colour, Hue, Value, Tone, Shade and Tint Mean When Talking About a Painting12/18/2017 36 Comments If you are taking an art class, or trying to learn how to paint via books or on-line, you probably keep coming across these words - colour, hue, tint,shade, tone and value. One of my art students asked me about these various definitions recently and I thought - yep - these can be very confusing. Why the confusion? These terms are defined differently in different industries so you will get varying definitions. In this post I am discussing how these terms are used when an artist or art instructor is discussing a painting. COLOUR Let's start withcolour- if someone refers to acolour, we understand what acolouris. Blue is acolour, viridian is acolour, orange is acolour. Experts estimate that the human eye can distinguish up to 10 million differentcolours. A painting is made up of a whole bunch ofcolours.The terms we are discussing describe thecoloursused in a painting and how they relate to each other. And when you are learning how to paint, you need to understand these terms. HUE purecolourin thecolourthat is being discussed. When discussing the dominant colour in a colour we say the hue is ..... Thehueof these colours is green -
Yep. Confusing. The perception of colour and how to create it is very subjective which is why different people refer to these different terms in different ways. HUE - pure colour (colour wheel colours), no white, black or another colour mixed with it - or referring to the dominant pure colour in a colour TINT - pure colour plus white SHADE - pure colour plus black If ahueis mixed only with white or black, it stays apuretintor a pureshade. TONE - pure colour plus grey (black and white added) Atoneis simply a combinationcolour or a greyed down hue, the colours "beige" or "salmon" are tones. Skin tones - think of all of those colours in a face. Combinations of hues with grey create a myriad of skin tones in a portrait. Tones,tints, andshades are all still calledcolours. Which now brings us tovalue,often the most discussed and the confusing one. VALUE - the lightness or darkness of a colour, tint, tone or shade. Artists often use one of these to help sort out thevaluesin their paintings. The trick is seeing what valuea colour is, as colours confuse our eyes, making it hard to see how actually dark or light they are - what their truevalue is.
When values are sorted out in a painting, that is when the magic happens. 36 Comments Lindsay Suthren 12/18/2017 11:40:42 am Thank you, Kate. That was very illuminating! Really! I have been confused in using those terms forever. Now I shall study this so that I may use the terms correctly. No promises! Reply Kate Green 12/18/2017 12:44:03 pm Glad it was useful! Thanks Lindsay! Reply Deneen Casey 1/5/2020 06:40:13 pm Thank you so much for clarifying, it helped my students understand how to identify and name the various use of colours in their paintings:) Reply Kate Green 1/5/2020 06:50:26 pm You are very welcome Deneen! Glad it helped :) Reply Laurene Greer-Drummond 8/27/2020 04:53:22 pm So, I get what you are explaining up to the part about tones. So, tones are the lightness or darkness of a color, hue, tint, or shade. Okay. But say you are working with a medium color. How do you change the tones? By using white again for the light side and black again for the dark side? Thanks for your time in this matter! Reply Bonnie 9/28/2020 11:41:34 pm No tones are a pure hue with grey added. Reply red 2/10/2022 02:27:54 pm Um, so gray is distinguishable from differing levels of Black and White how? Is this just a mixing pigments issue? I add white to create tints, I add black to create shades and I add a pre-combined mix of black and white =(gray) to create tones? Meaning I can't change the tone unless it's a combination/pre-mixed of black and white? Angela 11/5/2022 12:03:57 am My comment is for Red. There wasn’t a “reply” button on his comment so I thought I’ve respond in the nearest comment to his. I hope you don’t mind Bonnie. Hi Red, I hope I can help you figure this out. Let’s start with your first question. “Grey is distinguishable from differing levels of Black and White how?” The answer is that grey is distinguishable from black or white simply because there are NO “differing levels” of black or white. They are each pure. Pure black or pure white. As soon as you add ANYTHING to either one they are no longer “black” or “white”. Next. Yes, you add white to a colour to create a TINT and black to a colour to create a SHADE. Then we come to TONE. Tone is a colour with grey, OR other colours, added to it. So, maybe will help. Let’s take an example of adding grey. Say you have a mix of blues for a sky BUT you want a stormy sky. So you add a touch of grey to the blue and get a slightly grey blue tone. You use that and it’s good but you want it too look a “bit more stormy”. So, you add more grey, perhaps you create a darker shade of grey first by adding Next, you state/ask “I add a pre-combined mix of black and white =(gray) to create tones? Meaning I can't change the tone unless it's a combination/pre-mixed of black and white?” The answer yes, you CAN change the tone with combinations OTHER THAN black or white. What we need to remember though, is that TONES can ALSO be created by mixing several colours together, right? So let’s say we want to create a skin TONE. To create this we start with yellow (a colour). Then you might add red (another colour). Then you might add a touch of blue (another colour). Then you might add a bit of brown (another colour). Then you would keep playing with the colours, you may also use pink (a tint of red and white) or you might just add some white etc., until you had the correct skin tone for the person you were painting. Does that make sense or help at all? I apologise for the length of my response but sometimes it is easier to have each step described fully in order to understand. As Kate said originally, all these different words and definitions can get confusing. I went over the original article by Kate multiple, multiple times, lol. I hope this helps. If you add white, or especially black to a color, it will dampen its saturation or intensity. Reply Thanks for helping me understand that even colors can trick or confuse our eyes. With that in mind, it would be best to have experts for the scientific investigation of art. I might need their services to gauge the value of the painting I saw securely kept in the attic of my grandparents' home. Reply Nontsikelelo 9/11/2021 05:34:05 am Values confuse me..I want to know the types of values of painting Reply 10/19/2021 11:15:05 pm I totally agree when you said that the perception of color and how to create it is very subjective. With that in mind, I should look for art appraisal services to really know the value of the painting that my dad left with us. I found it in his office which he treasured so much and took so much care over the years. Reply Angela 11/4/2022 11:25:36 pm The art appraiser will be able to tell you the monetary value which is, I assume what you are talking about? Not the values IN the painting... lol. Reply Renée Howell 11/27/2021 12:30:49 pm Thank you for confirming my confusion - because it is confusion, it's not just me. Whew. Very helpful to me as I am learning to paint. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Reply Sam Savage 5/10/2022 08:15:22 pm Wow. This is the best explanation regarding color, tint, shade, tone etc. Thank you!!!! I don’t have a fine arts degree and it has been harrowing to navigate on my own. Thank you a million times!! Reply Laurie 5/24/2022 05:01:16 pm This. Was. Awesome. I'm printing and saving this with my art stuff! Reply Mutumba 10/11/2022 10:48:53 am We do not care L+ ratio, you get no bitches. Go outside and touch some grass you antisocial freak. Reply Khaled Ahmed 7/7/2022 09:02:13 am Thank very much, It is very helpful :) Reply Jammal Tyrone 10/11/2022 10:45:16 am Man i just want to say i failed art class in the 2nd grade and it was never the same until i came across this. Kate if I could i would give you a big ol smooch. 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Despite the fact that I am not an artist, I love watching beautiful <a href="https://mrtmaintenance.com/"> painting work</a> Reply 12/5/2022 10:46:11 am These terms are defined differently in different industries so you will get varying definitions. In this post I am discussing how these terms are used when an artist or art instructor is discussing a painting. Thank you for sharing your great post! Reply 1/10/2023 01:41:39 pm Thanks for sharing this article ! it's really useful Reply 1/11/2023 02:19:49 am Excellent article! Thank you for your excellent post, and I look forward to the next one. If you're seeking for discount codes and offers, go to couponplusdeals.com. Reply 6/11/2023 09:15:51 pm Thank you for clarifying the different terms used when discussing color in paintings. Understanding the nuances of color terminology is essential for artists and art enthusiasts alike. Color, hue, value, tone, shade, and tint are all important concepts that contribute to the overall visual impact of a painting. Hue refers to the pure spectrum colors, while value describes the lightness or darkness of a color. Tone refers to the relative lightness or darkness of a color in relation to gray, while shade refers to a color mixed with black, resulting in a darker version. Conversely, tint refers to a color mixed with white, creating a lighter version. By familiarizing ourselves with these terms, we can better appreciate an artist's intentional use of color and its impact on the composition. It also helps us communicate more effectively when discussing and analyzing artworks. Thank you for providing a clear and concise explanation of these color-related terms. It's a valuable resource for both artists and art enthusiasts. Keep up the great work! Reply Mehtablink 10/17/2023 07:16:31 am Hello Reply P 12/11/2023 08:58:57 am Really very clear and helpful Reply 2/19/2024 03:47:32 am How do the terms "hue," "tint," "shade," "tone," "value," and "colour" contribute to the understanding and description of colors in a painting, and how do these terms relate to each other in the context of art? visit us <a href="https://bit.telkomuniversity.ac.id/">Telkom University</a> Reply | Kate GreenArtist and Art Instructor living in Ottawa, Canada. ArchivesJanuary 2018 CategoriesAll RSS Feed |
