Silverpoint

The order of values in daylight

The order of values in daylight: the sky lightest, then the flat ground that faces it, then upright planes, then undersides and cast shadows1 · sky2 · roof (tilted to sky)3 · flat ground4 · lit wall6 · shadow wall7 · cast shadow9 · open doorwayA plane's value depends on how squarely it faces the light. The sky is the light.Flat planes face it: light. Uprights glance it: mid. Undersides turn away: dark.If your ground is darker than your walls on a sunny day, the drawing will feel wrong and you will not know why.
FigureThe order of values in daylight
FoundationMass

The order of values in daylight

A simple building in sun: sky, ground, wall, shadow, void

Draw a sunlit building with its planes in the correct daylight value order, regardless of their colours.

Difficulty
Time
about 1 h
You draw with
HB, 2B, 4B, 6B
The order of values in daylightLight on formCast shadows on buildings

Why this one

  • Unit 3 of the program: Mass: the Corot Half.
  • A building that is obviously in sunlight, whose ground is lighter than its walls and whose roof is lighter than you expected.

From your kit

The whole kit →
  1. 1Grafwood HB, 2B, 4B, 6B HB for layout and line; 2B, 4B, 6B for the darks, on their sides for mass. Long points from the Blackwing on everything up to B.
  2. 2Pitt Matt 8B to 12B for the big tone passages: matt, so the dark mass reads as tone, not shine.
  3. 3Kneaded eraser (warm it) and the clean Mono Zero lift the lights out of the mass; the Mono Zero for sky holes and lit edges.
  4. 4Alpha sketchbook 9 x 6 draw at the book's size and keep the proportions; date the page.
In general, this study asks for
  • Drawing pad
  • HB, 2B, 4B, 6B
  • A photo of a simple building in direct sun

Watch first

All videos →

Shadow shapes as flat masses first. Shown on a portrait, but the principle is identical for a tree or a tower.

YouTube
Cotman in Normandy: curator's lectureDulwich Picture Gallery · Timothy Wilcox on the Normandy tours and the Architectural Antiquities etchings. The architectural half of this course, explained by its curator.In the studio with graphite pencil artist Minty SainsburyArtfully Crafted · A living architectural pencil draughtsman at work. The closest modern analogue to the Forrest side of this course.

The plan

4 stages · ~50 min
  1. 1

    Rank the planes

    15 min

    Before drawing, list the planes in the photo and rank them: sky, roof (tilted to the sky), flat ground, lit wall, shadow wall, cast shadow, the dark of the open door. Write the ranking on the sheet. Check it against the diagram. If the ground is darker than a lit wall, look again; it is usually the colour fooling you.

    The order of values in daylight: the sky lightest, then the flat ground that faces it, then upright planes, then undersides and cast shadows1 · sky2 · roof (tilted to sky)3 · flat ground4 · lit wall6 · shadow wall7 · cast shadow9 · open doorwayA plane's value depends on how squarely it faces the light. The sky is the light.Flat planes face it: light. Uprights glance it: mid. Undersides turn away: dark.If your ground is darker than your walls on a sunny day, the drawing will feel wrong and you will not know why.
    FigureThe daylight order, from the sky down.
    Checklist0 / 1
  2. 2

    Draw in rank order

    15 min

    Envelope and masses first (you know how). Then lay the values from lightest to darkest in the order of your list, each plane a flat tone. Keep the roof lighter than the wall below it even if it is dark slate. Keep the ground lighter than the uprights. Door last, with the 6B.

    Italian Landscape, Corot, c. 1865
    Cleveland Museum of Art

    Corot, Italian Landscape, c. 1865. etching.

    Corot, Italian Landscape (etching). Sky nearly bare, flat ground lightly hatched, the upright trees dark.

    The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland

    Checklist0 / 1
  3. 3

    Greyscale check

    15 min

    Set the phone to greyscale and compare the photo to your drawing. The order should match. The exact values may not; the order must.

    Checklist0 / 1
  4. 4

    Self-check

    5 min

    Tick each item honestly. If one is a no, the session is not finished; go back to that step.

    Checklist0 / 3

What it should look like

  • A building that is obviously in sunlight, whose ground is lighter than its walls and whose roof is lighter than you expected.

Where it goes wrong

  • Dark ground, light walls. Drew the colour of the ground. Greyscale the photo. Draw what the squint says, not what you know.

Log this session

Start the clock when you pick up the pencil. Stop it when you put it down. Log it. Every session counts toward the box.

00:00of ~60 min

Status

How did it go?

Up nextA tree from masses