The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts

Building Form Through Light

Value studies occupy a distinct place within academic figure drawing as a preparatory exercise artists use to establish value relationships before moving on to the final work. Instead of drawing with line, you construct the figure with mass—identifying the major planes of light and building form through value relationships rather than contour. A value study serves as a miniature and more simplified version of the final figure drawing, allowing the artist to refer back and maintain the same flow of light established in the study. The practice of doing value studies reveals how essential simplicity is to a successful full-value figure drawing.

In this three-day workshop, students will work from a live model while focusing on identifying major planes, establishing a hierarchy of light and shadow, and examining the way in which the light falls on the figure. Working without the use of line, students will learn to draw with only mass using charcoal and white chalk on toned paper.

Students will gain both technical fluency in their use of materials and a deeper understanding of how simplified value relationships strengthen the overall coherency and unity of a figure drawing, giving them practical tools for approaching larger, more resolved full-value figure drawings.