Creating a Value Scale and Color Wheel

     When I began to create the value scale, using charcoal, I thought it would be impossible to achieve the lightest colors.  I began with the darkest color (black) and gradually worked to the lightest.  I used a soft charcoal pencil for about 2/3 of the boxes.  I found that crosshatching produced an even color and also allowed for more coverage of the paper and darker values.  When I got to the lighter values, I no longer used crosshatching, but I moved the pencil in one direction only to keep the color light.  For the last few boxes, which had the lightest values, it occurred to me to rub thin layers of soft charcoal onto my fingertip (from a charcoal stick) and gently rub that onto the paper.  Other tools (such as a sponge) might have produced the same effect.  I do not believe I could have achieved the lightest values using the pencil, because it was too difficult to control.  It was not an even surface to glide across the paper, but a rounded one that made it difficult to apply the color evenly.  To achieve the darker values, I had to file my pencil several times to avoid uneven pressure on the paper.

     I realized, when creating my color wheel, it was important to mix equal amount of the different colors of paint to achieve the secondary color I needed.  I used two different brands of paint.  I believe this is the reason I could not achieve black and my secondary colors were not as intense as they should have been.

     I enjoyed working with the acrylic paint more than the charcoal, because I love to look at bright colors and I prefer the smoothness of the paint to the dry, gritty charcoal.  Charcoal can be used to achieve a variety of values, but that is not as enjoyable, for me, as working with a wide variety of colors.  Charcoal easily smears, so artists must be extra careful to avoid this. 

     My most important discovery, in creating these, was that it is important to use only one brand of paint for each work or art, so that colors mix to create the secondary colors desired.

     The videos, located at the following links, were both helpful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByywwKtEc2o&feature=related (by Jared Bendis)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=JP&hl=ja&v=LBVhPqVvi5w (by Otis College)

The most surprising thing I learned (from Jared Bendis) was that the colors that so many experts consider to be primary (red, yellow, and blue) are not necessarily primary.  He used yellow, magenta, and cyan to create red and blue.  Yellow, magenta, and cyan combine to make black, whereas yellow, red, and blue combine to make brown.  For these reasons, he considers yellow, magenta, and cyan to be the true primary colors.

References

Bendis, Jared. (2008, June 13). Color Theory 2: Paint/Pigment Primary Colors.  The Truth!!!  Video posted

     to www.youtube.com