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Light & Dark
Breaking it Down
Breaking it Down
Value describes the spectrum of lightness and darkness within a colour palette. This element helps to visual convey light and shadow, and show three-dimensional spaces in two-dimensional artworks. Value can also be called luminosity and helps create depth and realism in a design.
Any change in the lightness or darkness of an object changes its value. This happens in black and white images as well as colour. In the image above, the pink is a lighter version of red and stormy blue is a darker shade of sky blue. This can make it seems as though the hue changes (the type of colour) but value is not the same as hue.
Wichita State University (2022) 'The Elements of Design' URL
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