When we begin to learn to draw with a pencil or paint, it seems to us that an important quality for an artist is a sense of color, volume, imagination at last! Such a concept as tone is often not given due attention, especially beginners and those who learn to draw without a teacher. They try to beautifully draw or draw, which is why the drawings look like bad photos.
The tonal solution of the picture is no less important than the color, and in the black and white image is the main one. What is the tone in art?
general information
What is the tone in art, in short? Tone is the concept of the lightness of an object and color (paint). Sometimes the term "aperture" is used, which is equivalent to the concept of "tone." There are usually several objects in a picture of an artist , and all of them are solved in tone. If the artist managed to correctly convey the tonal relationships of objects, then the work will gain vividness and give the viewer the impression of truthfulness, will be pleasing to the eye.
The tone in art is the power of light acting on objects. Each object in the picture is more or less illuminated. Each object in the picture has its own color. Color we usually can easily name and remember. Remembering the tone is much more difficult. It depends on the changing light, the shape of the object and cannot be determined as accurately as color.
This is the complexity of such a term as tone. We are used to thinking that an object of white color is lighter than an object of blue or black color. Then how will a white rag in the shade actually be darker than a black rag in the light?
For the artist to see and feel the tone is a very difficult task. Often a master who has a good sense of color sees a tone worse, and, conversely, a master who feels a tone is not a talented colorist.
In the outline drawing, the tone is set by the thickness of the pencil line or its texture.
The right tone for the right place
To understand what tone the object is, you need to compare it with its neighbors, look at it, squinting your eyes. The tone is clearly visible in black and white photographs.
To become a competent artist, you must know and abide by the laws of tone and tonal relationships and, of course, understand the term tone, a definition in art. The ability to show tonal relationships is called "take relationships", i.e. correctly show the power of illumination of depicted objects.
Light shows and builds the form: the most convex areas of the subject are more illuminated, others less. So the light helps the artist to fashion a form, to understand it. From the term “take relationships” follows the rule of “touches” - how objects interact with each other. The artist must observe how the depicted object is in contact with neighboring things: somewhere it will turn out to be darker than the background, somewhere it will stand out against a dark background, somewhere the tonal relationships will become so close that the two objects seem to begin to dissolve into each other. From these rules painting is born.
The right tone for the right place - this is the famous artist Ilya Repin designated the secret of his success in the field of painting.
What does the tone consist of?
Tone in art is a chain of components. The light surface of the object contains light, partial shade and flare, and the unlit surface contains shadow and reflex. Each of the components should have its own tone. The highlight cannot be darker than light, and the shadow is lighter than partial shade. If these rules of “relations” are not observed, the depicted object will turn out to be wrinkled and incomprehensible in structure. The artist must learn to see the object whole, but at the same time understand its construction, structure and be aware of how other things surrounding it affect the object. A good artist will not paint in one color. He will need to show neighboring things influencing the subject. And all this without going beyond the tone ratio.
Tone rules
Items in the foreground are more contrasting in tone. Objects located in the depths of the picture have more similar tones. So the artist can convey the perspective, the depth of the picture, the volume.
To make fewer mistakes in the image of the tone, it is important to properly position your work - canvas or sheet of paper. It is undesirable to cover the picture too much - as a result, all objects will be too dark. If you work in low light conditions, then the work will be too light and with sharp touches. It is important to observe your work “from the side”. To do this, you must periodically stop drawing and step aside, give your eyes a rest, and also give yourself the opportunity to look at the work from afar.
Tone in teaching
Most of the artists and teachers pay a lot of attention to the issues of tone. A correct understanding of the term “tone” lies at the heart of artistic literacy. The tone in art is not hatching, not shading an object, not blind copying of dark and bright places. Using a tone allows the artist to tell the viewer what kind of light affects the object, make the thing alive for perception, show and analyze its shape, structure. The blind blackening of dark spots and brightening of light makes the work chaotic and gives out the unprofessionalism of the artist.
The tone helps the artist show the design of the object, its color (even in black and white) and the texture of the surface.
How to work in tone?
To work correctly in tone, you need to analyze the original data of nature. How to use tone in art (examples):
- show where the light source is in relation to the viewer;
- what is the strength and nature of the lighting - strong light or diffused, etc .;
- aerial perspective - how far the objects are from each other;
- how light and shadows are distributed on flat and / or rounded objects; at what angle are the different planes to the light source;
- where is the center of lighting - one of the objects can be lit more actively, the others - less and obey the first;
- how details obey the center of light.
The relationship between tone and paint, its darkness or lightness - color always obeys the laws of tone, the dark color does not need to be darkened, but its tone and relationships with neighboring objects must be determined. The tone in art is incredibly important. According to the artist D.N. Kardovsky, painting - color, taken in tone.