How to Make a Tonal Value Finder

Yesterday I talked about making your own tonal value finder or tool to help you when painting. Today I thought I would walk you thru it.





First you need the following:





cardboard


red transparency film or acetate (check in scrapbooking supplies or even a clear red plastic doutang will work)
tape


scissors


duct tape


exacto knife











Cut your red film to the size desired. Cut out 2 pieces of cardboard about 1 inch larger than red film on all sides.

Using your exacto knife cut out windows in your cardboard about 1/2 inch smaller than your red film piece.







Tape your red film in between your two cardboard pieces. Then tape the two cardboard pieces together around the edges.







Because I will be using mine in my field kit I taped all around the edges with duct tape so it will hold up to daily use.












To show you how this works here is the wc sketch of St. Paul's both before and after changes. The red mutes the colors to get you to focus on the value instead. This is a good tool to have when you don't have access to a computer, photocopier,etc. to view your painting in black and white.


Hope this helps.

later
gail

St. Paul's #2

Ok, so I wake up this morning and take a second look at my St. Paul's and go YUK!
Not what I was going after at all, I study the photo again to get a feel of what drew me to it in the first place.

Here they are, I couldn't get them to show side by side no matter how much I edited. I changed the sky trying to capture the sunlight coming in from the left. Increase the drama on the bottom of the cathedral because it's the contrast I liked.

I also added the tree branches for good or bad....but I think it adds to the composition. Now at least I can live with it.




Here are the same two wc sketches in black and white. I do this a lot to check my tonal values.

I been meaning to make a tonal value tool for my field kit. You just secure a piece of red transparency paper in a small mat. When you look thru it you can see your tonal values quite clearly. I'll try to make one today and post it tomorrow in case anyone is reading this.

well later
gail