The importance of the hierarchy value in art

Introduction

When creating an illustration one of the most important pillars to art is understanding how to handle the value of multiple objects within the art you are making. With value you have there is the clear separations of light and shadow. Knowing this principle, it is easy to create form within a simple illustration that does not involve much thought with how the focal point fits into the environment. If you are trying to create a more complicated illustration that involve different types of objects such as clothing, hair, and skin that knowledge can only go so far. It is important to also consider that there is a hierarchy of value that occurs when items are placed next to each other. Every material whether it is flesh or inorganic that you see in the world will handle light and shadow differently. Some objects will be naturally darker or brighter than others so we must learn to respect this hierarchy or risk having items within the art piece not looking correct.

Understanding Value Hiearchy

Take this image below for example

After converting the image colors to black and white, we can then begin to sample the values of various colors and notice how each object is brighter or darker when next to each other.

Sampling the average lights and average shadows of the man in the image below we can see that the skin, white shirt, and white shoes have a very high value range between light and shadows. While the hair, jacket, and pants have much darker values. It should be noted that an exception to this hierarchy should be considered when the color of the object in question has the color white. Sampling the other cloths in the background we can see that they have a darker average value compared to the skin. 

We can further observe the exception to this rule when analyzing the values of the woman.

Here is another example under more natural lighting.

Converting this image to greyscale then sampling the average light and average shadow of the golden retriever and grass will show how they differ in value. 

Sampling the dog's fur in photoshop we notice it has a darker average shadow with the trend only being interrupted when the color of the fur is whiter. When direct light hits the golden retriever, it has a higher average light than the grass that is more moderate in comparison. The underside of the foliage in the background has an even darker average shadow than the golden retriever so it servers a good contrast.

Art Unraveled

We can now begin to see how this principle will manifest itself in the art from the beginning being shown in black and white.

Learning from the previous examples we know that hair tends to be the lowest value with its ability to capture. The bears will naturally be in the lower end of the value hierarchy, with the average light of the fur being distinctly lower than the average light of the grass. Only with the sun directly hitting the exterior of the do we observe a highlight that has a higher value than the average light of the grass.  The white hat, the cake, and the wooden structure of the table will have the highest value range due to its association with the color white. 

Conclusion

Understanding the hierarchy of value will allow you to better understand how to paint objects in a cluttered scene. Each object has a relationship between light and shadow that you will have to consider with your art. When you take these observations into consideration when painting you can then begin to create captivating art that can suspend disbelief.