Value: Tints and Shades

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Value: Tints and Shades

The lightness or darkness of a color is called its value.

You can find the values of a color by making its tints and shades.

Tints are light values that are made by mixing a color with white. For example, pink is a tint of red, and light blue is a tint of blue.

Shades are dark values that are made by mixing a color with black. Maroon is a shade of red, and navy is a shade of blue.

Fields in a Rising Storm by Vincent Van Gogh

This painting by Vincent Van Gogh, Fields in a Rising Storm, has tints and shades of blue in the sky, and tints and shades of green in the fields.

TRY IT! Start with some paint in your favorite color. Mix it with different amounts of white to make tints, and different amounts of black to make shades. Then try creating a picture or a design that uses all these tints and shades.