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Color Value Scale

Color Value Scale

Students will learn the science of color and create a piece of art that depicts the value scale of a chosen color.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

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  • Ruler

Steps

  • Step 1

    Introduce students to the science of light refraction and color. Each color we see is produced by a different wavelength. Different wavelengths of light bend differently, with shorter wavelengths bending slightly more than longer ones. The colors of the visible spectrum are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet - often referred to as ROYGBIV as seen in a rainbow. Talk about how light refraction is the bending of these wavelengths. You might demonstrate by showing a prism that reflects the colors of the rainbow.

  • Step 2

    Hue is a term that describes color families, such as "blue," rather than specific shades, such as "navy blue," "sky blue," etc. Albert Munsell created the Munsell color system in the early 20th century to describe color, and it breaks down hue, value, and chroma (the strength of a color) into different dimensions. It is used by artists and designers and others who need to assess the qualities and intensities of colors and to understand how to best use complementary colors for different effects.

  • Step 3

    Have students choose a color to explore on the value scale. Ask them to use a ruler to divide a strip of paper into nine squares, leaving the first square white and coloring the last square black. Then have them build the scale using layers of color in varying shades, from lightest to darkest, thus producing a value scale for that particular color.

Standards

SCI: Design pictorial or graphic representations/models that are useful in communicating ideas.

SCI: Ask questions about the features of phenomena observed and conclusions drawn from investigations or models.

ARTS: Explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches.

Adaptations

Challenge students to create a monochromatic drawing, using various shades of one color to create depth and a 3-D appearance.

Challenge students to figure out what color is produced if they blend the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) colors, which is a subtractive color model, and what color is produced if they blend prism colors.