Three Value Study

I was initially inspired by the concept of the limited-value study. I thought this would be a fun way to start learning about web development.

Making studies with a limited range of values is a popular exercise for artists wanting to improve their observational & compositional skills. If you're drawing from a reference, these constraints force you to throw away a lot of information, which is a huge challenge. You have to make decisions about what features are really essential, and you have think in terms of shapes instead of outlines and objects. I also personally enjoy making these kinds of drawings, because I think they look really cool!

Since this tool has so few actual features, the constraints of this exercise are built-in rather than self-imposed! I think that's neat. Ultimately though, the coolest thing to me is that I get to make cute pictures that I don't know if I would have made otherwise!

Here are some 3-value studies I've made in the past, one using Photoshop, and one using pen and paper. The first is based off of stills from the film Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and the second is based off of Mr. Turner.

Here are some screenshots of 3-value drawings made with this tool! This is one I made:

And these three were made by my amazing friends! 💖

The first is by civet, the second is by scott, and the last two are by pancaketents!