Tone

Tone is shading, from dark to light.

In the drawing on the right, John Piper has used strong tonal shading. She really stands out from the darkness. This is acheived by the contrasts in tones. Note how the artist has made the right side of the head darker than its background, while the left side is lighter than the background.

Figure Drawing, 1941, John Piper

Note how the artist has used a combination of dark watercolour wash in the background, with heavy black and white marks in the foreground

Click on the images to see a bigger version. (If you have Flash, click Magnify to see the detail - to remove the viewfinder just click Magnify again.)

In the picture below the artist has painted a group of glaciated rocks. The darker background contrasts with the lighter tones of the rocks. He has added black lines to emphasise the structure and to create a sense of depth and mood.