Color Value

In color theory, value refers to the relative lightness or darkness of a color.

We can divide these value changes into Shades and Tints.

Shades are the relative darkness of a color and Tints are the relative lightness of a color. These divisions are created by darkening or lightening the pure hue. This is the base color at its full intensity.

It is important to note Intensity of a color here because a value of, lets say, red can be the same as a medium tone of that same color. A Tone can be the same value, but can be grayed in such a way that it is not at the highest degree of Intensity. The Pure Hue has the highest saturation of color. This is illustrated in the middle ring of the Color Wheel above. The outer ring of tints illustrates what happens to a Pure Hue when white is added. The center section of shades shows the effect of black on the Pure Hue.