VALUES C.S.

Values—and the use of negative space—are essential in shaping how designs are perceived. Shadows create forms that bring a sense of depth, transforming a 2D screen into something more dynamic and three-dimensional. I explored this concept while creating a portrait of my dear sister.

The process combined the use of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Since color can be distracting when analyzing values, I began by desaturating the original photograph in Photoshop to make it black and white. Then, I posterized the image to eight levels, helping to clearly define and distinguish the values for the design.

The challenge was determining the right number of values: too few, and the image would lose its essence; too many, and the lines would blur together, making them hard to distinguish. Using the posterized photo as a template, I traced the values in Illustrator with the Pen tool and Shape Builder to create distinct shapes.

Once I established a value scale, I experimented with a line pattern, adjusting orientation, repetition, and stroke size to represent the different values effectively. With the patterned scale finalized, I aligned each shape to its corresponding value, applied a mask, and positioned it to complete the portrait.

Skills: Visual Analysis, Pattern and Texture Development, Illustration