Value Study is the app for seeing tonal values clearly
Value Study turns any reference photo into a clear study of light and dark. Built by an indie developer in the UK, it’s used by artists and art teachers worldwide.
Free to try. App costs £7.99 for life or £2.99 per year.
Three things it does well
Simplify the shapes
Reduce your reference into clear value groups so you can focus on the big light and dark shapes first.
Control the values
Choose how many value steps you want to work with, from simple two-value notans to more detailed tonal ranges.
Understand the structure
See how light, midtones, and darks are organised across your reference before you start drawing or painting.
Watercolour, oils, plein-air or studio
Value Study is media-agnostic. It is useful for everything from a watercolour wash to blocking in an oil, and it travels with you from the studio to the field.
- Watercolour
- Oils
- Acrylics
- Pastels
- Gouache
- Digital
- Plein-air
- Studio
- From life
A growing set of tools
Value Study is updated regularly, with new features and improvements added based on artist feedback.
- Shape Simplification
- Eyedropper
- Histogram
- Grid Overlay
- Toggle Outlines
- Flip Image
Artists using Value Study app
Artwork by artists who use Value Study as a core part of their workflow
All artwork is the property of the respective artists and is displayed here with their kind permission.
I have been working with Value Study for a couple of years now and referred to all of my students. It is so helpful in learning how to see values. I totally recommend it to help in consolidating values as a preparation for paintings, drawings in studio and plein air.
I have issues with my eyesight and this app helps me a lot to continue to create as a professional artist! Thank you!
I built Value Study as a small tool to help myself practise my art fundamentals, as I was constantly squinting at reference photos, trying to judge values and never quite feeling confident.
Since then, it's grown into something that thousands of artists around the world use to train their eyes and improve their work. No ads. No gimmicks. Just a simple, reliable, low-cost tool to help you see values clearly.
I hope you enjoy it, and please feel free to contact me any time with feedback or questions.
Have a look for yourself
Free to use with the sample photos included. A small one-off or yearly purchase unlocks your own photos.
P.S. Thank you to the team at Painters Online for the kind write-up, and to you for following the link.