If you’ve been learning about color theory, you’ve probably come across the terms Low-Key, Mid-Key, and High-Key.
After speaking about the meaning of High-Key in Art in a recent post, I today want to discuss what Low-Key means in Art.
High-key, low-key and mid-key all refer to color values that can be applied to traditional art as well as digital art and photography.
Low-key paintings, low-key drawings, low-key photographic images, and low-key digital creations all have something in common: an overall darker value range of colors.
Let’s look a bit deeper into that.
What is high-key and low-key value art?
Value refers to the degree of brightness and darkness of a color. Hence, key value describes the overall appearance of any piece of art. Precisely, the position of its foundation values on the value scale.
Below you see a sample value scale that depicts the approximate range of the three key values: high-key, low-key, and mid-key.
The value scale is a continuum of colors, from pure white to pure black. The colors that are closer to the lighter end of the scale are known as high-key.
Conversely, the colors closer to the darker end are referred to as low-key. The colors in the middle are the mid-key or intermediate key values.
Even though the above value scale depicts a grayscale, high-key, low-key and mid-key value artworks do not necessary have to be black and white.
High-key value art definition
In high-key value art, the main values of a painting, drawing, photograph, digital creation, etc. are from the lighter end of the value scale.
You’ll also find a few darks and mid-key values. But they are used sparingly and their main purpose is to create contrast and set accents.
A high-key artwork typically conveys a light and airy atmosphere.
Low-key value art definition
Low-key value art is exactly in the opposite range of the value scale, as opposed to high-key art.
The majority of the colors are on the darker end of the scale. Highlights appear scarcely, and shadows and contrast is mostly achieved with intermediate tones.
Using low-key in art helps create a dramatic, sinister or mysterious mood.
Mid-key value art definition
Mid-key value art uses mostly colors from around the center of the value scale. You’ll find some colors from the light and dark end of the scale, too.
However, these are used in moderation and mainly serve to balance out the overall appearance of the image.
Middle-key artworks are often not able to create an as emotive atmosphere as high-key or low-key works. Oftentimes, they are neither as dramatic nor as cheerful as low-key or high-key works. Of course, this isn’t always the case.
What is low-key and high-key in drawing?
Low-key, mid-key, and high-key in drawing follow the same principles as discussed above.
Therefore, a high-key or low-key drawing definition refers to the corresponding areas on the value scale.
As opposed to paintings or digital art, graphite drawings are typically made up of two colors: black color and a white background. Depending on how hard you press your pencil on the paper, your strokes take on different shades of gray, from very light to very dark gray to (almost) black.
Due to their grayscale character, graphite high-key or low-key drawings have the exact monochromatic values that I’ve shown you above on the value scale.
If your intention is to produce a high-key drawing, you would leave a large amount of your paper blank, fill another big part with light-gray strokes, and draw a few shadows and accents in medium-gray tones.
To create a low-key drawing, you would accordingly fill most of your canvas with dark to very dark grays, while leaving some blank spaces and light pencil strokes for the highlights.
What is high-key in drawing?
To get a better idea of what a high-key drawing is, have a look at the pencil drawing right here. It’s an interpretation of my photograph ‘Longing’ by UtiliaMignano on DeviantArt.
Just like the original photo, the drawing features mostly light, white tones. A few dark accents draw the viewer’s attention mainly to the eyelids and lips of the model.
What is low-key in drawing?
In a low-key drawing, most of the canvas is filled with dark grays and blacks. Highlights serve to create balance and put certain areas into focus.
Here are some more low-key drawing examples by UtiliaMignano on DeviantArt:
As for low-key drawings with colored pencils, they work just the same way as any other low-key artwork in color.
So let’s see what that means exactly in the next paragraphs.
What does low-key mean in terms of color?
As I mentioned above, low-key doesn’t need to be black and white. You can as well use color and choose a high-key, low-key or mid-key value range for a particular color combination.
If your preferred color is blue, for example, then the majority of your low-key image would consist of dark, navy, and indigo blues. Your blues could get very dark, nearing the black end of the value scale.
You would be using some intermediate blues to create highlights and accents. However, most of your blues would clearly reside in the darker end of the value scale.
Low-key colors are also called shades because they are mixed with black. High-key colors, on the other hand, need to be mixed with white. That’s why they are also referred to as tints.
Mid-key colors strike a balance between the bright pastel colors on the one end of the scale and the dark shades on the other end. Another name for them that you will often hear is mid-tones.
A color high-key painting uses primarily pastel tones. If blue is the predominant color, then the main values will be light and pale hues of blue or turquoise. Darker accents and shadows will appear as medium blues or indigos. Really dark navy blues will only be used very sparingly.
Value Key vs. Value Contrast
In order to use a specific value scale effectively, you need to be aware of the relationship between value and contrast. Value key and value contrast are not the same.
All keyed art uses a limited range of the value scale, and thus a limited range of contrast.
However, if your artwork stays too much in the pre-defined value range, it can quickly become boring.
As a rule of thumb, to make a low-key image look interesting, you need to use a few well-placed highlights and create some contrast.
A high-key image, on the other hand, comes to life through a range of dark shadows, and some well-chosen contrast.
Have a look at Caravaggio’s ‘The Denial of St. Peter‘ below as an example of a low-key painting. Most of the colors are from the dark-brownish range. There are only two small sources of light (most likely candles) that are not even directly visible to the viewer.
They provide just enough light to make the people’s faces discernible, reveal a bit more of their clothing and of the ongoing scene. These are the areas that command the viewer’s attention because they stand out from the dark background.
When comparing how these highlights contrast with the surrounding darks, you’ll notice that the contrast is higher in those areas that are closer to the light sources. Anything further away from the lights has lower value contrast.
What is the value contrast definition in art?
Value contrast in art is defined as the relation between lightness and darkness in a composition. It describes the relative amount of contrast between areas of different value.
Regardless of the type of key you’re using (high-key, low-key, or mid-key), there can be high contrast (a major difference between light and dark) or low contrast (a minor difference between light and dark) in an artwork.
Is it necessary to use key values in art?
You don’t need to limit your artworks to a pre-defined key value range, if you don’t want to.
Many artists choose a particular key automatically, depending on the feeling they want to convey.
Opting for a key value can be helpful to get across the message or story of your artwork. However, if you don’t feel like using key values in your art, don’t force yourself to!
What are some low-key paintings?
One of the most prominent low-key painters in history is Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn. The Dutch painter (1606–69) is well-known for painting low-key portraits that evoke a particularly sinister and mysterious atmosphere.
From 1629 to 1669, Rembrandt also painted a series of more than sixty self-portraits that constitute a major part of his body of work.
(All images displayed in this post are copyright to their respective owners and solely used for educational purposes.)
I hope this post was able to help you understand the meaning of low-key in art and inspire you to create your own low-keyed artworks! Enjoy being creative! Angie ♡
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