Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color. The benefits of knowing how to manage Value are very important to artists who work two-dimensional striving to make their subjects, or the objects in their work, "look" three-dimensional. Light effects a true three-dimensional object in unique ways. Artists work hard to reproduce these light effects in their works, even though the drawing or painting is actually flat, two-dimensional. How many times have you been tempted to reach into a painting to grab an apple from the still life that looks so real you would think it was actually there! The masteryof representing or imitating true Value has been one Element Of Art that many artists devote years of study. Young artists who apprenticed with the great artists of Europe, spent months and years learning how to control Value. The study of drapery, or how to make folded cloth look real in a painting or drawings was a required exercise. Once mastered, the viewer would look at the work and be tricked into thinking that the picture actually had folded drapery. Let's see just how Value is achieved. We'll look at some examples of how artists use Value in their works.