Improve shading, simplify shapes, and use Notan for drawing and painting
3.70·157 reviews·10,000+ downloads
About Value Study: art reference
Value Study: art reference is an art & design app developed by Shane Hudson.
How many times has Value Study: art reference been downloaded?
Value Study: art reference has been downloaded 31 thousand times. In the last 30 days, the app was downloaded 3.7 thousand times.
What is the rating of Value Study: art reference?
Value Study: art reference is rated 3.70 out of 5 stars, based on 160 ratings.
Is Value Study: art reference free?
Value Study: art reference is free to download. The APK download size is 45.26 MB. The latest version available is 1.2.0. The last update was on June 21, 2026.
What are the requirements for Value Study: art reference?
The app has a content rating of Everyone. The app has been available on Google Play March 2025.
Description
In art, a value (or tone) is how light or dark a colour is. If you're learning to paint or draw, doing value studies is an excellent place to start. These small, loose sketches in greyscale show where shadows fall and highlights appear. These are particularly useful when the subject is more complicated and it's hard to see through the colours to show the subtle shadows.
Value Study is a paid app with a very low priced yearly fee or a lifetime purchase available to access all features. There are some free images from Unsplash available to preview the app before purchase.
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If you're learning to paint or draw, black/white notans and more detailed value studies are a surefire way to improve both your artwork and how you visualise references in your mind. People often use photo editors to convert a colour photo to black and white... this is helpful, but this app goes further.
By using Value Study, you can flick between levels of detail. Maybe you want to start with just black and white to get a base down, then add in extra values one by one to build up your understanding of the reference you are studying.
You can even take it a step further and select all areas with matching tones. Click one of the values along the bottom in the greyscale palette to see all areas that match it in the image, so you can focus on one value while painting it. For example, in a portrait, this could mean seeing how different parts of the body have the same amount of shadow despite potentially looking wildly different when viewed in colour.
Value Study is a tool, not to replace your value studies but to enhance them and significantly help beginner artists know where to start when looking at complicated reference imagery.
Recent changes: Big update! Value Study’s code is now much more cross-platform, making Android and iOS updates easier for me to work on and paving the way for a future Windows version.
This release also adds optional accounts, accessed via Settings, so you can use your purchases across platforms and sync settings across devices.
Questions, feedback or bugs? Email shane@valuestudy.app
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Comments on Value Study: art reference for Android
★★★★★Ana-Maria Luiza Stancu· May 16, 2026
This app is great. I have a hard time deciding on values. I get overwhelmed with details. This way, I can train my brain to simplify. Thank you! For £7 lifetime access, it is a bargain.
★★★★★Gina Cole· Jun 4, 2025
I am an artist and this is such a great app. Shane, the app developer was responsive and quick response to my question and concern. I have already recommended this to many of my artist friends. Worth it❤️
★★★★★Sam H· Jun 13, 2026
This is an excellent app. Thank you to the developer, It's really helped me with my paintings and understand values
★★★★★H Masacz· Nov 27, 2025
I had a few issues with my phone model and app, I e-mailed Shane, and he answered immediately and fixed the bug that evening. It works brilliantly now, and I am very pleased with my value app. Thanks!
★★★★☆Marianne Jones· Mar 2, 2026
Only commenting because friends use it - seems to be useful! We aĺl want to improve, some of us painting as a hobby, some professionally. Always interesting!
★☆☆☆☆Jolynn Clancey· Oct 15, 2025
Not fond of needing to buy it before I try it. No free trial? I really would like this to work and would absolutely buy it, if it does, but you're asking for faith, vs fact.
★☆☆☆☆Claire· Nov 16, 2025
It doesn't work - can't get padt the customization page
★★☆☆☆Ronald Zepp· Feb 26, 2026
Confusing start, also jumps directly to subscription. I would subscribe if I see how it works on my image. You are losing customers because you eager to grab subscriptions. Your images are not easy to find due to your design of interface. Work harder, let get 1-2 customization of customers' images, and if the results positive, people will pay for subscriptions. Otherwise, your excuses is not a solution.
Google Play Rankings for Value Study: art reference
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Technologies used by Value Study: art reference
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