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"This is one of the eternal debates among artists.
Is it better to shape form with value by gradually (or abruptly, when needed) lightening or darkening an area to indicate three-dimensionality?
Or is it better to use the fact that some colours appear to come towards you and others to recede from you?

"But what if the question in the headline is a false dichotomy, this Tonal vs. Colour? "

These are questions I pose in an article which you can read in pdf form by clicking What is most important in a portrait, colour or tonal value?

In it you'll learn about The Colour Stool, a vital piece of artist "furniture" which shows a way to easily understand the three properties of colour.

You will see the difference and similarities of painting portraits of children in a tonal way, and then applying colour on top of the paintings. Click on the names to see the finished paintings of Noah and Lukas.

You get to see closeup details, comparing the methods.

And you will learn why I think one of the methods ages children.

You'll learn the importance of creating form using warmer and cooler colours.

And it is all free!  The intention is to start a discussion, but it wasn't convenient to put a longer text in the blog format, so I made a pdf of it.

Click on What is most important in a portrait, colour or tonal value? to read the free pdf.

And then let's discuss it here in the blog.