Tone – Created by adding pure grey (U.S. gray) to a colour

A different tone of a colour can be created by adding pure grey (a fifty-fifty mix of black and white) to a colour.

Note: Adding grey, no matter how light or dark, will tone down the intensity of a colour and could make it seem dull.

To remember that tones are colours with grey added, recall the following mnemonic:

She used a gentle tone to calm the big grey elephant down as it was charging her.

TONE = ADD GREY

Tones can have varying effects in paintings but tend to make things a little more dulled down and realistic. Edgar Degas' painting L'Absinthe is a prime example of tones being used to full effect. You can see that almost every colour appears to be a variant of grey, or a greyed-down tone, rather than a bright vivid colour fresh from a tube.

Edgar Degas' painting L'Absinthe is a prime example of tones being used to full effect.

Edgar Degas, L'Absinthe, 1875-76

Some artists create charts of their key colours to see how their tube paints will mix with grey, and use these as a permanent reference

Some artists create charts to see how their tube paints will mix with white and the new tints they will end up with

For example, a tone chart based on cobalt blue paint from the tube would appear like this:

For example, a tone chart based on a cobalt blue paint from the tube would appear like this: