Thanks for spreading one of the few real lessons I learned in art school. "Don't draw what you THINK you see, draw what you ACTUALLY see." Well done, sir.

That first illusion totally freaked me out! Amazing.

Wow! This explains why, when I attempt to locate values or shades in a reference photo using Photo Shop, the values always appear to be too drastically dark. Now I see that these values are relative to the values surrounding them. I think you just changed my life. Thank you, JD!

This tone value comparison of the nose is something you realize quick when retouching images in photoshop. Nice stuff!

Thank you for taking the time to make these videos, JD. Its very kind of you. They are very helpful.

The fact that you can produce a drawing that realistic,proves to me at least, that you are 10+ as an artist..( it only goes to 10+ ) Thank you for this tutorial.. Best wishes Bill

Hi JD. You have just blown my mind! Thank you for this much needed information. I am a painter and need some refreshers in my drawing technique.

I blocked the squares around A and B. Then i watched as my eyes adjusted to the light change OR SOMETHING! It was amazing cause all of a sudden they were the same color. I love it!

Thank you for continuing your videos, you are an inspiration, you made me have the best grades in my drawings and become more self assured.

I like what the bamboo did and how much better it is then other mediums.I have had gOOd luck using a Q-Tip. I didn't see you compare cotton to the other mediums.Great video.

This is such a great Art Technique video!!!

That was " Almost " quite unbelievable, Thank you very much for the demonstration

That.... FELT.... TEXTURE! It's so beautiful! I never knew!

An amazing vid! I love it, you´re very generous. Thanks a lot!!!

Thanks JD......this bamboo sounds great, I see chamois getting the boot in about a year....blender poop .....great!

I've just discovered your channel and i love it!! Thank's so much for the numerous tips!

Hi JD, I have seen the squares example on a screen before but I never realized until you explained it here how it would be a serious hazard to realistic drawing. It makes the illusion all the more fascinating. I now consider the value-finder tool as a must-have tool. Even though I live in a large UK city (Sheffield) I just know from experience I would be wasting my time going into town to look for something like that so if I don't find it on-line I will just have to make my own - which may not be a bad thing since a DIY value-finder would match my own pencils. Watching art advice videos on KZfaq leads me to believe that in the US you have a great art store in every town, sadly in England, outside of London, all we have are small art sections in the corners of stationary shops.

Thanks for generously sharing this info.

Thank you for taking the time, amazing work

Why would anyone thumb this down... This is a great concept thanks for sharing this. I took a screen shot of grid and used the eyedropper tool to measure the values. A and B are Identical

Mr. Hillberry, you HAVE to do a DVD where it shows you drawing some of your stuff, beginning to end. That would be invaluable to us artists =)

Thanks so much for your extremely helpful videos. Your skill and humility are highly inspirational. Keep up the great work.

Funny timing. Just today, I opened a roll of bamboo cloth I bought for the kitchen (which I’ve had in a drawer for months) while in the process of trying to ‘up’ my sketching skills. Love those synchronicities ✌️

Omg cool MIT prof work - thanx I was struggling w/ shading n blending

Thank you for sharing this with us! I look forward to learning more from you in the future. I will be following your tutorials soon. : )

There you go. Days or weeks of knowledge you would get in art school in 15 minutes. Awesome thank you

This is VERY interesting. I’ve seen those optical illusion pictures before, but I’ve never thought of it in the perspective of drawing. Thanks, learning something interesting and new today.

Awesome technique,A+ on this tutorial ‼️By the way, where does one come across this bamboo material ? ThankYou very much and keep up your great videos 👍

1:45 I would like an equivalent tool like this but for my beliefs.

Great tips! Thanks for sharing them, you're a real master, sir.

You got yourself a new subscriber my friend.

This video was very helpful. I always suspected that my perception of gray values was not absolute and depended too heavily on the adjacent shading. The insight that reflected light areas are perceived to be as bright as halftones but are actually darker is key. People use blending sticks now but the aspects of Chamois, felt and bamboo are interesting, especially when working with charcoal as charcoal probably makes a blending stick spent in a few passes.

I love it, thanks so much.

I bought your book 10 years ago, I never thought of checking if you had a KZfaq channel. Good thing your channel was recommended.

Excellent JD. thanks for sharing

Thank you so much for sharing!

Thanks for sharing!

Such a relieve. Thank you so much to make a normal educational video. Without the useless music and adds on. Besides choosing your words very chronological. Such a relieve. Subbed.

New to drawing. Never thought of those things. Thanks!

I have seen this illusion numerous times before and not believed it. Your demo with the cut out stencil makes it obvious. Amazing, and thank you.

thank you for sharing your knowledge

much respect to you. inspirational artist.

I can't thank u enough😢😂 this helped me so much!!

This was incredibly helpful - subscribing!

It’s now 2019 - better late than never..... I’ve seen the demonstration of the squares being the same value before with other art instructors but I really didn’t see the whole picture (yuk yuk) until this one. Thanks for being a great teacher. I’ve used your book forever and it never stops helping. I can’t wait to use bamboo now. - Linda

Insane, love illusions.

wow your drawings are amazing.

Hello, I enjoyed my first video of yours. Personal request: the transition with the floating letters and bells is distracting. Your delivery was very effective and professional. Thanks!

Thank you! I clicked to learn about the grayscale trick, but I learned something amazing about blending tool options. This video was incredibly valuable for me. As someone who doesn't want to use chamois anymore , I can't wait to use the new blender. I'm off to your site to check out your store. Happy to support you for making such a detailed and thoughtful video.

Very informative, very well made and explained. Great video tutorial, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with us!

I just went in to the Draw program, that came with my computer, and you can make a card like that with any color, I am not going to get any work done today. I will be making some cards and drawing.

I found a greyscale finder online and I will print that out to use for my drawings

Hola JD. I was amazed by your sharing, and I captured a frame to analyze in Photoshop, and said there is a tiny different value on RGB. It could be? Just 2 points between on Green. Thank you for your lesson.

thank you for your blending tips

love the optical illusion on paper and blocks

Great actionable insights. Thank you. 😎👍🏿

Awesome tutorial. Thank you

I’m wondering whether you have tried linen, velvet or raw silk as blending cloths? If so, how do they compare? Do you think they’d be any good for creating skin textures in drawing? Thanks for this video. I had not heard of using felt or other fabrics as blenders.

Wow!!! That is an incredible effect you show simply and I'm sure will help me leaps and bounds next time I aspire in my imagination what it would be like to be an artist struggling with chiseling a human face sculpture one day, all the while that it's screaming.

This is unbelievably helpful, thank you so much!☺️

Wow nice looking for clue over 30 years finally BIG THANKS!

This video is really helpful, a must watch especially when explaining the value finder

I'd suggest using a larger print of the photograph and a larger copy of your artwork when using your gray scale, since some of the areas you are noting are so small compared to the chart itself, your fingers and your hand. ...Meaning larger prints will allow the various smallish areas you are talking about to be big enough to examine more minutely. (All this is related to your discussion of the portrait image. The blender stuff was great and very informative! Thanks.)

That first visual trick blew my mind

Wow, this is the second time am watching a tutorial on art from you and also learning a whole lot from you. Trust I can get that Gray value and scale finder online.

These are really great tips. Thanks so much.

very insightful thanks JD

Very helpful video! I have been trying to find bamboo blenders for a half hour. Where can I find these?

Great information.....nice work!!! Thank You!!

Thanks a lot, man. It's pretty helpful.

im learning so much from you...thank you.

I am a new painter, but have done pencil sketches for years. Your video was very useful . I learned a lot! I just subscribed to your channel and look forward to seeing more tips. Thank you

Smart man! Good points! And thank you!

My mind is blown.

Excellent info! Can't go wrong with this method.

Wow! You are so talented! Thank you for sharing your lessons!!! xo

Thanks for the tutorial, Re: shammies - for cleaning leather shammies, you need saddle soap and linseed oil or lanolin.

Your videos are giving me so much knowledge. Thank you for the golden content.

you're an awesome artist!

You have helped me so much, I am excited! Yes mind blowing tools, you are amazing!

Great concepts! I need to try this techniques!

You have taught me some new things regarding drawing thank you. I enjoy your videos.

I'm working on a tattoo concept, what would you recommend to achieve a semi glossy stone texture, specifically knapped obsidian ? I know it's not the same for needle work but i would like to get the best reference for the artist to work with.

You can buy bamboo cloth, quite fine. I use a bamboo towel because it is compact and dries quick.

Thanks for the refresher! Keep up the great content. Subscribed!

Such an amazing video! Thanks you so much

Amazing! Thank you so much!

Great thank you JD

This was a great video. Very enlightening- no pun intended!

Very helpful makes me feel more confident

Nice work ... Thank u so much it helped alot

I needed this video. You have my sincere appreciation, my friend.

Thanks so much! What an excellent video.

yeah, I have realized this optical illusion the other day, when spot-healing in Lightroom, thought the reference color was an exact match as to the value, yet, it turned out it was much darker. It is seriously trippy.

Excellent thank you so much, very informative very helpful. Bless you and your career!

Try using drafting vellum for a smooth texture.

I got a illusion when I laid out my squares, even though I new that they where solid colors they appeared to fayed from dark to light

amazing lesson..thank u sir

You're so amazing sir!

Thanks very much for posting this.