Value Viewer - Grayscale Image Inspector

Inspect image values with grayscale, squint blur, value steps, comparisons, and a temporary reference tray.

Value Viewer is an image value-analysis tool for artists, photographers, illustrators, and visual designers. When you study a reference image, color can sometimes make it harder to judge the actual light-and-dark structure. Value Viewer helps strip away that distraction so you can focus on value, contrast, lighting, shadow shapes, and composition. You can use it directly on images you find on the web, or open your own images in Value Compare for a closer look. Main features 【Quick grayscale preview】 Right-click an image to turn only that image grayscale without affecting the rest of the page. You can also hover over an image and hold Alt + V to preview it in grayscale. Release the keys and it immediately returns to its previous state. It is useful when browsing references and you just want a quick answer to one question: “Does this image still read clearly without color?” 【Value Compare】 Open an image in a dedicated analysis workspace and compare the original with different value-analysis views. You can use a side-by-side layout or switch to a Before / After slider to compare both versions in the same position. Available analysis modes include: • Full grayscale • 7 Values • 5 Values • 3 Values • 2-Value / Notan • Value Zones • Light Squint Blur • Medium Squint Blur • Heavy Squint Blur 【2-Value / Notan】 Reduce an image to just black and white. This makes it much easier to study large value groups, subject-background separation, and overall composition. Inside Value Compare, you can also adjust the threshold and see how different cutoffs change the image's black-and-white structure. 【Squint Blur】 Artists often squint at a reference to ignore small details and see the larger light-and-dark shapes. Squint Blur is designed around that idea. It combines grayscale with different levels of blur so the main light masses, shadow groups, and visual focus become easier to see. 【Value Steps】 Reduce continuous grayscale into 7, 5, or 3 value levels. This is useful for studying value grouping, readability, and whether too many similar midtones are competing with each other. 【Value Zones】 Some grayscale values are close enough that they can be difficult to separate at a glance. Value Zones maps different brightness ranges to clearly different colors, making the overall value distribution easier to read. It is meant for value analysis, not for evaluating the image's original color. 【Horizontal flip】 Value Compare can flip the image horizontally. After looking at the same composition for too long, your eyes can start accepting problems they would normally notice. Flipping the image can make proportion, shape, and balance issues easier to spot. Both the original and analysis image flip together so the comparison stays aligned. 【Analyze your own images】 Value Viewer is not limited to images from webpages. You can also: • Choose an image from your computer • Drag an image into Value Compare • Drop a supported web image into the workspace This makes it useful not only for studying references, but also for checking your own artwork, screenshots, studies, and works in progress. 【Temporary Reference Tray】 When you find a web image you want to study later, you can add it to the Reference Tray. The tray appears in the browser side panel and gives you quick access to thumbnails, larger previews, and original/grayscale switching. You can also send a reference directly from the tray into Value Compare for deeper analysis. 【Fit and actual-size viewing】 Value Compare can automatically scale images to fit the available space. If you want to inspect the image at its original size, switch to Actual Size. In side-by-side mode, both views scroll together so you can compare the same area easily. Keyboard shortcuts On webpage images: • Alt + V: hold for temporary grayscale • Alt + Shift + V: cycle through analysis modes In Value Compare: • V: next analysis mode • Shift + V: previous analysis mode • F: horizontal flip • S: switch between side-by-side and Before / After layouts Useful for: • Drawing and painting studies • Value and composition analysis • Lighting and contrast inspection • Illustration and character design • Photography review • UI and visual-design analysis • Checking your own artwork Privacy All image analysis is processed locally in your browser. Images are not uploaded to a developer-controlled server, and Value Viewer does not use analytics, ads, tracking, or remote code. The Reference Tray temporarily stores image URLs only, not image files. Local images that you open or drag into Value Compare are displayed only in that tab and are not uploaded or permanently stored. Value Viewer is built around a simple idea: When color and detail get too noisy, make it easier to see the values underneath.