What is the Difference Between Tints, Shades, and Tones

Although the terms tint, shade, and tone fall within the elementary level of color theory, the terms tend to be used carelessly and without regard to their proper definition. It's amazing how often I've heard someone say something along the lines of, "That is my favorite shade of red." More often than not it's not a shade at all. A proper understanding of tint, shade, and tone is essential to development of quality artwork. The ability to properly evalute art with a common understanding of terms is a trait of any good artist. Miscommunication could be costly.

Simply stated the defintion of tint is a hue with added white. A shade is a hue with black added. The definition of tone is a bit debateable, but it's generally understood that a tone is hue with added gray.

You can see an example below: