What is this?
On the right is a tone chart done by one of my students.
The black cloth is velvet and that's about as dark a tone as something can get!
To the left and right of it you see parts of a fabric chart I made. It has various colored rectangles that the student has to identify regarding their tones.
What is tone?
How light or dark something is.
Is the tone of something the same thing its color?
No.
These are drills I do with my students to learn the difference between the two.
That red on the left is pretty dark in tone, but it is not the # 10 on the top of the chart.
This is seen by comparing the black velvet right next to it.
When figuring out the tones of things, you can't do it in a vacuum.
You have to relate one to the other and then come up with what they are.