My Blog List

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Color Swatches

mood - Envious
 http://kuler.adobe.com/#themeID/1085483

temperature - "Wasteland Warm"
 http://kuler.adobe.com/#themeID/1085492

season - "Midnight Winter"
 http://kuler.adobe.com/#themeID/1085490

gender - "Gentleman's Study"
 http://kuler.adobe.com/#themeID/1085500

profession - "Astronaut"
http://kuler.adobe.com/#themeID/1085465

Lecture notes for 10/22/10 (Dada to Surrealism)

Dada
post WWI

Surrealism
features -
-less political?
-new psychological
-theories of Sigmund Freud (1899 - "the interpretation of dreams")

They were against the new social structure (middle class as cogs in machine)
>they wanted to shake things up

Early Surreal Artists:
Max Ernst
Rene Magritte
Salvador Dali
Giorgio de Chirico
Man Ray
Jean Arp

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Color Theory Reading notes

Color is both the most elusive and most emotionally complex design element.

Color theory is the art and science of color interaction and effects.

Additive color is created using beams of light (RGB)

Subtractive color is created when white light is reflected off a pigmented or dyed surface.
-The subtractive primaries a re blue, red, and yellow.

cyan blue, magenta red, and yellow: the transparent primaries (or process colors) commonly used in mass production

When white light passes through a prism,it is refracted, or bent. This creates a wide spectrum of hues, which is dominated by red, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue-violet, and violet

red as the longest and violet as the shortest

surface reflects same color (white – reflects all colors)

Color overtones – a secondary hue bias in a
primary color

achromatic black and white, which have no hue.

Color interaction refers to the way colors influence one another.

simultaneous contrast - profoundly affected by the surrounding colors.

Bezold effect - change in a single color can substantially alter our perception of an entire pattern

According to opponent theory, the cones can register only one color in a complementary pair at a time.

Afterimage – due to fatigue in the cones, the color sensors in our eyes.

hue, or name of a color

itten
Red, blue, and yellow primary colors
secondary colors of green, orange, and violet
mixture of a secondary color and the adjacent primary color creates a tertiary color.

Temperature refers to the heat a color generates, both physically and psychologically

Color temperature can help create the illusion of space. Under most circumstances, warm colors advance, while cool colors recede.

Value refers to the relative lightness or darkness of a color

When white is added to a hue, the resulting tint will be lighter in value. The addition of g ray produces a tone. The addition of black creates a darker shade.

Intensity, saturation, and chroma all refer to the purity of a color. The primary colors are the most intense. This intensity generally diminishes when colors are mixed.

Adjacent colors on the color wheel are used in an analogous color scheme

Complementary colors are opposites on the traditional color wheel. When mixed together, they ca n lower intensity and produce a wide range of browns. When paired in a composition, complementary colors become ideal partners. Each increases the power of the other.

By mixing two complements plus black and white, we can create a range of colors that begins to suggest the power of
a full spectrum.

split complementary color scheme - Rather than pair colors that are in opposite positions on the color wheel, the artist completes the scheme using the two colors on either side of one of the complements.

Key Questions
Which will work better in your design, a
limited or a wide range of hues?
What proportion of warm and cool colors
best communicates your id ea?
What happens when you combine low intensity
colors with high-intensity
colors?

triadic color scheme - located in a triangular
position, equally spaced around
the wheel, used when variety and a strong
impact are essential

A chromatic gray is made from a mixture of various hues, rather than a simple blend of black and white.

Earth colors - Often warm in temperature, when used together they create a type of analogous harmony(raw sienna and burnt sienna, raw and burnt umber, and yellow ochre)

Key Questions
What are the advantages of each of the traditional
color schemes?
When a limited palette is used, how can a few
colors produce the greatest impact? When
a full palette is used, how can the colors
become unified?
What happens when your composition is
dominated by earth colors or chromatic
grays? How does it change when an intense
color is added?
Which is more suitable for the idea you want
to express: traditional color harmony or some
form of disharmony?

Key Questions
How much space is needed in your composition,
and how can color increase the illusion
of space?
How can color shift the visual balance in your
composition?
Can color shift or enhance the emphasis in
your composition?

A dominant color, or color key, can heighten psychological
as well as compositional impact

Key Questions
Will deeper space strengthen your composition?
If so, what colors might you choose?
Will a shift in coloristic balance improve your
design?
Will a dominant color key increase the emotional
impact of your design?
Considering the ideas you want to express,
which is more effective: an even distribution
of color or focused use, as a way to emphasize
a particular shape or word?

Color can increase the power of a given shape,
shift compositional weight, and create a focal point.
It can enhance the illusion of space, suggest volume,
and heighten emotion. Well used , color is one of the
most expressive elements of art and design.

SUMMARY

Color immediately attracts attention. Its emotional
and physiological impact strengthens communication
and heightens expression.

Red, green, and blue are the additive color
primaries. Blue, red , and yellow are the subtractive
color primaries.

The three basic qualities of color a re hue (the name
of the color), value (i ts lightness or darkness), and
intensity (its purity).

Using a monochromatic, analogous, complementary,
split complementary, or triad ic color scheme can
increase harmony in your design.

The level of color harmony must match the expressive
intent. In the right context, disharmony can be
more expressive than harmony.

In a composition, color can enhance the illusion of
space, shift visual weight and ba lance, and help
emphasize compositional details.

Distribution and proportion can help unify disharmonious
colors.

Colors are never emotionally neutral. A dominant
color key can heighten psychological impact, while a
symbolic color provides a cultural reference.

Modular Madness Critique


During critique, people said that they liked how I used the sheet. I, personally, think it is what made the piece noticeable. The sheet made it take up more wall-space and it was laid out in a way that would draw attention to the piece, I also made sure to put it in a part of the room that was most vacant and raise it to eye level. There were many remarks that the match bundle on the left looked like a cupcake, I'm not sure if this is good or bad. The spiral pattern in the unburnt matches made the piece more interesting, as did the texture of the top/red part, they said. They also said that there was a nice contrast between the burnt matches and the unlit ones, both visually and inherently. But, some had mixed feelings about the inclusion of two pieces, and the choice of the burnt piece. Other, however, said that there needed to be more to the piece. I played around with both ends of the spectrum prior to presentation and seem to have found the middle-ground. Most people did agree that the color choice of my rubber bands was good. The black and red ones both reinforce the gritty/burnt feeling of the bundle and relate it to the un-burnt bundle. The lighter colored rubber band on the un-burnt bundle does not stand out as much and looks clean. This is a contrast to the other rubber bands, and since it doesn't stand out as much visually it allows the viewer to focus more on the spiral design in the matches. Some people felt compelled to burn the un-lit bundle, and some did not. I wasn't sure If playing with this emotion would add or detract from the piece, so I left out part of my original presentation originally designed to do so.

Words/ Mark Poster Critique




In response to questions on critique sheet -

The splatter-like mark quality gives the poster a unstable feel. I think there is more than one emotion at work, as there is a contrast between the white, black, and textured part of the background, as well the quote. I don's really see the mark aligning with a specific gender. The marks themselves, if sound, would maybe be a screech and a deep omniscient hum. If the marks were voice, I think there would be both a strong voice and a whisper. The mark just brings to mind an ink splotch to me, or maybe blood splatter. The sentence is easy enough to read because it reads left to right and starts at the top, moving down, like normal text (relatively). I think the visual breaths are just right, and fit the quote. There is one pause, and it is between the two ideas of the quote. It doesn't become drawn out as they are mostly in line, just the second part is dropped down a bit. This also prevents it from seeming to crammed together and succinct. Although the lines of text are different in size and font, they are the same color, as are their backgrounds. This helps keep the quote seem unified, as does it's placement, just mentioned. The words both boldly state and whimper/whisper, the design of each line create/fit it's voice and meaning. My text does not become part of the image, i wanted it to remain distinct. The separate sections certainly contrast in their design and meaning, as was intended. The entire design is meant to enhance the meaning of the quote, and I think does so well - because of the reasons already mentioned.