Color Theory - Understanding Color PDF

MODULE 1 ======== - TOPIC 1: Understanding Color - -------------------------------- **Color Perception** - - **Sensation** - This response or reaction to a stimulus The first step in sight and color perception is the response to the visual stimulus of light. **Perception** - is the attemp...

MODULE 1 ======== - TOPIC 1: Understanding Color - -------------------------------- **Color Perception** - - **Sensation** - This response or reaction to a stimulus The first step in sight and color perception is the response to the visual stimulus of light. **Perception** - is the attempt to understand and make sense of the stimuli received. **Absolute Threshold** - The scientific term for the minimum amount of stimulus energy needed for perception In terms of sight, the minimum amount of light required to produce a visual entity is a candle flame at 30miles on a clear night. **Light and Color** Without light, there would be no vision of color, because light and color are inseparable. Light is considered [visible energy.] What we are really seeing when we look at color is the action and reaction of light. **White light** - or the visible spectrum, is composed of wavelength, amplitude and saturation, referred to as visual stimulus. **Wavelengths** - the length of light waves, are measured in nanometers. - - - **Newton's Theory of Color** **Isaac Newton** - one of the first to understand the modern concept of the relationship of light and color. - - **Sources of Light** 1. 1. **Smooth surface**: lightwaves bounce off or are reflected in an even manner **Rough surface**: reflected beams bounce off and are scattered in many directions **Light Source** - - The best light source is sunlight = the most accurate in color reproduction. **Luminaire** - Light fixture **Light bulbs** can equal the brightness and intensity of sunlight, only for a few hours but they're very expensive, burn very hot and can cause injury. **Traditional light bulbs** are more correctly referred to as [lamps] **Types of Lamps:** - - - All bulbs or lamps are sources of radiant light, meaning all light is directly emitted from an energy source. **Reflected Light** - is the light cast back and is caused by light waves bouncing off an object. **Metamerism** A psychophysical phenomenon commonly defined incorrectly as \"two samples which match when illuminated by a particular light source and then do not match when illuminated by a different light source." **The Human Eye** - - **Rods and Cones** - - **Color Afterimage** - is the perception of a color that isn't really there and is seen as the complement of the color being viewed. Seeing an afterimage can make many people dizzy and sick. **Opponent Process Theory** Accounts for color processing in the bipolar cells and thalamus, which may be responsible for color afterimages. **Color Perception Deficiencies** **1. Monochromatics** - - **2. Dichromatic** - - **3. Synesthesia** - - **Chromatherapy** - the science of healing with colors. **Eight colors used in chromatherapy:** **White** - used to relax and soothe **Red** - enhances energy and stimulates the production of red blood cells **Orange** - increases sexual stimulation and increases pleasure, also represents youth and curiosity **Yellow** - have antibacterial quality, associated with wisdom and clarity **Green** - used to treat bacterial infection and in healing ulcers, considered calming and brings balance to a person **Blue** - decreases toxins in the body and promote knowledge and self assurance **Indigo** - aids in intuition, inspiring the individual, also has a sedative effect **Violet** - used for calming the nervous system and promotes creativity and spiritual awakening **Luminotherapy** - - **The Feng Shui Compass** - - - TOPIC 2: Color Theory - Making Sense of Color - ------------------------------------------------- - - **NAMING COLOR** - - - - - - - - **THE COLOR CIRCLE** - - - **Aristotle** - - - - - **Da Vinci** - - - - - - - **Newton** - - - - - **Le Blon and Harris** - - - - **Goethe and Impressionism** - - - - - **Chevreul** - - - - - **Rood and Pointillism** - - **Albers, Itten and the Bauhaus** - - - **Munsell** - - - - - - - **Commission International D' Eclairage (CIE)** - - - - **International Color Consortium (ICC) and Inter-Society Color Council (ISCC)** - - - **Digital Color** - - **Nadin** - - - - - - **Chromophobia** - - **Color Forecasting** - - - MODULE 2 ======== - TOPIC 1: Color Psychology - ----------------------------- **Color psychology** and **market research** go hand in hand, but these two areas have had an uneasy relationship or alliance since the days of Sigmund Freud. **Innate Responses** Two factors that determine our reaction to color: - - We are born with certain **"wired in"** responses to color. **Yellow and Black -** most primal and innate responses. - - - **Learned Color Responses** - - - **Psychoanalysis** Psychiatrists have long been interested in perception and color and their combined effect on the psyche. **Sigmund Freud** - - **Laurie Schneider Adams** - **Dr. Max Luscher** - in 1960, developed a color test to determine personality traits and disorders. **The Luscher Color Test** - - - - - **Grey** - - - - **Blue** - - - - - - **Green** - - - **Orange \| Red** - - - - **Yellow** - - - - - **Violet** - - - - **Brown** - - - **Black** - - - - **The Brain and the Cortex** **Edwin Land** - the inventor of the Polaroid camera, idea came from his retinex theory. **Retinex** - a combination of the words retina and cortex. Colors are not determined in isolation and that colors change in relation to one another. We can take two swatches of the same color and depending upon the background color they are placed on, radically change their visual appearance. **Land\'s Conclusion** Cognitive function and our learned responses to objects played a dominant role in our color recognition and the consistency with which we viewed an objects' color. The brain and psyche ignore the reflected wavelength light impulses, overriding the incoming data, and decide based on years of knowledge of the color of the item. When we think of how we see, our first thought is of our eyes, but the mind and subconscious play a much more significant part in how we perceive color than we can imagine. The brain, in the end, may be the real arbiter of color. **Color Function and Cognition** By changing the color of an object, we can drastically alter its function and use. We tend to recognize objects such as signs by their color as much as by their shape or lettering. Red is the color of a stop sign and whether it is the octagonal shape as in America or a circular format as in Europe, the color red automatically signals us to stop. **A History of Blue** Color associations can change and be as relative as the application of color itself. **Blue** - "true blue," loyal, and steadfast. - - - **Jean** - - - - **Lighter Blue Hues** - - **Picasso\'s Blue Period** - - **Psychological Perception** Colors have a physiological effect on our bodies and well-being. **Red** - will increase skin temperature and raise blood pressure and respiration **Blue** - will lower skin temperature, blood pressure, respiration, and pulse. Color can also affect our perception of objects as well. **Mood and Emotion** Mood and disposition can also influence our perception of color. **Green** - can be a very welcoming hue. People adjust well to new surroundings under the influence of green. **Color and Appetite** Fast-food restaurant chains have perfected the use of color to sway emotion. **McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy's** - **Color and Flavor** Bread is normally sold in packaging decorated or tinted with golden or brown tones to promote the idea of homebaked and oven freshness. Adding **yellow** to the wrapper will boost bread sales and give the product a sunny bright appeal. **The "Blue Plate Special"** - **More on Color and Flavor** Without the addition of **caramel color**, Coke would not be a **rich brown**, but would be a clear colorless liquid such as Seven Up. **Pink** will enhance the taste of sweetness in any food product. This is one reason why many bakeries use pink boxes for their cakes and cookies. **Blue** - most recent entry into the food-coloring fray. In the past, blue was not considered edible because it was not a color found in fresh, natural food products; rather, it reminded customers of mold and decay. **Packaging and Products** Color is used to signify the object as well as to enhance the flavor or taste. We reach for a product by **recognizing the color of the package** before we have even consciously read the name of the product. Shoppers scan the shelf and recognize the product they wish to purchase in **0.03 seconds.** **60%** of acceptance or rejection of a product is based on its color. That decision is also made very quickly. Within **90 seconds**, a person will make a choice to accept or reject a purchase. **Apple Changes Everything** One of the newest products to be sold in a variety of colors is the computer. Traditionally, they came in the **standard gray or putty color**. **Socio-economic Aspects of Color** There are socioeconomic aspects that affect your choice of favorite hues and that determine which hues you feel more at home or comfortable with. The higher your economic status, the more you will favor **darker, less saturated, complex hues.** People in the lower economic brackets tend to prefer and respond favorably to **simple, bright, pure hues.** This can be seen in everything from department stores to hotels. **Oppenheim's Blue Shirt** Socioeconomic connotations are evidenced in how we relate color to the names given to certain occupations. **\"White-collar\" workers** are executives and others engaged in office work **\"Blue-collar\"** denotes manual labor and has undertones of negative associations of the working class as unskilled and undereducated. **Artists' Use of Color** **Saturation and brightness** are also essential elements in our perception of color. **Warm, bright, fully saturated colors** appear to advance - they make objects seem larger and closer to us. **Intense and highly saturated hues** are normally used in the foreground and bring the viewer into the painting or work of art. **Tints** will also create a similar optical boost and open up the space, which makes objects appear larger and closer to the viewer. These will also imbue the image with a positive, uplifting feeling. **Cool, dull, low saturated dark colors** make objects look smaller and appear to recede in space. They have a restrained feeling and evoke emotions such as sadness, depression, loss, and longing. **Atmospheric Perspective** - as objects move back into space, they lose color and saturation and blend or melt away into a middle or light gray. **Local Color** - (referred to when working in a representational manner) and value are synonymous with the exact appearance of the object. **Color as a Means of Expression** **Heightened Color** - - - TOPIC 2: Color Harmonies - ---------------------------- **Color harmonies**, **schemes**, and **color ways** are synonymous terms, meaning the same thing. **Color schemes** - are formulas or combinations that can be used to create a cohesive unified picture. **Hue**, **Chrome** and **Color** are all names for the same thing. **Hue** - is the actual, or proper name of any given color. More specific and refers to a color found in the spectrum or on the color wheel **Color** - tends to be more universal. **Achromatic Range** - is a color scheme which contains only whites, grays and blacks if all colors are eliminated. **A** = "not" **Chroma** = "color" If you mixed all the hues on the color wheel, you would get **black**. Black and white are **not considered color**. Along with the full range of grays, black and white are **neutrals**, not hues or colors **Neutrals** - Two complements are mixed together. - **Inherent Value** - when each hue has its corresponding, or related value. - - **Monochromatic Scheme** - the most simple color harmony possible. - **Tint** - Hue + White - **Tone** - Hue + Gray - **Shade** - Hue + Black - **3 Components of Color** Hue, Value & Saturation - **Value** - can be changed or adjusted as needed, and more white or black can be added as required. **Saturation -** the intensity and purity of the given hue. - - **Color Wheel** **-** The specific placement of the hues along the circumference of the wheel will help illustrate the relationships or harmonies. \- each hue is spaced an equal distance from each other. \- can have as few as six hues and then doubles itself as more hues are distinguished. Color wheels must always have an even number of hues and that number must be **divisible by three**. Any other combination would not be a true and accurate color wheel. **Color Temperature** - - - **Spatial Effects** - Not only do they become desaturated as they recede in space, the farther back the objects are from the foreground, the less texture and detail that will be visible. **Transparency and Space** - - - **Color Harmony** - This refers to the property that certain aesthetically pleasing color combinations have. **Color Harmonies, Color Ways, Color Schemes** = The same thing - - - **Analogous -** Any three hues directly next to each other - - - **Pros:** Great selection of possible combinations makes this scheme versatile - the similarity of colors makes the schemes harmonious with great results because it is used in nature and is usually soothing and restful **Cons:** The use of more than three colors can dilute the overall effect of this scheme **Complements** - Two colors that are exactly opposite from each other - - **Complementary Contrast** - is a reaction in the viewer\'s eye and not with the actual pigments. **Pros:** Extremely eye-catching and vibrant, sometimes more so than the triadic scheme **Cons:** The limited number of colors in complementary schemes means the colors are easily digested and then discarded by the viewer **Split Complements** - instead of selecting both opposites, one end is selected and at the other end the two colors adjacent are picked. - **Pros:** This scheme has more variety than a simple complementary color scheme **Cons:** It is less vibrant and eye-catching - it is difficult to harmonize the colors **Double Split Complementary -** Two colors next to each other and their two corresponding complements are selected. - **Triads -** Composed of three hues, must be of equal distance in the color wheel - - - **Pros:** Extremely stable, each color perfectly balances with the other - the bold nature makes for a vibrant color scheme and is useful for presenting information in bold decisive patterns **Cons:** The vibrancy may be too garish and detract from the message **Tetrads -** The hues touched on create or form a tetrad (set of four) - - **The Bezold Effect (Wilhelm Von Bezold)** - - **Simultaneous Contrast** - - - - **Interactions of Black and White** - - - **Value Contrast** - - - **Luminosity** - The perceived light given off by an object and goes hand in hand with value. - - MODULE 3 ======== - TOPIC 1: Color and 3D - ------------------------- - - - - - **Value and Light** - - - - - **Innate Color** - - - **Truth in Materials** - - - **Stain** - - **Applied Color** - - - - - **TO PAINT OR NOT** - **Paints, Colorants and Patinas** - - - - - **Clays and Glazes** - - - - - **Color and Dimensionality** - - - **Glass** - - - - **Interiors** - - - - - - **Architecture** - - **New Issues of Dimensionality** - - - **Conceptual Art** - - - **Light Installations** - **Landscape and Environmental Art** - - **Performance and Body Art** - - - - - - TOPIC 2: Color and Fine Art - ------------------------------- **Color** - - - **Impressionism** - - - - - - - **Pointillism** - - - - - - **Vik Miniz** - **Cezanne** - - - **Fauvism** - - - - **Abstract Expressionism** - - - - - **Minimalism** - - - **Op Art or Optical Art** - - - - - **Neo-Expressionism** - - - **Aboriginal and Outsider Art** - - - - - **Exploration of New Media** - - - - TOPIC 3: Pigments, Colorants and Paints - ------------------------------------------- - **A Short History** - - - - - - **Pigments** - - - **Vehicles** - - - - - - **Professional Grade vs Student Grade** - ***Why are there so many different grades of paint?*** - - - - - - - - - - **Reading a Tube of Paint** Key elements an artist or designer must understand. - - - - - - May also include: - - - **Brushes** - - - - - - - - - - - - **More about Paints and Pigments** - - - - - - - They are the most widely used mediums, but there are others such as: - - - **Water-based Paints** - - - - - - - - **Watercolors** - - - **Gouache** - - - - - - There are three types of paper to use with watercolors. **Hot-pressed papers -** run through heated rollers that seal the pores of the paper for a fine smooth finish but adds to the overall cost. **Cold-pressed paper -** rougher surface, no smooth feel, which allows it to absorb liquid. **Rough paper -** most textures and excellent for creating dramatic effects. **Oils** - - - - - **Acrylics** - - - - - - **Encaustic** - - - - - - - - **Inks and Printer Inks** - - - - - - - **Colored Pencils and Pastels** - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **Oil Pastels** - - - - **Crayons** - - - **Other Media** - - - **Color Film** - - - - - - - - **Tattoos** - - - - - - - - - - **Sand Painting** - - - - - - - - - - - - - **Glazes** - - - - - - - - - TOPIC 4: Color Keys - ----------------------- **Color Stylist or Color Key Artist -** are responsible for creating a series of color thumbnails to define how color and lighting transitions over the course of a narrative - *\"You need to paint simply without being simple.\"* **Paul Lasaine** Color keys should have an indication of the staging and compositional elements in a shot but should focus on exploring the best combo of lighting and color. 1\. You must have strong sense of cinematic lighting and figure out various ways to best light a scene to support the narrative arc and convey the correct mood 2\. You must have a strong sense of color relationships and understand WHY colors work together or don\'t. i.e. How can you push a piece through hue contrast, value contrast, or temperature contrast? 3\. You must be able to indicate clearly without excessive detail but have the lighting, mood and spirit of the scene read right away in your color keys. As artists, we use visual language as a tool to communicate; therefore we need to understand how to use the tools in our visual toolbox in order to share our stories as clearly as we can. **Composition** - is the intentional arrangement of line, shape, masses, value, color, edges and texture to create an image that tells an engaging and cohesive story. **Hierarchy of Visual Tools** *Using the Visual Tools is like trying To find a Visual Ecosystem of Structure, Balance, Harmony and Hierarchy* The first step to having a successful portfolio is to show that you can successfully use and manipulate the visual tools to create your own paintings. CREATING A UNIQUE STYLE does not matter if you don\'t understand the FUNDAMENTALS. **HOW DO YOU GET BETTER at the FUNDAMENTALS?** 1\. Studying from life / nature / plein air painting 2\. Doing master studies 3\. Studying and watching films / doing film studies **En Plein Air** - is a French expression meaning "in the open air\", and refers to the act of painting outdoors with the artist\'s subject in full view. Plein air artists capture the spirit and essence of a landscape or subject by incorporating natural light, color and movement into their works. **By Going out and Plein Air Painting You are:** - - - **By Doing Master Studies, You are:** Not just copying an image, but ACTIVELY observing and asking yourself WHAT is working in this painting and WHY it is working; therefore you can apply it to your own paintings **By Doing Master Studies, You are:** Not just copying an image, but ACTIVELY observing and asking yourself WHAT is working in this painting and WHY it is working; therefore you can apply it to your own paintings **LAST TIPS** - - - - "Study first, cry later gois o7" - "Praying para sa inyong mga brain cells" -