1
Emotive / expressive life
happy
love
sad
hate
luminous
peace
noble
heavy (weight)
light (weight)
loud (sound)
soft (sound)
sweet (taste)
bitter (taste)
smooth (texture)
rough (texture)
For this assignment, we had to paint color swatches with gouache that we felt are closely related to the emotive and expressive terms. Then we re observed our choice of colors within our immediate environment in order to capture them. The object or environment itself, such as refrigerator, nature or interior space, did not matter other than its color.
Assignment 1
The objective of this first assignment was to create the neutral primary hues from respective warm and cool components and then to create the secondary and tertiary hues in gouache. After mixing all primary, secondary and tertiary colors, we had to match the painted neutral colors on screen in (C, M, Y, K).
primary secondary tertiary
Cool rose tyrien was mixed with warm windsor red to create neutral red.
20, 100, 100, 0
Cool turquoise blue was mixed with warm ultramarine to create neutral blue.
100, 79, 20, 0
Cool specturm yellow was mixed with warm brilliant yellow to create neutral yellow.
0, 0, 80, 0
When mixing warm and cool colors to get neutral colors in gouache, it was important to achieve a halo effect. Halo effect is when the cool side of the neutral swatch assumes the warm hue while the warm side will assume the cool hue. The warm and cool disbursement of the “halo” should be even when a swatch is neutral. Therefore, the neutral hue of red should be neither “reddish” or “yellowish”.
primary secondary tertiary
Rose tyrien was mixed with ultramarine to create neutral violet.
68, 100, 10, 19
Brilliant yellow was mixed with winsor red to create neutral orange.
0, 60, 85, 0
Spectrum yellow was mixed with turquoise blue to create neutral green.
70, 14, 100, 10
By mixing neutral primary hues, we were able to attain secondary hues; then with the secondary, attain the tertiary hues. Primary that is opposite the secondary and tertiaries opposite each other on the color wheel are complementary colors. When mixing complementary colors, the two colors complement each other and result in gray.
primary secondary tertiary
Neutral green was mixed with spectrum yellow to create yellow green.
27, 0, 87, 0
Neutral green was mixed with turquoise blue to create blue green.
100, 38, 87, 10
Neutral orange was mixed with winsor red to create red orange.
0, 83, 100, 0
Neutral orange was mixed with brilliant yellow to create yellow orange.
0, 27, 97, 0
Neutral violet was mixed with rose tyrien to create red violet.
57, 100, 47, 20
Neutral violet was mixed with ultramarine to create blue violet.
81, 100, 25, 21
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Assignment 2
We constructed a color wheel by using the matched colors. Then we placed the four geometric shapes (square, rectangle, isosceles, equilateral triangle) within the color wheel and rotated them around to make various 3 and 4 color combinations.
We chose two sets of 3 color combinations and two sets of 4 color combinations, each set with different geometric shape. Then we applied the four sets of color combinations to our two different compositions. Each composition must have had both warm and cool colors dominant for 3 and 4 color combinations.
Composition 2
cool
warm
Composition 1
We constructed the color wheel as tints of 10% intervals in 8 steps by using the opacity tool and shades of 10% intervals in 8 steps by adding K (black).
+10%
K=+10
3 color composition
warm
After creating a variety of tints and shades, we replaced 2 of the colors in the first 3 color combinations with their respective tints and shades, keeping one of the colors pure.
85% 70%
+40 +20
cool
70%
20%
+25
+40
4 color composition
For the 4 color combinations, we replaced 2 of the colors with their tints and shades, 1 with its shade and the last one as pure.
warm
+25
80% 50%
60%
+20 +40
cool
50% 60% +60
+60 +45 45%
cool
warm
Final twelve compositions
+ - book
For my positive / negative book, I chose to show the political ladder in Ancient Rome (more specifically Roman Republic) and describe each political position with
its good and bad aspects. The amount of color on white background connotes the position’s good facet and on black background the bad facet.
By simply placing the same colors on white and black backgrounds, I noticed how drastically the colors could look and behave. Some were more legible on white and some on black; every color reacted differently, which proved that color is always relational.
3
Assignment 3
The objective of this assignment was to develop a sensitivity to subtle variations in appearance of any given color due to changes in its position and or quantity; this phenomenon is called the simultaneous contrast.
First, we started with changing the appearance of the value and making a gray scale from the darkest to lightest. Then we matched the three grays (light gray, medium gray and dark gray) on screen by using the percentage of black.
gray scale
analogous
monochrome
We had to paint not only the gray scale but also the analogous and monochrome scale and match them on the computer. The analogous and monochrome scales had to have the same values as the gray scale. When colors have the same value, they often seem to blend in with another.
With our matched gray, analogous and monochrome scales, we had to create a series of composition that would arrange certain colors to look similar other colors. Our goal was to make dark gray look as light
as medium gray and light gray as dark as medium gray on black and white backgrounds.
It was important to observe the scale change of the compositions and the appearance of colors shifting due to that change. For the analogous colors, making light and medium, and medium and dark
similar was not as successful as the gray scale. However, we noticed that in smaller scales, the colors looked more alike.
With the monochrome scale, we chose two different background colors that we thought would make the monochromatic hues to look alike. For example, in order to make light orange look more red and dark, I placed a light yellow background so it would
absorb the yellow in the orange and emphasize the red in orange. The same logic applied to putting red background behind medium orange to make it appear lighter and yellower. Therefore, we achieved simultaneous contrast.
At last, we replaced the monochrome colors to gray scale on our chosen background colors. We noted that when a shade or color mixed with black is put on a pure hue, the pure hue will subtract itself from the shade. It is also important to pay attention to
the afterimage effect of the background colors. Afterimage effect is an optical illusion that lingers after the exposure of the image, but in its opposite colors. The afterimage effect of a green background would be seeing magenta background afterwards.
simultaneous contrast book
Applying the colors based on the color theories, such as simultaneous contrast and afterimage effect, we had to make a book that explained the theories. Thus, we designed our own composition and applied colors in order to show simultaneous effect of one color appearing to look like another color.
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Assignment 4
Subtractive (CMYK)
The objective of this assignment was to study the effect that a given color can have on another color in each three dimensions. Specifically, a contiguous color can influence the given color in direction, value and intensity.
Additive (RGB)
We chose a form and divided it into two equal sections. We applied a warm color to one side and a cool color to the other side, in which both colors were of the same value. Colors for each side of the divided squares from left to right and top to bottom were: a. Two light colors of equal value b. One dark color on one side and one color of the same value as our form on the other side c. One warm, bright color on one side and one dull, cool color on the other side d. Finding the complement for each section of our form in the same value and place them on their respective sides
C M Y K
21 65 0 0
Pantone 245C
C M Y K
15 96 0 0
Pantone 240C
C M Y K
49 19 18 0
Pantone 7695C
C M Y K
57 39 48 9
Pantone 444C
C M Y K
0 14 4 0
Pantone 705C
C M Y K
63 5 100 0
Pantone 360C
C M Y K
14 0 9 0
Pantone 656C
C M Y K
0 60 62 0
Pantone 1635C
C M Y K
91 58 58 47
Pantone 309C
C M Y K
36 32 32 1
Pantone 422C
C M Y K
21 42 32 1
Pantone 5015C
The gray background should be mixed by combining the CMYK percentages of either the complementary sets in ‘d’, in the same value as our form. Then we separated all colors into CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) in order to see how much each color was contained in the square composition. We also used the illustrator effect, color halftone, to achieve the directional pixelation.
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Assignment 5
The objective of this assignment was to observe the theories discussed previously in nature, the variety of colors that can be mixed from two initial colors, black and white, and how an element can appear trasparent by moving forward or receding.
analogous
monochrome
contrast
For my object from nature, I chose a bag of trailmix and painted gouache swatches of the colors. My inspiration of the seven colors came from the dried cranberry, raisin, banana, peanut, seed and other types of nut. Then we matched the colors on the computer.
With the three sets of harmonious colors, analogous, monochrome and contrast, we enriched our color palette by playing with their tints and shades and mixing different colors with one another. Simply by mixing colors together and adding tints and shades gave a rich variety of colors that we could later use for our stamp compositions.
Stamps
USA FIRST-CLASS FOREVER
We designed three stamps that were closely related to the object from nature we chose. My compositions were inspired by peanut, walnut and macadamia nut. Then we applied our analogous, monochrome and contrast sets of harmonious colors. Elements of overlapping transparency and depth were significant in order to make the compositions more dynamic and interesting. We played with not only colors but also the Illustrator effects, such as hard light, luminosity and color dodge, to achieve various color contrasts and transparency.
USA FIRST-CLASS FOREVER
USA FIRST-CLASS FOREVER
USA FIRST-CLASS FOREVER
USA FIRST-CLASS FOREVER
USA FIRST-CLASS FOREVER