Category Archives: Lecture

Class 24 | Color Interaction Free-Study

Greetings from MIAMI!

Professor Phyllis Rosenblatt will be leading the class and presenting this Freestudy project. Please ask questions!

Feel free to contact me this week, if you need assistance.

Critique (15 min)

  • Present your Color Interaction Studies
    • 2 color study pairs will explore interactions by shifting hue, but not value.
    • 2 color study pairs will demonstrate interactions by shifting both hue and value.
    • Extra credit: 2 color study pairs will attempt to make two different colors look as a like as possible.

LAB (2 hr 15min)

Free-Study – Paired Color Identities with Simultaneous Contrast

OVERVIEW:

  • Find a partner and choose a color that defines their identity (the type of person you perceive them to be).
    • “I think you are outgoing and friendly. The color that defines you is prismatic Yellow-Orange.”
    • “I think you are shy and smart. The color that defines you is a light, muted, Blue-Green.”
  • Ask your partner to do the same. Use paint, color wheel, or cut paper to demonstrate this color to your partner.
  • Come to an agreement about your respective color choices. Your partner’s color choice (the color that defines your identity) must be different than yours (the color you choose for your partner’s identity.)
  • Between the two of you, choose one additional color that is in contrast to both of your color choices. You may need to choose a less-saturated hue or variation in value in order to create good contrast. Spend a few minutes experimenting with these color interactions.
  • You only have two hues to work with: one will be a surrounding/influencing color and one will be a surrounded/influenced color. Like the Paired Interactions Studies we just completed, keep your shared hue exactly the same.
  • Create a personal icon or symbol that represents your partner’s personality.
    • This personal icon should be silhouette >> Portraits, generally in profile, from black card became popular in the mid-18th century. They are used in many mediums to give immediate identification or meaning.
    • Take a look at the artwork of Kara Walker to see how she uses this method to convey meaning in her work.
    • Also look at Indonesian Wayang Kulite – Shadow puppetry.
    • Research all the different ways silhouette is used in graphic design, theater and art.
  • Design a 9×12″ vertical composition that illustrates your partner’s personality using your chosen hue and the shared contrasting hue.
    • Consider the entire page and make sure the icon or symbol is sized and placed appropriately in order to demonstrate a stable figure-ground relationship. Make this choice with your partner, so that your individual compositions work together.
  • You will work independently, but your compositions will be displayed together and should demonstrate how one color (your shared color) can have two different identities depending on what hue it is surrounded by. Do this by exploring shifts in value, hue, and temperature through Simultaneous Contrast.
  • The final composition can utilize any medium you choose, but consult your partner to make sure the medium you choose will create a unified pair.
  • As with previous free-studies, research, thumbnails, color tests, consideration of overall compositional balance between figure and ground, unity, and communication of a clear concept or theme is important!

IN-CLASS WORK:

  • Work with your partner.
    • Come to an agreement about your respective color choices and shared contrasting color.
    • Experiment with color palettes to demonstrate your color interactions and relationships.
    • Decide on the medium you would like to work in.
    • Decide on the layout of your compositions. ie: How will the figure and ground relate? How will the layouts of the paired compositions relate?
    • Create a work schedule. This Freestudy (and all of Assignment #5) is due on Tuesday, Dec. 11th. Do not rush. Do not procrastinate. Use this project to demonstrate what you have learned in this course thus far.
  • BY THE END OF CLASS:
    • You and your partner should have completed the above and should be prepared to start working independently at home.
    • Ask Prof. Rosenblatt to review your work in-progress to make sure you are on the right track.

Homework

Bring to class:

  • Create at least 10 thumbnails of the symbol that will represent your partner’s personality.
  • Choose 2 thumbnails and development them further, creating color “mockups” using cut paper, paint or digitally. These do not need to be final works, but should communicate your intentions to the class.
  • DO NOT FORGET YOUR SUPPLIES. YOU WILL BE CONTINUING FREESTUDY WORK IN CLASS.

Class 23 | Color Interaction Continued

Critique/Discussion

  • REVIEW Color Interaction concepts.
  • Present your Color Interaction Studies: 2 Value Pairs (in full color)

LAB

Color Interaction Studies – Continued

NEXT INTERACTION STUDIES:

  • Group #3: 2 color study pairs will explore interactions by shifting hue, but not value.
  • Group #4: 2 color study pairs will explore interactions by shifting hue and value.

Process:

  • Attempt to make one color appear as two by varying the surrounding color.
  • For Group #3 (shifting hue, but not value), choose background hues that cause the center square to appear as if it’s a different hue. This may be subtle, but observable.
    • For example: the center square on the right appears reddish-violet when surrounded by green (complement of red) and the one on the left appears more bluish-violet when surrounded by orange (complement of blue). Notice the value doesn’t change.
      hue_interactions

      adjustments in hue

      hue_interactions_bw

      adjustments in hue

  • For Group #4 (shifting hue and value), choose background colors that cause the center squares to appear as if they’re both different in hue and value.
    • For Example:the center square on the left appears both bluer and darker when surrounded by yellow-orange, than the one on the right,which appears lighter and more reddish, when surrounded by blue-green.
      Hue & Value Interactions

      Hue & Value Interactions

      Hue & Value Interactions

      Hue & Value Interactions

Homework

  • Complete 4 pairs of color painted interactions : 2 hue interactions, 2 hue and value interactions. (you may have to make several attempts).
  • Come prepared with your CPB, painted color scraps and paints, brushes, etc, collage materials, a flash/jump drive or any material you’d like to use to work on a color interaction free study. See Assignment #5 for details.
  • Prof. Phyllis Rosenblatt will be here next week to work with you on your freestudies. Please be on time and on your best behavior – as you always are!

Class 22 | Color Interaction Continued

Materials

  • all gouache paints* from Supply List
  • brushes, water containers, palette
  • ruler, t-square, exacto knife
  • pencils
  • 9×12″ bristol
  • glue
  • * UPDATE: if you wish to use Photoshop/Illustrator or cut paper instead of paint, you may do so. Bring a Flash/Jump drive to class. See below for instructions.

Critique:

  • REVIEW Color Interaction concepts from the last class.
  • Present your Color Interaction Studies: Achromatic Value pairs

Lab

Color Interaction Studies – Continued

NEXT INTERACTION STUDY: Value in Color
This color study will explore color interactions by shifting value in color.

Process:

  • Create (2) color interaction pairs by shifting value in color.
  • Choose one hue as your small, center square color, preferably one that is in middle key.
  • Attempt to make this one color appear as two by varying the surrounding color.
  • For each pair choose one background hue and adjust the value by adding white and/or complement. Or choose another hue that is of contrasting VALUE.
  • Follow the same process for mounting and presentation as the previous study.

Alternate Process:

If you choose to work digitally, please adhere to the following additional guidelines:

  • Create (4) color interaction pairs by shifting value in color. That’s (2) additional pairs.
  • Choose one hue as your small, center square color, preferably one that is in middle key.
  • Attempt to make this one color appear as two by varying the surrounding color.
  • For each pair choose one background hue and adjust the value by adding white and/or complement. Or choose another hue that is of contrasting VALUE.
  • Your final Color Interaction Studies should be presented in exactly the same format as outlined in the Assignment Guidelines.
  • If you do not have a GOOD color printer at home, you will need to take your files to a copy shop, like Kinkos on Court St. or SaveMor on Flatbush Ave. Do NOT “scale to fit” when printing.
  • Even if your digital files are accurate, if your printouts do not demonstrate the color interactions intended, you will not receive credit for the assignment.
  • NOTE: A detailed demonstration will be given in class. If you miss the demo, complete the assignment in paint.
  • Example Photoshop file.

Examples:

  • In the first pair (blue) the value is altered by adding white to the left square and the complement to the right square. The center square appears darker on the left and lighter on the right.
  • In the second pair (yellow), the slightly muted yellow on the left and the chromatic gray on the right alter the perceived value of the center square.
  • Work with different surrounding hues, altering the perceived value at all levels of saturation (chromatic grays, muted and prismatic) until you achieve a perceptual difference between center squares. It’s interesting to notice how these two studies look in grayscale.

 

HOMEWORK

  • Complete your (2) pairs of color interactions making value adjustments in color (you may have to make several attempts)
  • If you are working digitally, complete (8) pairs of color interactions (see above).
  • Come prepared for the next and final color interaction experiment.

Class 21 | Critique & Color Interaction

Materials

  • black and white gouache paints from Supply List
  • brushes, water containers, palette
  • ruler, t-square, exacto knife
  • pencils
  • 9×12″ bristol
  • glue

Critique:

Today you will be using the rubric to assess your neighbor’s project. Put all Assignment #4 work on your desk (check the guidelines to make sure you have all parts of the project). Using the rubric provided compare the Assignment #4 guidelines against the work your neighbor has presented.

  • Saturation Studies
  • Free-Study #2 (Based on Ben Snead’s work)
  • Creative Process Book

Discussion/Lecture

Color Interaction

  • Simultaneous Contrast: When two colors come into contact, the contrast intensifies the difference between them.
    • Example #1: When a middle gray is surrounded by dark gray it appears lighter than when surrounded by a lighter gray.
    • Example #2: Yellow-green surrounded by green appears more yellow, but if surrounded by yellow appears more green.
    • Example #3: Complementary hues have the most striking effect– blue is most intense when seen next to orange.
    • Example #4: Gray or white next to a pure hue, like red, will cause the gray to take on its complement, green.
  • Complementary Colors and After Images: Afterimage is an optical effect that is induced from color combinations. If a color and a neutral gray placed side by side the gray will appear tinted with the complement. Due to the influence of afterimage, our brains try to balance the color with its complement.
    • Example: When we see a blue-violet circle on a green square, there is a small ring of red-violet at the intersection of the background and the circle. The reddish afterimage of the green is blended with the blue of the circle to create a red-violet illusion. If the same color is placed on a gray background, the circle appears bluer.
  • Optical Mixing: When a field of color is composed of small, disparate points of color, the mind fuses the colors into a comprehensible whole.
    • Example #1: Four-color printing process uses overlapping dot screens of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black to produce a wide range of hues.
    • Example #2 : Digital imaging on the computer screen uses tiny pixels of color to produce gradations of hue.
    • Example #3: A mosaic or drawing uses tiny pieces of stone or drawn marks to create a field of color.

Josef Albers: The Interaction of Color

  • Josef Albers was a student of the Bauhaus in Germany and color educator at the Black Mountain College and Yale. His experiments in color relationships are used throughout the world in the study of design and color.
  • Classic experiments involved making one color appear as two by placing it next to different background colors.

References:

Lab

Assignment #5 : Color Interaction Pairings

  • Goal: Over the next three classes we will create a total of 8 paired interaction color studies– making 1 color appear as 2 different colors by changing its surrounding color. Each PAIR consists of 2 interactions for a total of 4 interactions per page. The small square should be the same for each pair.
    • Each PAIR consists of 2 interactions.
      • Group 1: 2 pairs of achromatic gray studies will explore interactions by shifting value.
      • Group 2: 2 pairs of color studies will explore interactions by shifting value (with color)
      • Group 3: 2 pairs of color studies will explore interactions by shifting hue, but not value.
      • Group 4: 2 pairs of color studies will explore interactions by shifting hue and value.
      • Extra Credit: 1 pair of color studies will attempt to make two different colors look as a like as possible.
  • Limits:
    • Use leftover and new color scraps from your previous saturation studies.
    • Make large squares 2×2″ and small squares 1/2 x 1/2″.
    • The small squares will sit in the middle of the large squares and should be the same for each pair.
  • Process:
    • Group 1: Using achromatic grays (black and white gouache), vary the value of the large square to alter the perceived value of the small square. The small square should be the same value for each pair.
    • Each group of 2 pairs should be properly mounted on clean 9×12″ bristol.

HOMEWORK

  • Research / Inspiration: 
    • Read about Josef Albers. 
    • Use this tool to experiment with color interactions: http://www.jellocube.com/screendesign/simulcon.swf
    • Find two examples in any medium (web, print, film, billboard, etc.) that demonstrates Simultaneous Contrast. Write at least one paragraph in your CBP explaining your observations. Be sure to printout and paste an image of your examples in your CPB.
  • Experimentation / Iteration:
    • Complete 2 pairs of achromatic gray interactions (you may have to make several attempts)

Class 20 | Balance, Symmetry & Field Trip

Materials Needed

  • Creative Process Book, pencils
  • Camera or camera-phone

Discussion :

Review:

  • Assignment #4 Milestones
  • Freestudy check-in and Class 19 Review: 
    • Chromatic gray
    • Muted color
    • Prismatic color
    • Narrow Value (High-Key or Low-Key) or Broad Value
    • Temperature (warm and cool)
    • Spacial Depth
    • Cross-Sensory Metaphors

New Vocabulary:

The Principles: basic assumptions that guide the design practice.

  • Balance is the concept of visual equilibrium or equalized tension, used to create harmony, order, and cohesion. While visual elements don’t have a physical weight. They do have visual weight. Some things that affect visual weight:
    • Size
    • Color
    • Density
    • Value
    • Whitespace

    Most compositions accomplish the balance of these visual weights in one of two ways: symmetrically or asymmetrically.

  • Symmetrical balance can occur in any orientation as long as the image is the same (weight, form) on either side of the central axis. The result is formal, organized and orderly, but it is easy to over emphasize the center axis. Symmetrical images have a strong sense of unity, but at the same time symmetrical balance can lack variety. Used primarily for stability: backgrounds, patterns or any layout that requires a strong organizational structure or a trusting, safe feel to the design. Symmetry = PASSIVE, FORMAL SPACE
  •  Asymmetrical balance means balance without symmetry. It is possible to achieve balance without symmetry so that the placement of elements of varying “visual weight” will balance one another around a fulcrum point. Imagine a scale with several small objects balanced by a large object. Use asymmetry to draw attention and create visual interest. Asymmetry can make designs more interesting overall and also serves to create visual hierarchy in order to direct the viewer’s eyes to a certain area. Asymmetry = ACTIVE, DYNAMIC SPACE
  • Other types of Symmetry:
    • Radial / Rotational Symmetry is when an object is rotated in a certain direction around a point. It is often used to communicate direction or motion.
    • Bilateral / Reflection Symmetry is the “mirror” effect, or when one object is reflected across a plane to create another instance of itself.
    • Translational Symmetry: when an object is relocated to another position while maintaining its general or exact orientation. Used for repeated patterns, to create movement, or to reinforce stability.
  • References:
  • QUESTIONS:
    • When do we use SYMMETRICAL BALANCE?
    • When do we use ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE?

Field Trip

We are going to the A Station at Jay Street-Borough Hall where artist Ben Snead has a permanent glass mosaic and ceramic tile artwork called Departures and Arrivals.

From the MTA website:

The intricate play of nature is the theme of Ben Snead’s mosaic and tile artwork, which fills the south mezzanine with bold color and intricate patterns along a specially designed 103 foot-long curved wall. The work exhibits the artist’s interest in natural species and ways of arranging them in systems and patterns that highlight the connections and relationships between dissimilar species.

The artwork – created in glass mosaic based on Snead’s original paintings – features species that have migrated to Brooklyn as well as one species that is departing. He arranges the species in layers that can be seen from left to right: European starling (originally from England), a house sparrow (Europe), Red Lion fish (Indian Ocean), Monk parrot (South America) and Koi (Japan). The Tiger Beetle is represented on a tile background; a local species that is in decline. The result is a bold and graphic set of images that intrigue and delight passersby during their own departures and arrivals.

Ben Snead References:

Saturation Studies Free-Study #2 – Ben Snead, Departures and Arrivals

You will be creating a Free-Study based on our field trip to see Ben Snead’s pubic subway mosaic work called Departures and Arrivals.

Research / Inspiration

While visiting Ben’s pubic subway mosaic work, Departures and Arrivals, answer the following in your CPB:

  1. What inspires Ben’s work?
  2. How does he use metaphor?
  3. What role does Symmetry and Pattern play in his work?
  4. Observe the hues, value, and saturation, what is the range of each?
  5. How would you describe the style of the work? What does it remind you of?
  6. Does the layering and position of the different birds, fish and insects have any significance?
  7. Is their any connection between the different species?
  8. Any other questions you have or observations you’ve made….

After your visit READ these references to learn more:

Experimentation / Iteration

In your CPB take some time to think about how you can use Departures and Arrivals as an inspiration for your own composition. Your composition should reference metaphor, balance, and the range of saturation (prismatic, muted and chromatic gray) demonstrated in the glass mosaic and ceramic tile artwork at the A Station at Jay Street-Borough Hall.

Create at least 10 quick sketches to “think” out some ideas. Remember to always consider the figure-ground relationship, economy, and unity.

For example, here is an example of a preparatory sketch for a painting:

Tate.org: Preparatory Sketch for Le Café, Pierre Bonnard

And the final painting.

Tate.org: Le Café, Pierre Bonnard

Here’s an example of preparatory sketches for a logo:

WDE logo sketches by David Airey

And the final logo:

WDE final logo design by David Airey

Execution:

  • Your final work should be a minimum of 11×17″ in any medium you like, but it should reference metaphor, balance, and the range of saturation (prismatic, muted and chromatic gray) observed in Ben’s glass mosaic and ceramic tile artwork at the A Station at Jay Street-Borough Hall.

Homework

  • All parts of Assignment #4, including Free-Study  #2 are DUE!
  • CPB’s will be reviewed for Assignment #4. (See Assignment #4 page for details.)