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COLOR The Next Dimension. Why use color?. Color adds information that is often difficult to describe with words Color adds a sense of beauty and excitement otherwise hard to capture. But. . . Color illustrations require time, talent, and planning
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COLOR The Next Dimension
Why use color? • Color adds information that is often difficult to describe with words • Color adds a sense of beauty and excitement otherwise hard to capture
But. . . • Color illustrations require time, talent, and planning • Color is more difficult to reproduce accurately in print, but more easily in digital media • Color is expensive to print, except in large press runs; cost often borne by scientist
Natural color • Symbolic color • Design color
Natural color • Captures the true color of the specimen • Most common use of color • Usually watercolor, including gouache, acrylic paints, colored pencil, or mixed media
Symbolic color • Use of standard colors to portray different structures (e.g., red arteries, blue veins, yellow nerves) • Often used in medical and/or instructional illustrations
Design color • Color is used as part of the overall design to communicate information quickly, precisely, and noticeably
Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet
Primary colors • Irreducible components of color • Combinations of primaries produce entire (infinite) spectrum of color
ADDITIVE primary colors of LIGHT RGB color of computer monitors and television Green Yellow Cyan Red Blue Magenta
A computer monitor pixel is composed of 3 subpixels (each a tiny transistor) with red, green, and blue filters. Through the careful control and variation of the voltage applied, the intensity of each subpixel can range over 256 shades. Combining the subpixels produces a possible palette of 16.8 million colors (256 shades of red x 256 shades of green x 256 shades of blue).
SUBTRACTIVE primary colors of PIGMENTS Yellow Orange Green Red Blue Violet
SUBTRACTIVE primary colors of TRANSPARENT PIGMENTS CMYK color of printing Yellow Red Green Magenta Cyan Blue
ADDITIVE mixture involves the addition of spectral components (light) SUBTRACTIVE mixture involves the absorption (or subtraction) of spectral components (pigments and dyes)
Additive and subtractive colors are COMPLEMENTARY G Y C R B M
Yellow Primary Red Blue Subtractive primary colors (pigments)
Yellow Secondary Orange Green Red Blue Violet
Yellow Tertiary Yellow-orange Yellow-green Orange Green Red-orange Blue-green Red Blue Red-violet Blue-violet Violet
Yellow Yellow-orange Yellow-green Orange Green Red-orange Blue-green Color Wheel Red Blue Red-violet Blue-violet Violet
Qualities of color • Hue • Saturation (chroma or tone) • Brightness (intensity or value) • Temperature • Transparency & opacity
Yellow Hue Orange Green Red Blue Violet
Saturation white
Brightness black
Brightness (value)
Temperature Warm Cool
Transparency Opacity
Techniques • Colored pencil • Watercolor • Gouache • Acrylics
Colored Pencil • Can give excellent textural detail and rich color effects • Minimal materials needed • Inexpensive • Fast • Excellent with mixed media
Surfaces: • Illustration board-any surface with good “tooth” and random texture, such as cold-press, 100% rag mat board, cold-press Bristol board, or Kid-finish Strathmore • Drafting film-acetate or polyester, matte 1- or 2 sides, e.g. Herculene (K&E)
Media: • Pencils-At least a basic set of 12 pencils representing the primaries through tertiaries: • Sanford Prismacolor • Sanford Prismacolor Verithin • Sanford Prismacolor Watercolor • Derwent Studio • Faber Castell Polychromos • White gouache or acrylic paint
Tools: • Small sable watercolor brush for dry-brushing highlights • Eraser-Pink Pearl, etc. • X-Acto knife • Workable fixative
Technique: • Transfer pencil sketch using light-hued colored pencil (e.g., non-photo blue), not graphite • For brilliant or light colored areas, lay down a base of white. On film, back-paint with white acrylic afterwards • Use sharpened pencils to apply tiny, closely placed strokes in any pattern. Do not use stump to blend strokes • Begin with middle tones, working towards darks and lights; light colors over darker; lighten with white pencil • Combine colors for brilliant effects • Avoid overworking or the surface will become saturated (surface becomes shiny) • For very bright primary highlights, dry-brush with white acrylic paint • Spray finished drawing with workable fixable
Prismacolor pencils on Cronaflex drafting film. Image was backpainted white, then shadows added with carbon dust on the back of the film. Details were enhanced with knife and graphite pencil. Lady beetle by George Venable.
Iridescence Metallic, iridescent, or fluorescent paints do not reproduce in print! Study specimen in fixed position and try to break down the iridescence into individual areas of color Place brilliant colors adjacent to each other Use intense colored highlights, not white, and deep blacks next to suddenly emerging colors Avoid gradual shading, juxtapose lights and darks somewhat sharply
violet blue dark emerald green dark emerald green black darkest emerald green yellow-green highlight
References and recommended readings: • The Guild Handbook, chapters 6, 8, 9 • Wood, chapters 5, 6, 10 • Zweifel, chapter 1 • Leland, 1998, Exploring Color • Sidaway, 2002, Color Mixing bible