AIOnline: Color Theory

Hello again! I come bearing designs created in my Color Theory class at the Art Institute. Most of them are technical projects, but I thought it would be good to include them to show a progression in my understanding. I've also included descriptions to help explain what the purpose behind the assignment. Who knows, you might learn something. Off we go!

Project 1: Gradations in hue, value and saturation - In order to understand color theory, we first had to understand hue, saturation, and value. The top gradation shows a progression in hue (in this case, a blue-cyan to magenta), the middle shows a gradation in value, and the final shows a gradation in saturation (which is another word for how much gray is in a color. The more gray, the less saturated the color is).

Project 2: Tints, shades, and tones - The next step after learning about hue, saturation and value is experimenting with the different tints, shades, and tones present in a color. A "tint," simply put, is when white is added to a color. Shades, conversely, are created by adding black to the color. Tones are basically everything in between; by adding gray of a higher or lower value than the color itself, you create tones.

Project 3: Monochromatic Design - After learning about different color strategies, our next project required us to create a design and, using a single hue, create a high-key (lighter) version and a low-key (darker) version.

Project 4: Learning about color wheels - Next was learning about the different types of color wheels. The one on the left is known as the "traditional" color wheel, and is the one best known to everyone. The traditional color wheel is known as a subtractive color wheel, which simply means that blending all the colors together will produce the color black. The second color wheel is the RGB color wheel, which is used for producing color with light. It is known as an additive color wheel, which means that when the colors are blended, the color white is made. Interestingly enough, the RGB color wheel is the only additive color wheel in existence. The final is another subtractive color wheel, this time CMY(K).

Project 5: Color temperature - After studying the color wheels, we learned about the relative temperatures of colors. Simply put, colors that are closer to red are more associated to "warm" temperatures, while colors closer to blue are "cool." This assignment simply looked at the relationship between different color temperatures.

Project 6: Color depth - Using the color strategies from the previous assignment, we were asked to make a design which created the illusion of depth made up of only circles.

Project 7: Relative color - Once we had a firm grasp of color temperature, the next step was to learn about relative color, which is the phenomenon experienced when tho colors are placed next to each other. The top two squares are intended to create illusion that the center colors are different from each other using a different background color. The bottom two squares are attempting to create the illusion that two different colors are the same, by the same principle.

Project 8: Exploring color strategies (Complementary and Split-Complementary) - The next project we were given dealt with using two different forms of complementary colors. Using the same design template, we were required to use a complementary color strategy (left, using an orange and a blue hue that are opposite each other on the color wheel) and a split-complementary color strategy (right, using a yellow hue as well as a blue and purple hue which are directly adjacent to the hue normally used to complement yellow).

Project 9: Exploring color strategies (Creating palettes) - After learning more about color strategies, we were asked to create three palettes using the strategies we'd learned. The one on the left is a tetrad color strategy, which uses four colors that are equidistant on the color wheel. The second is a dissonant color harmony, which simply means using colors from all over the color wheel that would not necessarily go together. The final is another split-complementary strategy.

Project 10: Exploring color strategies (Putting it together) - Using one of the color palettes we'd created,  we were to create a design that effectively communicated an idea or emotion described in our initial palettes.

Final project: Thumbnails - These are the thumbnails for my final project. I wanted to convey the feeling of excitement and peace that I had felt while visiting Kaua'i recently, so I created four thumbnails that dealt with four aspects of the beach life I had experienced.

Final project: Color studies - After some difficult choosing, I had settled on the beach thumbnail as the thumbnail I wanted to develop. After editing a few aspects of the design (and adding a couple choice elements from other thumbnails), I began creating color studies of my design. I chose, clockwise from top left: Analogous, Tetrad, Monochromatic, and Warm Analogous.

Final project: Further development - I decided to go with my Warm Analogous color palette for this design, partially because I felt it was the best at conveying the feeling of warmth that I wanted to be present, and partially because I felt it was the easiest to look at. I began refining my design by adding lines to the wave to give it a visual "curve," as well as adding shadows to the surfboards on the shore and rotating the umbrella slightly.

Final project: Final product - I continued to refine my design by adding clouds to break up the sky. I also assigned gradients to most of the elements to give them more of a three-dimensional look. This did two things; first, it created a sense of depth in the design, and second, it fixed several issues I had been having with making the wave seem realistic. All in all, I was very pleased with my design.

That's it! Thanks for reading through another one of my blog posts. This pretty much wraps up my artwork up to this point. From this point on, I will update my blog every time I complete a new artwork, so be on the lookout! See ya next time!