Color Portrait Variations

Art 105: 2-Dimensional Design  

Professor: Kyle Stevenson

Due: Thursday, November 29

Project 5 (Part B):  COLOR (Applying tints, shades, tones and values as color schemes to an existing image.)

MATERIALS:

Oil Paints (Black, White, Red, Blue, and Yellow)

Brushes: an assortment or variety pack

Turpenoid (or odorless mineral spirits)
            Liquin (alkyd based medium/dryer)
            Carbon Paper*

A (preferably) black and white photo of yourself

It should be reduced or enlarged to (about) 5x7  

1- Illustration board (Hot Press)

Comes in a pack of 2 (15”x20”) or 1 (20”x 30”-can be cut into 2 pieces)

Disposable Palette pad

Ruler
            Graphite Pencils

Instructions:

Start by taking your B+W photographic portrait and a sheet of carbon paper* and transfer the main linear structure of your image to 4 different rectangles.  They should be evenly balanced and laid out on a 15x20 sheet of illustration board.

*we will make our own “carbon paper by taking a sheet of drawing paper and filling the entire back of it evenly with your softest graphite pencil

Now make 4 different self-portrait paintings.  Each will be an exploration of one of 4 different Color Schemes: monochromatic, analogous, complimentary, and a final naturalistic (realistic) one.

1. MONOCHROMATIC
   First, choose one primary or secondary color as the basis for the first painting.  Paint your monochromatic portrait by starting at white and working your way to black (note: you will have to reduce the picture into distinctive shapes of value.  See example slides).  You will use tints (white added) and shades (black added) to make your monochromatic variations until you have a full value scale of one color.
   
   
2. ANALAGOUS
   Second, choose an analogous color scheme of 3 colors (colors next to each other on the color wheel) to paint your next portrait.  Choose a scheme that is either warm or cool in its feeling and association. With the three different colors, paint the back ground one color with varying tints and shades.  Paint the head and hair one color with varying tints and shades.  And paint the clothing one color with varying tints and shades.
   
   
3. COMPLEMENTARY
   Third, choose two different complementary color sets to paint the next painting (colors opposite each other on the color wheel).  Choose one complementary set for the Hair and the Clothing and choose a different complementary set for the face and background.
   
   
4. NATURAL OR REALISTIC COLOR
   Lastly, paint your portrait to have a natural or a realistic look (you will have a little more freedom to mix color on this one).  With what you have learned about mixing paint and color, do your best to mix colors that represent natural tones including skin and hair color.  Remember to not get too muddy or neutral with your tones and variations and try to keep a full range of values between white and black.  Use the background and clothing areas as possibilities for some more colorful and saturated gradations in the image.  

Good Luck.

Color Chart

Art 105: 2-Dimensional Design  

Professor: Kyle Stevenson

Due: Thursday, November 15

Project 5 (Part A):  COLOR (Mixing paint to understand the basics of color including value, hues, tints, and shades.)

MATERIALS :

Oil Paints: ivory black, titanium white, cadmium red (hue), cobalt blue (hue), cadmium yellow (hue)

Water Color Paper for swatches.

Turpenoid (Turpentine substitute)
            Liquin (oil based medium/dryer), 4 oz. bottle

1- Illustration board (Hot Press)

Comes in a pack of 2 (15”x20”) or 1 (20”x 30”-can be cut into 2 pieces)

            Rubber Cement or Glue Stick

            Scissors and Exacto Knife

Disposable Palette pad

Palette knife: bent shank (plastic or metal)

Circle Template

            Ruler
            Graphite Pencils

INSTRUCTIONS:
First, Measure and Split your illustration board vertically so you have 2 10”tall x 15”wide sections (divide with light graphite line):
Next, make 5 (1” tall x 9” wide) horizontal strips broken down into 1 “ square increments. (see diagram) 
The first row will be nine steps of grayscale value.
(white to black)

The next three rows will show steps of tints and shades with primary colors.
(white - primary - black)

 And the last row will show your choice of one complimentary mixture.
(blue-orange, red-green, or yellow-purple)

Using the supplied oil paints on water color paper go through the following steps:
1. Grayscale:
Starting with pure white, slowly add small equal increments of black to make steps of subtle gradation until you reach pure black. 

2. Primary tints and shades: (3 different sets Red, Yellow, and Blue)
Start by making a 4” swatch of the primary color you will be using first without any mixing, this will be your pure swatch of local color.

Next, beginning with pure white, slowly add small equal increments of a primary color to make steps of subtle gradation until you reach pure local color, at this point begin adding small equal increments of black until you reach pure black.
Finally, continue the same procedures for the other 2 primaries.

3. Complimentary Mixture:

Start by mixing equal* amounts of the three different possible pairings of primary colors (Red with Blue, Blue with Yellow, and Red with Yellow).  Make a 2 inch swatch of each of the results.  You should get a second set of colors, called secondary colors, which are Orange, Green, and Violet [Purple].

Next, choose one complimentary pair (Red/Green, Blue/Orange, Yellow/Violet) .  Begin with one of the secondary colors and slowly add small equal increments of the complimentary primary color to make steps of subtle gradation until you get back to pure local color.

4. Drying and Arranging:
We will let our paints dry overnight (you may stash them here) and will resume cutting out our color swatches in the next class period.  In the meantime you can start laying out your illustration board.  Follow the directions on the following diagram and lightly center and sketch in where you paste in your cut out swatches.  Remember to always start measuring from the center so your borders are of equal spacing.  Also, think about incorporating text to label the diagram.  Try your best to make it neat, legible and interesting.   Start lightly in graphite and finish by inking your final text in.

           

*Actually, because of the differences in the tinting strength of the different (imperfect) pigments, you’ll need to experiment a bit to find the right mixing percentages of each color to affect a new secondary color that appears to be exactly between the parent colors. 

Value Project Handouts! (all uploaded as jpegs)

Reading Assignment #4: quiz next week!

Art 105: Two-Dimensional Design

Professor: Kyle Stevenson

Project 4 vocabulary: Value

Reading: Pipes- Intro to Design, Chapter 6,

The Vocabulary of Value (and using grayscale):

value:  A measure of the relative lightness or darkness of a color, also known as brightness.

tint:  A hue mixed with white.

shade:  A hue mixed with black.

achromatic:  The absence of hue and saturation.  Black, white and the grays in between.

Achromatic grays:  Made from mixing just black and white together with no other color.

contrast:  The value relationship between adjacent areas of light and dark.  The highest contrast of all is black and white.

value pattern:  The shapes that an arrangement of various light and dark value areas in a composition make, independent of any colors used.

value emphasis:  Where a value contrast is used to create a focal point within a composition.

graduated tint:  A continuous change in value with no observable banding..

value contrast:  The relationship between adjacent areas of light and dark colors.  The highest contrast of all is black and white.

mid-tones:  The tints at the center of a chromatic scale, midway between black and white.

low-key values:  A value that has a level of middle gray or darker, tints from middle gray to black.

high-key values:  A value that has a level of middle gray or lighter, tints between the mid-tones and white.

local values:  The relative light and dark of a surface, seen in the real world,  independent of any effect created by the degree of light falling on it.  A smooth rounded object will disperse the light gradually and subtly, whereas light shining on an object with angular surfaces will result in distinct areas of contrasting light and shade..

core shadow:  The dark part of an object, away from and not directly illuminated by the light source.  It is attached to the object, or encompasses a space..

cast shadow:  The dark area projected from an illuminated form onto other objects or the backgroud.

highlight:  The part of an object that, from the viewer’s position, receives the greatest amount of direct light.  The highest value of a modeled form, or a bright distinct dot or area on the surface of a shiny form that accentuates its glossiness.

dynamic range:  The range of pigments from the lightest to the darkest, usually within the range from white to black.

underexposed:  If a photographer decides to adjust a camera to capture the light areas of a scene, then the dark areas will be uniformly black and lacking in detail in the shadows.

overexposed:  When photographers adjust their cameras to capture a dark object against a light background, then the light areas will be bleached out and lacking in detail.

chiaroscuro:  The distribution of light and dark in a picture.  From the Italian chiaro for clear or light and oscuro for obscure or dark.  It has come to refer to the dramatic theatrical compositions of Caravaggio and Rembrandt.

grisaaille:  A monochromatic version of chiaroscuro in shades of gray or a neutral color which imitates the appearance of low-relief sculptures.

sfumato:  Lenordo da Vinci’s shading technique, it is Italian for “smoke”.  A transition of value from light to dark so gradual that the eye cannot detect any distinct tones or boundaries between values.

tenebrism:  A technique of painting, from the Italian word (tenebroso) meaning “obscure,” used by Caravaggio and his followers and characterized by a little bright light and lots of almost black shade.

specular reflection:  A type of reflection that distinguishes shiny glossy surfaces or objects from dull matt ones.

ray tracing:  Computer graphics technique for lighting a scene developed by Turner Whitted.  Every time a ray of light encounters a surface, it divides into three parts: into diffusely reflected light; into specularly reflected light; and into transmitted or refracted light.  Rays are traced back from the viewer, bounced back from the viewer, bounced around the scene, and arrive eventually back at the light source.

radiosity:  Computer graphics technique for lighting a scene globally by calculating the light-energy equilibrium of all the surfaces in an environment, independent of the viewer’s position.

Value Project

Art 105: 2-Dimensional Design  

Professor: KyleStevenson

Project 4: VALUE (Seeing + interpreting in Grayscale tones)

MATERIALS:

Hole Punch (a single hand held punch, don’t get a 3 hole punch)

5 copies of a given Grayscale chart.

Black Pens 1 Fine Point Sharpie + 1 two-sided (Fine/Broad) Prisma Color Marker

Exacto Knife or tweezers (for placing the hole punches)

Graphite Pencils Pack of 4 Graphic or Soft Sketching Pencils (HB, 2B, 4B, 6B)

Design Ebony Drawing Pencils Pack of 2      

Metal Ruler: 18” or 24”

T-square or triangle with 12” inking edge

Pad of Bristol Paper 14” x 17” pad

Variety of Erasers

INSTRUCTIONS:

This project comes in two parts, follow the specific directions below.  This project will serve as an example of your ability to see, choose and interpret value in a variety of images.

Part 1

You are to do all 4 of the projects below (1A-1D), making value studies of different images using a variety of grayscales and techniques.  Cut out and mount your studies on a two sheets of Bristol. 

1A. Value Grid Hatching with pen and ink

Start by creating a grayscale with hatching or cross- hatching with a fine point pen at the top of the page. Try to make the transition between each step as smooth as possible as you go from white to black.  You will then transfer a version of this grayscale to the small grayscale above the left image.  Finally, you will go square by square on the left grid and you will choose from the value steps in the small grayscale trying to match the value of the squares in the image on the right.  Try to make each block a single value like your grayscale. This will make it difficult to keep detail in your translation of the image.

1B. Value Grid Even tone Graphite pencils (2H, B, 2B, 4B)

You will start by creating a grayscale with subtle even tones of graphite at the top of the page. Try to make the transition between each step as smooth as possible.  You will then transfer a version of this grayscale to the small grayscale above the left image.  Finally, you will go square by square on the left grid and you will choose from the value steps in the small grayscale trying to match the value of the squares in the image of the Mona Lisa on the right.  Try to make each block a single value like your grayscale. This will make it difficult to keep detail in your translation of the image.

1C. Value image w/ Continuous Tone using Stippling with pen and ink

You will start by creating a grayscale with stippling with a fine point pen at the top of the page. Try to make the transition between each step as smooth as possible.  Finally, you will translate the image of the landscape with randomized points of stippling where you let value accumulate by the amount of dots you put down. You are not required to work in the grid fashion, but remember your goal is to interpret the value more than the detail, and that it will be difficult to keep finite details in your stippling translation of the image.

1D. Value image w/ glued on hole-punch taken from Xeroxed value scale

To start, you will be given a few grayscale charts with 11 steps of value.  On this chart, the first step is white and the last step is black and there are 9 steps of gray variations in between.  Looking at the range of value in the grayscale chart as compared to the image of the eye, you are going to try to interpret the image of the eye at the top into the 4x6 space on the bottom of the page by gluing in the different values of the hole-punches that you will punch out as you go. You are not required to work in the grid fashion and you can overlap the hole-punches to create clearer detail. But remember your goal is to interpret the value more than the detail, and that it will be difficult to keep hard edges and finite details in your hole punch translation of the image.

Part 2

Next week, you are to choose and bring in 2 different B+W photographic images that contain a full range of value throughout the image. Don’t choose an image that has too much contrast with too much black and white or an image that is too flat with too much gray. Try to find an image with the full range between black, and white, including a wide range of grays.  Next, you will make at least one photocopy for each of the 2 images, each copy should be at least an 8x10 section on an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper. (Sometimes copy machines are tricky and will under or over expose your image. Make as many copies as needed until you have copies that contain the full range of grayscale steps. Also, it is probably best to keep the original image, if possible, to use as your first and best reference.)  Looking at your 2 images, I will help you choose the image that is your best example of a good value range, and then you will choose one of the first four methods you completed in the first part of the assignment.  You will be creating an 8x10 value translation of the decided image with your choice of method.  If you choose a grid method, your squares need to be .25 or ¼ inches big. Try and understand the range of value in your image and anticipate where different areas of value are going to fall  (Think paint by number style).  For the final step, you will grid or trace your image over to an 8x10 section of Bristol using very light pencil marks. Finally, you will start adding value with your chosen method and materials. Remember, you are trying your best to interpret the value in your copy onto the Bristol Paper.  Try to meticulously mimic the value using the different gradations and the range of grays you are capable of getting with your chosen method.  The final value interpretation will be an 8x10 section on a sheet of Bristol.
 

Art Club Meeting on Thursday!

For those of you that don't know, tomorrow is our first Art Club meeting!  All art students--full time or not--are automatically members of the Art Club.  Please show up at High Noon (that is, 12:00 pm) in FA115!  We'll elect officers, discuss possible activities, and talk about ART (and stuff).