Colour Theory

151013 Tues.

As far as a designer is concerned, we all know that colour in design is very subjective. With colours, we can set a mood, attract attention, or..make a statement. We can use colour to energize, or to cool down. By selecting the right colour scheme, we can create an ambience of elegance, warmth or peace. Colour theory is a science in itself. (Sir Issac Newton was one of the first scientists to investigate colour theory.) Sometimes, something as simple as changing the exact hue or saturation of a colour can evoke a completely different feeling. Wondering what is hue? Saturation? Keep scrolling. :)

Hue

• A hue is any colour on the colour wheel.
• Hue defines pure colour in terms of "green, blue, red".
• Hue also defines mixtures of two pure colours like "red-yellow, blue-violet". 
• Hue is the name of the colour.

Value

• Value is the lightness or darkness of a colour.
• All hues can be made in all values.
• Adding white paint will make the pigment lighter; adding black paint will make most pigments darker.

Saturation

• Saturation can also be called a colour's intensity.
• A saturated colour is high in intensity, it looks rich and full.
• A unsaturated colour is low in intensity, it looks dull and grayish.

Secondary Colours

• Secondary colours are the colours formed by mixing two primary colours.
• Yellow + Red = ORANGE
  Red + Blue = VIOLET
  Blue + Yellow = GREEN

Tertiary Colours

• Tertiary colours are the colours formed by mixing a primary and a secondary colour.
• Yellow + Orange = YELLOW-ORANGE
  Red + Orange = RED-ORANGE
  Red + Violet = RED-VIOLET
  Blue + Violet = BLUE-VIOLET
  Blue + Green = BLUE-GREEN
  Yellow + Green = YELLOW-GREEN

Analogous Colours

• Analogous colours are colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel.
• An analogous colour contains one primary colour, one secondary colour and one tertiary colour.
• e.g. Yellow, Yellow-Orange, Orange

Tint

• A tint is a colour produced by the addition of white.
• The more white added, the lighter the tint.
• Tints are also known as pastels.

Shade

• A shade is a colour produced by the addition of black.
• The more black added, the darker the shade.

Monochromatic Colours

• Monochromatic colour schemes use a single hue (purple above) and then use various tints and shades of that original colour.
• They are very low in contrast.

Warm & Cool Colours

• The colour wheel also visually illustrates colour "temperature": warm vs cool.
• Vivid hues that bring about a sense of warmth are labeled as warm colours. This includes hues from yellow to red-violet.
• Hues that generate the exact opposite feeling are called cool colours. They tend to be associated with cool temperatures and relaxation. This includes hues from yellow-green to violet.

Colour Symbolism

1. Royalty

• The colour purple has been associated with royalty, power and wealth for centuries.
• Purple was the colour worn by Roman Emperors and magistrates, only wealthy rulers could afford to buy and wear the colour.

2. Freshness

• Green is the colour of nature and represents growth, harmony, freshness, hope and fertility.
• Green has great healing power and it is the most restful colour for the human eye, it can improve vision.

3. Passion

• Red is the colour of fire and blood.
• It is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire and love.

Paper Cutouts

081013 Tues.

Our third assignment was playing with paper and knife: Paper Cutouts! :D

Assignment 3:

• Create 2 different artworks (A4) using paper cutout and collage techniques.
• It can be in any colour you wish.
• 1 artwork should represent balance & symmetry.
• 1 artwork should represent dominance, space & weight.
• Dateline: 8th October 2013.

Before we started doing them, we needed to draw a mind map and brainstorm as many as ideas as possible. At first I did think of using architecture, animals, etc. but eventually I chose fairy tales as my final theme and Ms. Lisa also agreed that fairy tales do have a lot of elements for me to play with such as trees, forests, flora and fauna. She also gave me a great idea: put my artwork within a vintage frame. :)

Here comes my final works! :D

Asymmetry

The Six Swans

My inspiration was from The Six Swans, a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. The six brothers had been turned into swans by their hateful stepmother. In order to free them, their sister must make six shirts out of starwort for her brothers and neither speak nor laugh for six years. For me, the whole idea of this story can actually be summarized by three words: Waiting for you. The princess and the swans were sad but they couldn't tell, they are all waiting for the day they could reunion again.

Symmetry

Little Red Riding Hood

As for the symmetrical artwork, I chose Little Red Riding Hood as my topic. This time since I've earned some experiences already, I tried to deal with thinner lines and do a more detailed work. I only used two colours for my artwork as I wanted people to focus on the details and all those little little thingy. I was super duper touched when Ms. Lisa noticed the typography in this picture: Little Red Riding Hood :'D In fact she was the only one who noticed it :')

The objective of this assignment was actually wanted us to treat cutting knife like a pencil. I know this may sound arrogant but personally I think I really have achieved this aim and I feel so proud of my work. :) In fact, the cutting process isn't that hard as long as you have a good knife, but patience is what it counts, seriously. It takes time to produce a nice and smooth work so don't panic. :) Besides for me the sticking process is really tricky haha :p I should have bought a spraying glue, it would be much easier to stick compared to a gluestick >_<

Anyways, that's all for this assignment^_^ Another one down, still, looking forward to the next one! :D