Methodological development of the "basics of color science in the classroom for painting in the art school". Basics of color science in simple words What is color science in painting
color (English) color, French Souleur, German farbe) is the property of material objects to radiate and reflect light waves of a certain part of the spectrum. In a broad sense, color means a complex set of gradations, interactions, variability of tones and shades. The color visible to a person arises, on the one hand, under the influence of an objective physical phenomenon, on the other hand, as a result of electromagnetic radiation of various frequencies on the human visual apparatus. In addition to these factors, visual experience and memory, physiological and psychological characteristics influence the emergence of a person's color sensation.
Color is experienced not only visually, but also psychologically and symbolically, which is why it is studied as a complex phenomenon by many specialists. Physicists study light waves, measure and classify colors; chemists create new pigments for paints; physiologists study the effect of color on the eyes and, and psychologists - the effect of color on the human psyche.
Color theory is the body of knowledge about color. Currently, the science of studying color includes two main sections: color science and coloristics. The personification of scientific knowledge about color is also colorimetry. Color science studies color from the point of view of systematizing the knowledge of physics, chemistry, psychology, and physiology. Coloristics studies the main characteristics of color, the harmonization of color sets, the mechanism of the effect of color on spatial shaping, the means and methods of color organization of the architectural environment.
Color specifications
Colors fall into two categories - chromatic and achromatic. Chromatic colors include red, yellow, orange, green, blue, violet, and all their mixtures. We see chromatic colors individually. Achromatic (having no color) include white, black and all shades of gray, they differ only in lightness. The human eye can distinguish up to 400 transitional shades from white to black.
There are four color groups: spectral, light, dark and pastel (or grayish) colors. Light - the colors of the spectrum, mixed with white; dark - spectrum colors mixed with black; grayish - the colors of the spectrum mixed with different shades of gray.
Getting the colors of the spectrum using a prism
// wikipedia.org
The main characteristics of color include: hue, saturation and lightness. Hue - a sign of chromatic color, in which one color differs from another: green, blue, purple. Saturation - the degree of difference between a chromatic color and an achromatic color similar to it in lightness. If you add a little gray to a pure red color, which is the same with it in lightness, then the new color will be less saturated. Lightness - the quality of a color by which it can be equated to one of the colors of the achromatic series, that is, the higher the brightness, the lighter the color.
color circles
Artists and scientists have long sought to bring all the variety of colors observed in nature into a system - to arrange them in a certain order, to highlight the primary and secondary colors. The primary colors are yellow, blue and red. By mixing them, you can get all the other shades.
In 1676, using a trihedral prism, he decomposed white sunlight into a color spectrum and noticed that it contained all colors except purple. The spectrum served as the basis for systematizing colors in the form of a color wheel, in which Newton identified seven sectors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
Newton's color wheel
// wikipedia.org
The idea of graphical expression of the color system in the form of a closed figure was suggested by the fact that the ends of the spectrum tend to close: blue passes through violet into purple, red on the other hand also approaches purple.
140 years after Newton, the color wheel was improved by Johann Goethe, who added purple, obtained by mixing purple and red. In addition, Goethe was the first to think about the fact that color has an effect on the human psyche, and in his scientific work "Teaching about Color" he was the first to discover the phenomenon of "sensual and moral action of color."
Goethe color wheel
// wikipedia.org
Philipp Otto Runge, a German painter of the Romantic school, published his theory of color in 1810. Among the primary colors, in addition to yellow, blue and red, the artist also included black and white. Runge built his conclusions on experiments with pigments, which made his teaching closer to painting. The three-dimensional model of Runge's color systematics served as the basis for all subsequent models.
Runge color ball
// wikipedia.org
Other color systems are Albert Munsell's color ball and Wilhelm Friedrich Ostwald's double cone. In Munsell's system, reliance is placed on hue, lightness and saturation, while Ostwald's reliance is on hue, white and black colors. New systems relied on the experience of predecessors. So, Munsell took Runge's color ball as a basis.
Today, the color wheel of Johannes Itten, a Swiss artist, art theorist and teacher, is widely used in painting, design, architecture and applied arts. His 12-part color wheel shows the world's most common arrangement of colors, their interaction with each other. Itten distinguished primary colors, second-order colors (green, purple and orange), which are obtained by mixing a pair of primary colors, and third-order colors, which are obtained by mixing a primary color with a second-order color. For example, yellow mixed with green will be called light green by ordinary people, but in color science it is called yellow-green.
Itten color wheel
// wikipedia.org
Classification of color systems
The need for color systematization is dictated by practice. For example, it is important for the theory of painting. The spectrum served as the basis for the systematization of colors in the form of a color circle and a triangle. In addition to the color systems listed above, we also highlight the color atlas of the chemist Michel Chevreul, the chromometer of Eugene Delacroix and the Chromatoaccordion by Rudolf Adams.
Chevreul was the first to develop a color system adapted to the needs of production. He created a color atlas, including 72 pure colors, which were based on six primary colors in twelve modifications. The theoretical works of Chevreul enjoyed great prestige and popularity among artists.
Chevreul color system
// wikipedia.org
Eugene Delacroix went down in history as an outstanding colorist, carefully studied the mechanisms of harmonization, studied the works of oriental masters of color and the works of Chevreul. He compiled several "color manuals" that made it easy and quick to select the desired color combination.
In 1865, Rudolf Adams, in his book Chromatoaccordion, outlined his vision of color harmony as the consonant action of various parts as a whole, the so-called diversity in unity. Harmonizing colors should contain elements of all the primary colors of the circle: red, yellow and blue; black, white and gray are also unity, but without diversity. To facilitate the selection of combinations, Adams built a "color accordion" based on a 24-part color wheel, on which these colors were represented in six degrees of lightness.
Of the color systems of our time, it is worth highlighting: the practical color coordinate system (PCCS); color system Coloroid; natural color system - ECS (NCS).
Coloroid color system
// wikipedia.org
The practical color coordinate system - PCCS (PCCS) - the structure is based on a change in color according to three characteristics, and the color body of the Munsell system was taken as the basis of the color body, in which the colors that form the color circle were located on the inclined equator. Color system Coloroid has a color body in the form of a cylinder, chromatic colors are located inside this cylinder, and achromatic colors are located on its axis.
At the Swedish Color Center, under the leadership of Anders Hard, a natural color system, the ECS (NCS), was developed. The work was based on the axiom that the perception of color, characteristic of human psychophysiology, is different from the assessment of color as a physical quantity. The natural color system is a method of describing relationships between colors solely on the basis of their natural perception, that is, people are able to judge color without reference to physics. Man is the true instrument for measuring and evaluating color. The natural color system is convenient for practitioners who are engaged in the formation of a color environment: designers, architects, urban planners. It was created to study the polychromy of the architectural spatial environment.
Color models
A color model is an abstract model for describing how colors are represented as tuples of numbers. They are called color coordinates, usually three or four values are used. The color model specifies the correspondence between the colors perceived by a person and stored in memory, and the colors formed on the output devices. Such models are a means for a quantitative conceptual description of color and are used in, for example photoshop.
RGB color model represented as a cube
// wikipedia.org
According to the principle of operation, the models can be divided into several classes: additive, subtractive and perceptual. Additive ones are based on the addition of colors, such as the RGB model - Red, Green, Blue(red, green, blue). Subtractive models are based on the operation of subtracting colors (subtractive synthesis), for example CMYK - cyan, Magenta, Yellow, key color(cyan, magenta, yellow, key color (black)). Perceptual models - HSB, HLS, LAB, YCC - are based on perception. Color models can be device-dependent (they are still the majority, RGB and CMYK are among them) and device-independent (model Lab).
Real CMY ink overlay
// wikipedia.org
The psychological impact of color
The impact and perception of color is a complex process that is caused by various psychological factors and is based on the physiology of the nervous system. Wassily Kandinsky, in his training course for the Bauhaus, focuses on the physical foundations of the color order, exploring first of all the color triad yellow - red - blue, with which, respectively, the three basic shapes are consistent: square, triangle, circle. Emphasizes the spatial and psychological effect of individual colors. Yellow - dynamics, outward movement, acute angle. Blue is the opposite of yellow, enhances its quality, the feeling of cold, movement inward, corresponds to a circle, an obtuse angle. Red - hot, movement within itself, corresponds to the balance and heaviness of the square, the right angle on the plane. White and black are silent colors: white symbolizes the possibility of the birth of a new color, black means absorption.
"Yellow-Red-Blue", Wassily Kandinsky
// wikipedia.org
Here we should touch on the issue of color harmony, which depends, in particular, on the characteristics of color perception. Color harmony is the result of harmonization - the balance of two or more colors, as well as color groups. An analysis of the evolution of theories of color harmony has led to the need for a comprehensive consideration of the problem, including the characteristics of color perception, physiological and age characteristics of a person, his social status, environmental conditions and, of course, the level of general culture.
Colors affect a person in different ways. For example, warm colors - red, orange, yellow - encourage action, act as annoying. Cool colors - purple, blue, cyan, blue-green - muffle irritation. Pastel colors have a softening and restraining effect. There are colors that affect the perception of space: warm ones are perceived closer to us, cold ones, on the contrary, emphasize the distance.
"Four Dark Marks on Red" by Mark Rothko
// wikipedia.org
Color perception is subjective. From an aesthetic point of view, the color is determined according to color preferences. In order to determine color preferences in different years, numerous experiments were carried out, color preferences were especially actively studied by English psychologists, in particular W. Winch. All sorts of experiments in this area are still being carried out. Various effects of color depending on gender are being studied. But do not forget that a lot depends on individual characteristics: character, upbringing, territorial location. Faced with any color in his life repeatedly in different objective situations, a person develops his own attitude towards him, which undoubtedly has an impact on the perception of a particular color.
People who live in cold climates in the north try to make up for the lack of sun and use warm colors more often in their homes. People living in the south, where there is a lot of sun, try to use cold or neutral colors both in clothes and in the interior. Red-haired people prefer to wear clothes of cool shades - blue-violet, blue-green, that is, colors that are complementary to orange, red-orange.
Color associations
Color associations evoke an emotion or sensation in a person associated with memories of what he saw or experienced. The phenomenon of color associations lies in the fact that a given color excites certain emotions, ideas, sensations of a different nature, that is, the influence of color excites other senses, as well as the memory of what has been seen or experienced.
Colors can “send” memory to a certain time of the year: warm shades speak of summer, cold ones speak of winter. Everyone knows the temperature association: red - hot, blue - cold. Age Associations: Children are associated with brighter colors, while older people are associated with soft, muted hues. There may be associations associated with weight: light, airy, weightless - light shades; heavy - dark shades.
Color theory in painting
The theory of color in painting is quite a broad concept. The patterns of the color system in painting are the patterns of objective reality reworked by the artist. Color harmony, coloring, contrasts are color categories that exist in color theory and which the artist interprets in his own way. However, artistic creativity cannot be reduced only to a scheme and science, the artist does not create according to recipes and mostly works intuitively, and this phenomenon is inexplicable. Therefore, today we do not have a theory of painting as a scientific discipline, there is no theory that fully sets out the basic principles of painting.
"Liberty Leading the People" Eugene Delacroix
// wikipedia/org
The color scheme of the picture is determined visually. Usually a person, contemplating a picture, gives it verbal characteristics, very general and, as a rule, far from fully reflecting the studied features of the work. As a rule, the color scheme of a painting is described by stereotyped and, in fact, little saying phrases, for example: “The artist uses the scale ...” or “Harmony is built on contrast or nuance ...” Such characteristics, of course, contain known information about the artistic features of the work, but far from sufficient and hardly used for broader generalizations.
Munsell Color Atlas
// Mark Fairchild, wikipedia.org
This raises the question: is it possible to measure the color structure of the picture? Maybe. The purpose of measuring color in painting is to solve a very narrow issue - to find ways to more specifically and accurately characterize the features of the color system and, on this basis, create a classification of various types of color harmony and color. But the results of color measurements in a painting by no means provide the researcher with a tool to determine the aesthetic qualities of a work of art. The color system is measured using the designation of each color, as, for example, in the Munsell atlas using a letter and two numbers: the letter is the color tone, the numbers are lightness and saturation, that is, to measure the color system of the picture, you must have an atlas of colors.
Basics of color science
| Parameter name | Meaning |
| Article subject: | Basics of color science |
| Rubric (thematic category) | Art |
architectural means. floristry
LECTURE NOTES
(spring semester)
cand. arch., associate professor
Puntus V.A.
St. Petersburg
2010 Lecture #1
floristry- the science of color, including knowledge about the nature of color, basic, compound and complementary colors, basic characteristics of color, color contrasts, color mixing, coloring, color harmony, color language, color harmony and color culture.
Color- this is a sensation that occurs in the organ of vision when exposed to light ͵ ᴛ.ᴇ. light + vision = color.
Colors are divided into:
§ Cold - ϶ᴛᴏ colors from blue-violet to yellow-green.
§ Warm - ϶ᴛᴏ colors͵ located in the chromatic circle, starting with yellow and ending with red-violet.
Also, all colors are divided into: chromatic, achromatic, semi-chromatic.
achromatic- white, black, and all shades of gray.
Chromatic colors- all spectral and many natural.
semi-chromatic colors- earth colors͵ ᴛ.ᴇ. colors mixed with achromatic colors.
In the history of color science, it is customary to distinguish two stages of color classification: before the 17th century and the 17th century - today.
In the first mythological stage 3 colors stood out: red, white, black (blood, milk, earth). IN Ancient Egypt the attitude to color depends on how sunny it is. Basically, the Egyptians distinguished the following colors: ocher, blue, gold and green.
During the period Greco-Roman antiquity in the 5th century BC. Empedocles claimed that the universe consists of: water (black), air (white), fire (red), and earth (yellow, ocher). And everything else is obtained by mixing these four elements. Aristotle singled out 3 basic colors: white (water, air, earth), yellow (fire), black (destruction, state of transition).
And Planid in his "Natural History" identified 4 basic colors: red, white, yellow and black. To determine the basic colors, Empedocles and Planides used visual impressions, while Aristotle determined them experimentally.
For Z Western Europe of the Middle Ages color symbolism. White color symbolizes Christ͵ God, angels, is a pure immaculate color. Yellow is a symbol of enlightenment, the action of the Holy Spirit. Red - fire, sun, blood of Christ. Blue is the color of the sky, the abode of the Lord. Green is the color of food, vegetation, the earthly path of Christ. Black is an underground color, the color of evil, the Antichrist.
Purple is the color of contradictions. Also quite interesting is the anti-system of colors, which included "extinguished" colors͵ ᴛ.ᴇ. any color combined with brown. In the Near and Middle East in the Middle Ages the concept of color develops under the sign of Islam. Since the 7th century, the same colors have been valued as in Western Europe, only green stands out: this is the color of the Garden of Eden. Favorite type of color composition - multicolor or polychromy. In the era Renaissance in Europe, the ancient and medieval color classifications became widespread, supplemented by Leonardo da Vinci's ʼʼpractically picturesqueʼʼ color system, which was based on the minimum palette of the painter. Leonardo Da Vinci believed that there were 6 basic colors: red, yellow, green, blue, white, black.
In the XVII-XIX centuries in Europe a new stage begins in the history of color classification. The foundations of modern scientific concepts of color were laid by I. Newton in his publication in 1672 ᴦ. work ʼʼNew Theory of Light and Colorʼʼ. newton introduces the scientific symbolism of dividing colors into two parts: objective (physical) and subjective, associated with sensory perception.
Having received the solar spectrum and giving an explanation of its nature, Newton laid the foundation for a linear systematization of colors. He divided these colors into homogeneous (primary, or simple) and heterogeneous (derivatives). Seven "simple" spectral colors and one - purple, formed by mixing the extreme colors of the spectrum, served as the basis for the systematics of colors in the form of a circle.
In the 17th century in Europe two styles dominate: 1) Baroque: the superiority of color is praised. 2) Classicism: only shades of colors are valued, the basis is muted colors.
In the 18th century baroque turns into rococo. There is an attraction to the asymmetry of the composition, decor (soft detailing of forms), a combination of bright and pure tones of color with white and gold.
Goethe at the end of the century proposed a new way of classifying colors according to the physiological principle. Colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
The triangle shows the three basic colors used by artists. The remaining colors (orange, green, purple) are obtained by mixing the base ones.
In the 19th century in Europe romanticism emerges. Subsequently, its occurrence leads to the emergence of two opposite directions: naturalism (meticulous transmission of all colors, tones, shades) and impressionism (transmission of images).
At the same time, a contemporary of Goethe, Philipp Otto Runge developed his own color classification system using the principle of a globe or ball.
Figure 4. Classification of colors according to the principle of the globe
or a ball.
A twelve-colored natural circle is placed around the equator, the upper pole is covered with white, the lower - with black.
Between the pure, variegated colors of the equator and the non-colored poles, there are mixtures of respectively pure paint with white (pastel colors are at the top of the ball) or black (dark shades or darkenings are at the bottom of the ball). Each point on this colored globe must be conditioned by longitude and latitude, which makes it possible to determine the name of the color by means of an appropriate calculation system. In such a system, he provided for all transitions from any color to any.
In the modern era the color becomes a symbol. Features of the Art Nouveau aesthetics:
1) Preference for muted, darkened colors, complex nuance scales, many shades with a narrow palette, the addition of metallic pigments (gold, silver, bronze)
2) Color becomes more of a means of expression than of imitation.
3) The tendency of convergence of color to music is indicated.
Scientist Ostwald improved the Runge sphere system. He takes a circle, divides it into 24 parts, paints each spectrum in a certain color, but represents all the colors in the form of a closed color body, consisting of two cones, united by a common base. Single axis cones 
is an achromatic series: the top point is white, the bottom is black.
Around the circumference of the base are the most saturated spectral colors (colors of the rainbow), which are arranged in a certain sequence: red - orange - yellow - green - blue - blue - violet. ("Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant sits").
To determine the color, a system of psychophysical characteristics is performed. This:
§ Color tone- the quality of a color when a given color can be equated to one of the spectral colors. In other words, ϶ᴛᴏ is the name of the color itself.
§ Lightness- (degree of color difference from white) - quantitative differences within the same color. This is the presence in the color of one or another amount of white or black.
§ Relative brightness- the ratio of the magnitude of the flux reflected from a given surface to the magnitude of the flux incident on it.
§ Saturation– (degree of color difference from gray of equal lightness) – degree of difference of chromatic color from achromatic color of equal lightness. Saturation is usually replaced by purity. The saturation of chromatic paint, to which white is added, drops significantly, when black is added, the saturation changes, but not so sharply. With equal color saturation, lighter colors more actively affect the eye, and with equal lightness, more saturated ones.
§ Color purity- the proportion of pure spectral in the total brightness of a given color. The purest colors are spectral. The purity of achromatic colors is 0, as is saturation. The combination of hue and saturation is called chroma. Achromatic colors do not have it.
Fundamentals of color science - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Fundamentals of Color Science" 2017, 2018.
A perfect knowledge of color theory is very important for an artist. Philip Straub talk about simple principles of color.
When used correctly, colors can convey a mood and evoke an emotional attitude in the viewer. The correct use of colors is one of the most important conditions for a successful drawing. Knowledge about the use of color is not inherited, it is learned. There are rules to be followed and others to be ignored, but every artist who wants to be successful in his craft must start from the ground up. from color theory.
There is a vast amount of scientific material available; however, most of them are far from artists. I will not focus on the superfluous, and will immediately move on to the most important thing in color theory. We'll look at the different color schemes that exist today, how to use color in composition, how to work with color to capture the viewer's eye in a painting, and how to balance colors in a painting. So let's get started...
1. Three properties of color
Before delving into color theory, it is necessary to understand its basic principles. Let's look at the so-called three color properties. These properties represent the common language of color theory and should always be in the artist's mind.
- Hue- the name of a particular color (for example, red, blue, yellow).
- Saturation- this is the pallor or darkening of a shade (color).
- Intensity determines the brightness or dullness of the hue (color). Pure shades are high intensity. Dull shades - respectively, have a low intensity.
These three color properties will depend on many things, but mostly on the light in your painting.
2. Color Wheel
A color wheel based on red, yellow and blue is a traditional form of color scheme in the arts. The first color chart was created by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666. Since then, scientists and artists have studied and proposed their own versions of this principle. Until now, disputes about which system is better and more reliable have not subsided. In reality, any color wheel that has a logically built system of pure shades has a place to be.
3. Basic colors
There are three basic colors: red, yellow and blue. These are three pigment colors that cannot be mixed or obtained by mixing other colors. All other colors are derived from these three shades.
4. Colors of the second group
These colors include green, orange and purple. These colors are obtained by mixing base colors. The colors of the first and second groups together form the six brightest colors of the spectrum. By mixing each color with its neighbor, we get six more colors - the colors of the third group.
5. Colors of the third group
This group includes yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green and yellow-green. These colors are obtained by mixing one base and one secondary color.
6. Color balance
You cannot paint using just one or even all of the base colors. You need to achieve a balance in your color composition. Add a few colors of the third group, or a little gray, so that the picture is not so unnaturally bright. If you don't keep that in mind, no matter how good your composition and design is, you won't be able to grab the viewer's eye. In nature, for example, you will never find pure primary or secondary colors in abundance; on the contrary, all colors are balanced, and this creates our reality. The task of the artist is to know when and how to change this reality or emphasize it to make it more beautiful, more dramatic or more frightening, depending on the author's goal.
Notice how the palette of colors is uniform in this picture. The colors were not taken at random, but were chosen very carefully to emphasize the mood of the landscape. If you know color theory, then you should also know that blue has a calming effect on people, so the choice of this palette is obvious.
Click to view the image in full size and 100% quality.
7. Color matching
Consider your color scheme and make sure it fits your drawing. When you think of the mood and atmosphere, immediately imagine what the end result will be. After all, when you paint a picture of power and destruction, you don't choose rainbow colors, do you?
The picture above shows a very strong combination of saturation and color, which together create a mood that the viewer is sure to feel. Here I used a lot of the colors of the third group, and just a little bit of the base ones (on the eyes and spine) to lead the viewer's eye to the main center of the picture (the face and eyes of the hero).
Click on the image to view the image in full size and 100% quality.
8. Uniformity (Monochrome)
A monochromatic color scheme uses a single color with variations of light and saturated hues. Working in monochrome is a quick and easy way to add color and life to your saturation study. This is the easiest method for beginners to work with color without ruining the quality and idea. It seems to me that most of the paintings with a powerful emotional load are made in this technique. The disadvantage of this approach is the lack of brilliance and contrast.
9. Related colors
A related color scheme uses colors that are in close proximity to neighboring colors. One color is dominant, the rest are used to enrich the palette. The related color scheme is similar to the monochrome system, but offers more nuance. In my opinion, this approach is much better than the solid color scheme, and it's easier to create such a palette.
Click on the image to view the image in full size and 100% quality.
10. Complementary colors
Complementary colors are colors opposite each other on the color wheel. This is best seen in an example when a cold color is placed against a warm one; for example, red and green-blue.
When working with such a scheme, you need to choose one dominant color, and then a complementary color for accents. One of the more traditional methods of applying this color scheme is to use one color as a background and its complementary color to highlight the main elements of the picture. With this technique, you will get the dominance of one color along with strong color contrasts.
The difficulty here is this: while this approach produces a high-contrast and spectacular image, it is much more difficult to work with such a scheme than with related or monochromatic color schemes. Just make sure to balance the colors you use correctly.
The bifurcated complementary color scheme is a variation of the standard complementary color scheme. This includes one color and two neighboring relative to its complementary (opposite) color. This way we achieve even more contrast without increasing the contrast of the complementary color scheme.
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11. Tertiary and Quaternary Colors
The tertiary color scheme includes three equidistant colors. This scheme is very popular with artists, because. it gives a very strong visual contrast, while maintaining harmony and richness of colors. The tertiary scheme is not as contrasting as the complementary color scheme, but looks more harmonious and balanced.
The quaternary (double complementary) scheme is the richest of all presented, because it includes four colors combined into two pairs of complementary colors. This scheme is very difficult to harmonize; when using all four colors, the picture may seem unbalanced, so you should choose a dominant color or soften the colors.
12. Color and its environment
The color of any object that exists in our world is influenced by the world in which it is located. Any object has its own specific color, or, in other words, a color that has not been changed by anything from the outside. All colors, as we see them, are somehow influenced by the environment. Warm light falling on a warm-colored object simply enhances its warmth, while the same warm light falling on a cold-colored object will, on the contrary, reduce this warmth effect. There are some constants that we can use for our artistic benefit.
13. A bit of gray
When you work with a color scheme, be mindful of the temperatures and temperatures of all the elements in your painting. Most wide color spaces, such as the sky, need to be toned down a couple of tones so as not to overwhelm the remaining space. The larger the space, the softer and less saturated the color should be. Avoid base colors in the background, as they will be out of the picture.
Click on the image to view the image in full size and 100% quality.
And again you see a picture dictating the choice of colors in the palette. Please note that there are no basic (primary) colors in the picture, especially in the sky. The colors are very calm. Basically, I place complementary and opposing colors side by side to create a dramatic atmosphere (known as a focal point).
14. Color in the shade
The color of the shadow can never be the same as the natural color of the object. Without the addition of the extra color, the shadow would be the same as the subject's background color, only slightly darker. The color of the shadow has a reduced intensity and saturation - all thanks to the added additional color. A shadow color cannot be cleaner or brighter when at least a similar color is reflected in it, increasing its brightness.
15. Color in the light
All colors become a reflected color source when exposed to light, and will reflect themselves in less light. All intensity of colors should appear in light or midtones. However, the brightest color does not have to be where the light hits. If there is an almost white spot in place of the brightest light falling on the object, then your brightest color will consist of halftones.
16. Focal point
Typically, bright colors are used around the focal point or main subject. Does everyone know what a focal point is? And do you really know how to use it? This is one of the most powerful effects used by artists to draw the viewer's eye to the main area of the drawing. It is extremely important that the picture also contains a calm zone, a hero who strives to be the center of attention. Of course, there may be several characters, objects or focal points in the picture, but the more details you add, the more difficult the picture will be to perceive. Most successful paintings have one focal point and several other quiet places to balance.
Click on the image to view the image in full size and 100% quality.
In this picture, which I have named "Christmas City" (Christmas Town) pay attention to how I highlighted the contrast in the center of the city, thereby drawing the viewer's eye to this particular area of the picture. In this center, there is not only increased color contrast, but also color saturation.
17. Color balance again. People.
famous illustrator Andrew Loomis once said: “Color is like a bank account. If you go deep, soon there will be nothing left.” This means that some of the most beautiful creations ever created by artists use a limited color palette. It is important to understand that the color in the spectrum is white light divided into elements. Objects have color only because their surface receives light and reflects all other colors of the spectrum. If there were no color in the light, it would not be perceived by the human eye at all.
Without a good sketch, of course, color is of little value, but it's all about the close relationship between solid linear composition and color that makes a good painting a work of art!
Surely, each of you has experienced a slight sadness and apathy on a cold cloudy day, which instantly turns into causeless enthusiasm in bright sunny weather. Perhaps the whole point is the lack of vitamin D, which we produce in the sun, but there is another secret. Depending on the lighting, the color palette of all the objects around us completely changes. In clear weather, we see rich colors and harsh shadows, which are synonymous with dynamism and positivity; on cloudy days, shadows are washed out and a feeling of peace or even a little sadness is created by reducing the contrast. In addition, the actual color of objects depends on the temperature of the light, which also affects our impression of the landscape around us.
Often they pay attention only to the tonal modeling of the form, depicting the same color in the shadow of an object as in the light, only with a difference in tone. This is a serious mistake because the color is always changing. It is impossible to draw both light and shadow with the same pigment!
To create a realistic image of objects, you must remember the following axioms:
1. If the lighting is warm, then cold shades will appear in the shadows, and vice versa, if the lighting is cold, warm shades will appear in the shadows.
For example, if we are painting a landscape in bright sunlight on a cloudless day, then there may be warm shades in the shadows, since daylight is most often white, bluish or lemon-colored and is considered cold light. At sunrise and sunset, sunlight tends to be warm, bright yellow or orange, so cool bluish and bluish hues appear in the shadows.
C. Monet “Rouen Cathedral: portal and Saint-Romain tower: morning effect”. C. Monet “Rouen Cathedral: portal and Saint-Romain tower: noon”. C. Monet “Rouen Cathedral: portal and Saint-Romain tower: effect of the sun, end of the day”
In the same way, if we draw a still life with an electric incandescent lamp, then the shadows will noticeably cool down, you will see shades of blue, purple or even green. Also, in the flame of a fire or candle, which give warm lighting, cold shades appear in the shadows. However, when using a cold light fluorescent lamp (from 4000 K), the shadows will become noticeably warmer, as with cold moonlight.
Van Gogh “still life drawing board, pipe, bow and sealing wax” .Van Gogh “Starry night over the Rhone” The following tables will help us deal with the temperature of light.
2. Shades appear in the shadow that are opposite on the color spectrum to the local color of the object.
This simple means that in the subject's own shadow we can see shades of the complementary color. For example, you are painting a still life with a red apple, a peach, and blue grapes. The complementary color for red is green, for yellow is purple, and for blue is orange. That is why in the shadows you can observe shades of green, purple and orange, respectively.
Paul Gauguin "Flowers and a Bowl of Fruit" Paul Cezanne. “Still life with drawer extended”If we turn to the color wheel, then these pairs will be: yellow and purple, green and red, blue and orange. And intermediate between them, respectively.
3. An object illuminated with warm light that has a warm local color becomes even brighter and more saturated in the light, and an object that has a cold local color becomes closer to an achromatic color equal in tone.
And an object that has a cold local color becomes even brighter, louder and richer.
For example, we are drawing an orange lit by a lamp with warm light. In the light, the orange area will appear even brighter and more saturated than it is, while in the shade the orange color will not only become noticeably colder, but also lose color. This effect can be achieved with blue paint. Many people know that complementary colors placed side by side on the canvas reinforce each other. But not everyone knows that complementary colors, when mixed with each other on the palette, neutralize each other. If we illuminate this orange with cold daylight, then in the light its color will become more faded, while “burning shades” will appear in the shade.
Van Gogh "Still life with a basket and six oranges". P. Konchalovsky "Oranges" These simple rules allow you to predict which color will appear in the shadow or in the light and choose the right shades for mixing. That's all. Happy drawing!
An important point in painting is the study of color in space. We will not dwell on the physical characteristics of color, we will not analyze the principles of additive and subtractive synthesis and delve into the study of the synthesis of color flows. We will not compare optical synthesis and paint synthesis. This is not our task. Our task is to highlight all the main, paramount, without delving into scientific research. The basics of color science for artists - that's what we need. The only remark will be that in order to work on the study of the material we will need good colors. To study color science, you need good quality gouache.
1. Color science - the beginning:
It is believed that there are three primary colors, and all other colors can be obtained by mixing the primary colors at different proportional ratios. You probably won't be able to do this with paint. If possible, then you need to try very hard, match color to color, and all this is done with good artistic gouache. But we cannot be responsible for the quality of paints, right? That is why we do it by mixing more than three colors. In physics, there may be three primary colors, but we will have a little more.
2. Spectral circle. It is easier to consider that there are twelve primary colors of the spectrum:
All spectral colors are called chromatic.
All other colors are obtained by mixing primary.
Gray white and black are called achromatic:
Complementary Colors are opposite colors on the spectrum. They complement each other, that is, when complementary colors are located side by side, they reinforce each other, "ignite".
For example, we have this nondescript dull purple color:
By itself, it does not carry much beauty and can tell us little of itself. But if you add a complementary color to it, then it will sparkle and sparkle. See:
Our purple has sparkled and is the same color we took at the beginning.
BUT when you mix these colors, you always get gray.
Basics of color science
3. Basics of color science - the main characteristics of color:
1. Color name - the so-called Color tone
2.Lightness- tone
3. Saturation - tension, purity
What is the saturation of the color, how pure is it, how much of it.
4.Heat-coldness
All these concepts are different and only in each color they are present. For example:
Look around you, find any object. It will be of a certain color, for example, the same yellow. Let's think - the color tone will be yellow, but in lightness it may turn out to be different, either yellow is light, or yellow is dark. Now you need to determine its saturation - how much yellow is present in a given color? A lot of yellow - strong voltage, yellow with impurities - low voltage, low purity. And lastly, warmth. Our yellow color can be both cool and warm. It will be easier to understand this when comparing several different objects of the same color tone, in this case yellow. Find some yellow objects and compare them according to the characteristics below. Everything will become clear to you.
If you have not yet switched to the direction in which I am leading you, I offer one entertainment:
Color is an expression of the quality of energy carried by the environment. In other words, any object carries the energy of a certain quality, in our case, color. As you probably know, each color is perceived differently by us. Yellow increases attention, somewhere annoying. Blue is a calm color, passive. Red increases sensitivity, attention. Violet - influences our inner self so much that it can even depress. This is how we feel colors. And now let's try to associate them with any objects, for example, with food:
I'll ask you a question: what color do potatoes taste like? What? White? Not!!! You should feel how the taste of the potato makes you feel, and not what color it is. It gives me a feeling that can be attributed to the characteristics of green. Another question:
What color does the meat taste like? Of course red! Red - strength, life, movement - which gives us a piece of delicious steak, for example. What color is strawberry flavor? For me it's pink.
Let's move on to music. If you hear the sound of an organ, what sensations do these sounds make you feel? For me, they cause sensations that characterize the purple color. And if you hear the sound of a balalaika? What color is this music?
4. Basics of color science - colors:
Well, are you having fun? Are you on the right wave? Then we go further.
All colors participating in the composition must be subordinate to one color, which always depends on:
Light colors
2. From the colors involved in the composition.
3. From the area of the spots involved in the composition. Let's say the largest spot of your composition is green, then this color will be brought into the gamut. And exactly gamma determines the integrity of the composition.
Each stroke should contain three colors - local color (the color of the object), the color of the scale (in what scale, for example, your still life) and the color of light (it can be both cold and warm).
5. Constructive beginning of the form:
Constructive beginning of the form: light, semitone, shadow
Plastic continuation - add a semitone of light, a semitone of shadow, a reflection and a glare:
Glare - shows the material from which the item is made.
Reflex is reflected light from a nearby form or plane.
Group of light - light, semitone of light, glare.
Shadow group - shadow, semitone shadow, reflex.
Links these two groups of zero semitone. In zero, a semitone is a non-local color, an absolute value, and it depends on the overall light tone.
6. Basics of color science - color change according to the shape of the object:
By name, color tone does not change color. An interesting process occurs with lightness. Light color darkens as it moves away
Dark - brightens
By saturation, the color fades away, weakens
By warm-coldness - cold colors moving away will warm up
Warm - colder
In the light, the color is lighter, in the shade it is weaker and is distributed over halftones:
By heat-coldness - if you choose warm light, then the shadows will be cold. If the light is cold, then the shadows will be warm. Warm light will get colder as it moves away, cold light will get warmer. A warm shadow moving away will get colder, a cold one will get warmer. The color in the shadow is lit by saturation.
7. And now the hardest part:
7.1. The darkest midtone in the light is lighter than the lightest midtone in the shadow.7.2. The most colorless midtone in the light is more colorful than the most colored midtone in the shadow.
7.3. The warmest midtone in cold light is colder than the coldest midtone in shadow.
Is everything complicated and confusing? It seems that way the first time. Such thoughts will vanish when you start drawing. I give you ready-made laws that other people develop over the years in the process of studying. Here in time everything happens much faster. You just need to learn all this, accept and put into practice guided by the motto:
I do not see, but I know! And I do what I know!
And you can strengthen your knowledge, guided by the motto, on the study of painting page.
It would not be bad if I could do some color science exercises. The fact is that during painting, especially when you paint with watercolors, it is sometimes difficult to quickly figure out which stroke to lay down now. Of course, color searches, sketches that we make before starting work, help us in this. But the following exercises will help you feel more confident in the process of work:
1. For this we need gouache, which was mentioned at the beginning of this page. Use any color. Let's say you take purple. Work with him. Imagine that this violet color is the local color of the object, the color of the zero semitone. And make color stretches, what would happen to the color if it participated in your composition. Let's say the color of your object is cool purple. Moving away towards the shadows, it will warm up, well, darken. Make such a color stretch. And now about how this exercise is done, technically:
A) you can do it on paper immediately by drawing with gouache
B) you can use coloring. Dyes are pieces of paper that you pre-dye in various colors that differ in tone, color, saturation, clarity, and so on. Paintings are painted in the most various colors that can be obtained. There can be not only hundreds, but thousands of coloring in the work on the color science exercise. And the more the better. From these drawings, choosing the colors we need, a stretch of the color we need is drawn up. We select the pieces we need, cut them out and make up a stretch, gluing one color next to another. And on the principle of it, we will already be working on a purple object in, for example, our still life. But strokes will already be more confident and will be done consciously.
2. You can make a wide variety of color streamers. Stretch colors from warm to cold, from light to dark, from one color to another. You can do stretching according to the principle of the rules that you learned about here. Practice, you will only benefit from it. You can learn a lot about color and how it behaves next to others or when they are mixed. It is possible to make a color spectral circle from the color spectrum using various extensions. I found an old work, but you can use it as an example. Here the colors are arranged spectrally, each in its own place - this is already an exercise on color, plus each of the spectral colors is still stretched towards white and black. The most difficult thing here is to harmonize all the colors, choose the right color so that it is in its place:
3. As in painting, we do color searches with watercolors, so in color science we can do color searches with the help of paints. But here there is unlimited time to think about where and in what place any color and what color will be located. Performing this exercise, you can not be limited to a sketch, but do all the work by compiling the necessary pieces of color patterns. Below is the work of my eight-year-old daughter. For her level, this is a very good job. I show only the principle of work, you will do much better:
If you manage to find errors in this work, it means that you have successfully passed the material and understood it.
