Color Studies,
week 2: Prismatic Color
In Class
Exercise
Required Materials: gouache, brushes, palette, sketchbook,
graphite pencils, water container, metal ruler, exacto knife and paper towels.
Make a series of
abstract thumbnails in your sketchbook based on YOUR FAVORITE DESSERTS and experiment with gouache to create high key (light
valued), low key (dark valued) and full value range (light, medium and dark)
prismatic color studies. A ball park estimate of approximately ten shapes will
be needed to insure good color interaction. Do
not settle for the first sketches that appear on the page. They may, or more
probably, may not be the best designs. Push your designs beyond the first
initial sketches for best results. A good design will require a variety of shapes in a
variety of sizes that includes an interesting arrangement of shapes to
articulate the interaction color.
Prismatic color – Pure hues that represent the spectrum
colors at highest saturation.
Saturation – Intensity or chroma. Saturation
refers to purity of hue and the measure of inherent light.
Value – the relative luminousity (lightness
or darkness) of a color.
High key – refers to colors that are light in
value.
Low key – Colors that are predominantly dark.
High Key
Colors: Yellow, yellow-orange, yellow-green
1. Spectrum Yellow followed by Greenish Yellows and Orange Yellows that deepen
progressively toward Yellow Green and Yellow Orange.
2. High key colors progressively lose their high key distinction the closer they
move towards the middle key colors.
Middle
Key Colors: Blue Green and Red Orange
Low Key
Colors: Blues and Violets, Blue Violet is the darkest low key hue.
1. Low key colors progressively lose their low key distinction the closer they
move towards the middle key colors.
A
Co-Primary Triad Palette
1. Lemon Yellow and Brilliant Yellow.
Lemon Yellow is a cool yellow that is biased towards green. Mix this yellow
with Sky Blue to achieve the most prismatic greens. Brilliant Yellow is a
slightly red leaning yellow. Mix this yellow with Cadmium Red to get good
prismatic oranges.
Note: Mixing Lemon Yellow with Alizarin
Crimson to make an orange will produce a comparatively muted orange as opposed
to the desired prismatic hue. This is because both pigments are biased towards
the orange complement of blue and will result in a duller mixture. The same is
true for greens mixed from Ultramarine Blue and Brilliant Yellow. Both colors
are biased towards the red which is the complement of green.
2. Cadmium Red and Alizarin Crimson*.
Cadmium Red is a brilliant warm red that mixes with well with Brilliant Yellow
to produce prismatic oranges. Mixing Cadmium Red with Sky Blue will produce a
grayed violet that is unsuitable for a study of prismatic color. Alizarin
Crimson is a blue biased red that mixes well with Ultramarine Blue to create
beautiful prismatic violets.
3. Sky Blue and Ultramarine Blue*. Sky
Blue is a brilliant cool, green tinged blue that mixes with well with Lemon
Yellow to produce the most prismatic greens. Ultramarine Blue is a violet
tinged blue that mixes well with Alizarin Crimson to create prismatic violets.
*Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine Blue
are dark transparent pigments that require a small addition of white to achieve prismatic
intensity. This a characteristic shared by many transparent pigments.
Transparent pigments are ideal for glazing in oil, acrylic and even watercolor,
but glazing as a rule, is an unsuitable technique for gouache and the matte,
opaque color requirements of this class.
Note: In this class white is a necessity,
not a virtue. White mutes, cools and grays mixtures. To maintain maximum hue
saturation, avoid adding white to the yellows, cadmium red or sky blue for this
project.
Outside
Assignment: Prismatic Color – Color
studies/Variation on a visual theme/Family resemblance
• Create three abstract studies in
gouache that are related in shape, composition, and handling of materials. Base
the designs on the previous achromatic gray studies.
• The colors used should all be highly
saturated or prismatic.
• The first should have a broad range
of values. The second two should use a narrow value range with one in high key
colors and one in low-key colors.
• Make sure your colors are opaque. The
color of the paper may not be used.
• Do not repeat colors.
• Mount your 3x5" studies on a 9x12" Bristol. Craft is important. Keep border clean.
• Materials: Gouache and Bristol board
Research
Assignment
• Research artwork in books or online
that utilizes an extensive prismatic color palette and include two labeled
color prints in the sketchbook. Almost any kind of visual art (historic or
contemporary) that uses an extensive prismatic color palette is acceptable.
Grafitti, cartoons, anime and manga are not acceptable for the research
assignment.
Note: The use of the of the art or artists
brought in as examples by the instructor is mimicry, not research and is
prohibited. The purpose of this exercise is for the student to look and make
connections between their own efforts and the work of others.
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