Color in Space

Color in design is very subjective. What evokes one reaction in one person may evoke a very different reaction in someone else. Sometimes this is due to personal preference, and other times, it is due to cultural background. Color theory is a science in itself. Color is also the most difficult but also the most powerful of the 7 elements of design. It can make someone feel sad or happy. It can make you want to eat more or not at all. It can imply life or death. It can encourage learning and also do just the opposite. Color is complicated.  One tiny shift from blue-green to a slightly greener blue-green can change how you interpret or feel about a work of art. There are entire books written on the psychology of color and color theory. This section will introduce you to some of those thoughts as well as illustrate various ways to use color in your work. What follows focuses predominately on color that can be mixed using paint or colored pencils.  Colored lights work very differently when mixed.

Color can be broken down into Hue, Chroma (Saturation), and Value.

• Hue – the color itself; red, blue yellow.  We don’t discuss dark or light when referring to Hue, just the color.

• Chroma / Saturation – Is the red a strong red or is it more washed out than a real red?  Saturation is the intensity of the color.  A red straight from a tube of paint is very saturated but when you mix it with white or thin it with water, the saturation lessens.

• Value – the lightness or darkness.  A light yellow may appear more lemon while a dark yellow may appear more mustard.

• Primary – The three most basic colors are Red, Yellow, and Blue.  These are known as Primary colors.  There is nothing you can use to mix these colors, however, you can use these three colors (and sometimes white) to mix almost every color in the world.  If you are short on money, you only need to buy red, yellow, blue and white.

• Secondary – Mixing any two Primaries creates a Secondary color.  Secondaries include Orange, Green, and Violet (Purple).

• Tertiary – Mixing a Primary and a Secondary creates a Tertiary (sometimes called Intermediate).  Tertiaries are named with their primary color first and secondary color last.  If I mix Red and Violet, I get a Red-Violet. Although Violet-Red is technically the same color, we always name them with the Primary name first.  Blue and Green = Blue-Green.  Yellow and Orange = Yellow-Orange.

Pattern is an orderly arrangement of things forming a consistent or characteristic arrangement or sequence. While in two-dimensional art we can produce patterns comprised of repeated shapes or modules, a pattern can also be any regular rhythm in time or space. Patterns can also be used to create identical shapes or parts. Pattern-makers – from dress design to boat manufacture – are highly valued for their conceptual and design abilities

Patterns pervade nature. People and plants grow in patterns, and so do spirals and money in the bank. Pendulums move in patterns, as do waves and spinning tops and springs. Sailors are on the lookout for patterns of sea and sky and wind that tell of bad weather. Parents look for behavior patterns in children that spell different kinds of turbulence ahead. Economists look for patterns of spending and saving.

Patterns are essential to perception. If we could not pick out patterns among the sound vibrations we heard or the light vibrations we saw, the world would be buzzing with confusion. All animals – and some plants – have built-in pattern perceivers as part of their innate biological structure. Indeed, pattern perception or pattern recognition is important to the survival of every organism. Our ability to perceive the most subtle of patterns helps us to navigate and understand the world in which we live.

Consider the patterns of clouds; how water moves; the tracks animals leave; the irregular beating of a heart or the “sticky valve” of a car engine. Each “orderly arrangement of things” allows us to perceive something different about our world. Sometimes the patterns we employ to perceive the world filter out other less familiar patterns and make us blind to new ways of seeing and thinking.

Texture can be understood as simply a pattern that is better appreciated with fingers rather than the eyes; textures are repeated patterns. Very fine patterns or textures feel smooth to the touch. Subtle differences between textures may only be discernable through the sense of touch. Coarser textures may be readily perceived by the eyes–for example, corduroy fabric or the surface of a rasp. When creating a composition that requires intermediary tones, visual texture–such as cross-hatched lines or rubbings (frottage)–can be used to provide interest and richness to a visual field.