ADAMSON UNIVERSITY

San Marcelino, Ermita, Manila

ARCHITECTURAL VISUAL COMMUNICATION 4

Research 2

Colors

Submitted by:

BAUTISTA, SANDER PAUL S.

November 16, 2012

4 Principles of Colors
Shading Series

Uniformly coloured surfaces passing into different levels of illumination are

represented by colours that move along a line of uniform saturation.

If a surface of uniform colour turns progressively away from a single light source, the
diffuse reflection from its surface steadily decreases in brightness. We would of course expect
to represent this in a painting with a series of colours diminishing in lightness, but what would be
the chroma of these colours? The answer lies in the fact that because the colour of the
illuminant and the colour of the surface are both constant, the proportion of the different
wavelengths in the reflected light will not change. Consequently the hue and saturation of the
reflected light remain constant, while the brightness diminishes. The series of colours we use to
represent such a surface, here called a shading series, should therefore lie along a line of
uniform saturation; such lines radiate from the black point of the colour solid (Figure10.1). Along
such a line, chroma decreases steadily as lightness decreases, at the precise rate necessary to
keep the saturation of light from the surface constant.
In digital work we can easily create such a series by keeping the hue angle and percentage
saturation constant (in effect keeping the ratio of R/G/B constant), while the relative
brightness (B) decreases. Uniform saturation series are easily created in Photoshop using the
colour picker, which allows S and B to be directly manipulated. In Photoshop shading series can
also be created by various shortcut methods such as
varying the opacity of a layer in normal mode over a layer of black, or
varying the opacity of a layer of black in multiply mode over a layer
by placing a coloured layer in multiply mode over a greyscale image.
The first two methods work in RGB mode but not Lab mode.

In Figure 10.1 Principle 1 is used to draw a red sphere from the imagination. The
highlight retains the (white) colour of the light source. Around the fringes of the highlight,
additive mixing of this white light with the red diffuse reflection creates intermediate colours,
while the darker versions of the red are restricted to the crevice shadow.
Also note that, contrary to a widespread myth among painters (e.g. Loomis, 1947), the richest
colour is not on the edges of the lighted area. In the case of Loomis this belief is connected with
his belief that the highlight coincides with the centre of the full light (link).
. Colour relationships for a red ball on a white table. Specular reflection on tabletop and sphere
both move along lines of uniform saturation between light and dark (Principle 1). Dotted lines
shows table and ball maintaining the same ratio of relative brightness in light and shadow
(Principle 2). Sphere painted in Photoshop CS2
According to this principle, B = 100 is the brightest version of any colour that can be depicted-
no colour in RGB space has a greater brightness and the same balance of wavelengths. We will
in fact see that even painting a surface of full chroma, we will generally not use colours as bright
as B = 100 if we wish to leave room to
represent the highlight. The only way to go
lighter than this is to try to give the effect of
a very bright light beyond the range of
adaptation of the eye, and go to paler,
lighter colours, like those seen in an
overexposed photograph.
 In traditional paint mediums, the colour relationships discussed here need to be
established by eye. With practice it is not difficult to create a shading series in paint.Such series
are not created by just adding black paint. Black pigment tends to reduce the chroma of
mixtures more rapidly than the lightness, creating colours that are too neutral (grey) for their
lightness level - hence the hobby painter's insistence on not using black, because it "muddies"
the colours. My advice is that anyone who doesn't understand colour should not use black, but
now that you've got this far you're certainly ready to join the black-using party, who incidentally
form the majority of great painters in every period of art history. You understand by now that
painting is about creating colour relationships, not about following colour recipes. In this case,
the solution is to add just enough of pure colour to get the mixture back onto a uniform
saturation series (Figure 10.2). Some fine hue
adjustment may also be needed to counter any hue-
shifting effects of the black, but the same is true
whatever pigment is used for darkening.

Figure 10.2. Adjustment of saturation with pure

red pigment after adding black pigment. Adding black to
a mixture of Permanent Alizarin Crimson and White
draws the mixture away from the shading series into
colours that are too low in saturation. The solution is to
add just enough extra Permanent Alizarin Crimson to
get the mixture back onto the line of uniform saturation.
Some fine tuning of the hue is also generally needed.

Incidentally, adding the complementary colour, the hobby painter's usual alternative to
adding black for darkening, works tolerably well for some colours for a small amount of
darkening and then starts drawing the mixture in the wrong direction; for other colours it draws
the mixture in the wrong direction right from the start (Figure 10.3).

Figure 10.3 Mixing of Cadmium Red and Cobalt Green). Cadmium Red and Cobalt
Green are near complementary in pigmentary mixing (B). Cadmium Green initially draws
Cadmium Red along a line of uniform saturation, then begins drawing the mixture inward to less
saturated colours; Cadmium Red however draws Cobalt Green away from the required shading
series (black arrow) right from the start.
Consistency of Relative Brightness

When several coloured surfaces pass together into different levels of illumination they
maintain constant ratios of relative brightness (B).

If the brightness of appearance of two greyscale colours differs by a factor of x at a given

level of illumination, they will differ by the same factor at any other level of that illumination
(Figure 10.4). This is because the difference in the amount of light energy reflected is
determined only by the relative reflectance of the two surfaces. This rule works both with linear
radiance and with nonlinear brightness (B). It doesn't quite work with nonlinear lightness (L)
because of the different way L is calculated.

Figure 10.4. Greyscale colours in

shadow and light, demonstrating
how relative brightness of appearance is
maintained.

Note that the fact

that relative differences of brightness
are maintained means
thatabsolute differences between the
different tones are less in the shadows
than in the light, and conversely that the
absolute change in tone between light
and shadow is greatest for light tones
and least for dark tones. Note also that
the frequently quoted rule that the lightest tone in the shadow must be darker than the darkest
tone in the light is simply not true. This "rule" may possibly have arisen from a simple
misunderstanding of the principle that the lightest occurrence of a given colour in the shadow
will be darker than the darkest occurrence of the same colour in the light.

In Photoshop, relationships of constant relative brightness can be created very easily

using either of the two shortcuts mentioned under Principle One, varying the opacity of the
image layer in normal mode over a layer of black, or varying the opacity of a layer of black in
multiply mode over the image layer.

For coloured surfaces, the same rule of

maintenance of relative brightness also applies (provided
that the light sources do not differ in spectral
composition). "Colorfulness" of appearance, and hence
the chroma of the image colour used to represent that
appearance, diminish with the diminishing brightness
(Figure 10.5). The saturation of the light given off by the
surface, and of course the perceived chroma of the
surface itself remain the same.
The Scale of Brilliance

A coloured surface will look greyed, pure-coloured, fluorescent or self-luminous

depending on how its relative brightness (B) compares with that of a white surface in the same
lighting.

Figure 10.6 Demonstration of perception of "brilliance". Three

yellow shapes with relative brightness (B) of 53, 81 and 97,
overlaid on photograph against backgrounds at three different
levels of illumination, where white paper is represented by a
grey of B = 53, 81 and 97 respectively. In each case the dot
that has the same relative brightness (B) as the surrounding
paper looks like a pure yellow, the less bright dots look olive-
coloured, and the brighter dots look fluorescent or luminous.

We've already seen that white, all of the full chroma colours, and all of the tints have a
relative brightness (B) of 100. A consequence of principle 2 above is that in a relatively shaded
area, where we use a grey with say, B = 50, to represent a white surface, all of the pure colours
and tints under the same illumination will also be represented by colours with B=50 (Figure
10.6)

Figure 10.7. Aerial view of

YCbCr space, showing the set of
colours with B = 100 (left) and
B = 50 (right).
Putting this the other way around has
a fascinating consequence. We can
see that in a setting where a white
surface is represented by grey with B
of 50:

Any colour having B = 50 will read, depending on its saturation, as either a full-chroma
colour, a pure tint or white.

Any colour with B < 50 will look like a dark surface colour, i.e. will exhibit a degree of
greyness.

Any colour with B > 50 will look too bright to be simply reflecting light. If it has only
moderate excess brightness, such as a patch of fluorescent paint might exhibit, it may have the
appearance of a fluorescent surface colour. However if it has a large amount of excess
brightness, it will read as being luminous, and will be seen either as an independent light
source, or as a specular reflection of a light source.
Effects of Color Illumination

The effects of coloured illumination follow the principles of subtractive mixing, since only
wavelengths present in the light source and not absorbed by the surface can be reflected.
Coloured lighting tends to neutralize and darken complementary-coloured surfaces, thereby
tending to raise the relative lightness of all surfaces that reflect wavelengths present in the light,
the latter surfaces also shift towards the hue of the coloured light (Figure 10.7). The range of
colours seen is always less than seen under white light. In Photoshop the effects of coloured
lighting can be suggested by an overlying coloured layer of variable opacity in multiply mode;
the greater the opacity, the stronger the colour of the lighting.

Figure 10.9 shows the effect of coloured light on the colours of human skin. Under white
light (10.9B), human skin shows a range of low chroma colours, often extending into slightly
stronger colours in the direction of red (where capillaries are numerous) and orange (where
pigment is denser). Incandescent light, being similar in hue to average skin colour, shifts these
hues shift to exhibit higher chroma but less varied hue (10.9A). Under strongly bluish light, such
as skylight, the colours become more neutralized, but may exhibit a full range of hues, including
prominent crimson, greenish and bluish variants (10.9C).

Figure 10.9. Effect of different illuminants on human skin colours. Photograph taken in white
(flash) illumination (B), and transformed in ColorSpace to simulate (A) warm incandescent
illumination (illuminant A) and (C) cool illumination (D75); resulting colours shown on CbCr
plane of YCbCr space.
Govern Good Visual Effects Involving Bright and Strong Colors
White
In its natural form it is daylight.
Helps the mind to be open, clear and receptive.
Not good if feeling isolated or cut off as it encourages depression and body chills.

Reds
Dark and severe reds tend to have the ability to over-stimulate and agitate.
Helps with blood pressure, cold hands and feet and hypertension.

Oranges
Brighter oranges are very social and gregarious.
Deeper oranges like terracottas are very warming.
Helps with muscular tension and liver disorders.

Golds
Falls between yellows and oranges.
Less irritating to the nervous system than yellow.
Very beneficial for pain in the joints and arthritis.

Yellows
Bright sharp yellows are very tiring and can trigger migraines and travel sickness.
Helps tissue renewal and constipation.
Soft yellows used with bright blues are good for mental stimulation and growth in children.

Bright Greens
Those greens often referred to as Kelly Green are found to energise the central nervous
system.
Used with clear blues and pure white this type of green encourages physical activity.

Dark Greens
Assists blood circulation and helps concentration.
Think of the ‘green room’ used by an actor prior to a performance.

Pale Greens
Very soothing with anti-stress qualities.
Promotes an even and steady heart rhythm and harmony.

Turquoises
Between blue and green, helps if there is emotional anxiety or hyperactivity.
Useful to balance blood sugar and insulin levels.

Pale Blues
Cooling and helps encourage rest.
Helps self-reliance.
Balance for over-activity.
Dark Bright Blues
Immune boosting.
Certain types of headaches and bilious stomach-ache can be corrected with this colour.

Indigos
It is this deep blue-violet that has been used in medicine bottles over the years.
Useful where fear is stopping activity.
Sedative.

Mauves
Mix of violet and red.
Nurturing, promotes intuition, meditative and insightful.
Positive effect on the pineal gland.

Magentas
Described as blue/pink.
Helps with lack of co-ordination, recent shock and excess stress.
Darkest hues of this colour are formal and austere and may feel unwelcoming.

Greys
Blending of two neutrals.
As a mid tone colour it has been used to denote cool rational thinking.
Helps heavy metal toxicity.
Too much of this colour is demotivating.

Browns
Earthy blend of orange, ochre yellow and black.
Denotes dependability.
Can make individuals feel secure and stable.
Darkest form of orange.

Black
Black equates to lack of light – night – and is used to rest mind and body.
Self-sufficient and hard – it is used during periods of extreme change and trauma.
It can be protective and has been used traditionally to signify death and mourning.
Factors to be Considered When Painting
Artist
Bourdieu believes that art does not have non-social substances so that distinguishes it from
ordinary everyday affairs. Art is a product of social construction which is the result of Classifier
fights among coalition of artists, consumers (supporters or that kind of artistic product and the
audience), and those professional classifiers convention (which are generally critics but
academics are also among them).
These funds therefore absorb individuals in the field of art and make them artists.
Social Conditions
What is certain is that as the result of social change, new styles and new forms arise. And in a
certain social situations the issues may not be expressed directly and would not have been
manifested, but always shape in margin and any attempt to review the from the aspects of the
sociology requires consideration of the social conditions of its creation.
Government
Government can contribute in the progress of art creation by strengthening the culture of living
and thinking in communications and also supporting artists financially and politically so that they
could find the proper market to offer their products. Government's interference in selling the
artistic products could both mean to support the country's cultural heritage and support the
rights of the artists.
Technology
Component of development and progression of communication systems can affect the
exchange of information, quick and easy access to the knowledge of the latest art events,
creating an atmosphere of communication and interaction among artists with their counterparts
around the world and also creating dynamic and creative minds in the field of arts and culture.
Art Sponsors
As the size of the art market increases and a growing number of investors are attracted by the
high returns, the amount and quality of information available to market participants becomes
increasingly relevant, especially for less experienced investors (Bruno and Nocera, ). Art
sponsors can influence the process and output of works of art because art lovers and majority of
people consider the art creation as the major part of their country's spiritual and cultural
heritage.
Art supporters in some way are waiting for cultural product from the artists and the elite of their
homeland and consider this event as their own right. From the point of view of an investor, it is
crucial to understand the predictability power of pre-sale estimates. This is particularly true for
inexperienced (albeit wealthy) individual investors, who are likely to be subject to behavioral
biases (Mei, Moses, and Xiong, 2004).
Aforementioned components extracted from the research literature and experts opinion in field
of sociology of art and artists are presented in five sections and the multi-index of each
component are provided respectively in table:

Artist Social Conditions Government Technology Art Sponsors

Number of
Paintings - Social Capital
- Economic Capital
- Cultural Capital
- Symbolic Capital -Poverty
-War
-Theocracy, Religion basis
-Discriminatory sexual look
-Freedom of expression and thought
-Discriminatory ethnic look
-Modernization - Economic policy making
- Social policy making
- Cultural policy making - Communication systems development -Rulers
-Religion category
-Plutocrats; collection makers
-Art lovers

Consider Visual Weight Factors When Painting

Color
There are only two colors that have an equal weight when viewed at full intensity: red
and green. If primary blue and primary yellow are seen together in equal amounts, they will not
appear balanced since the blue, which is deeper, visually appears larger and heavier than
yellow ever can. Consequently a larger area of yellow would be required to balance a smaller
blue area. All things being equal,
the visual weight of any color can be altered by its value: lighter colors will visually appear
lighter in weight than darker colors. Because of this, a balance between yellow and blue, for
example, can also be achieved by using a deep yellow and a light blue.

Hue
Hue literally means a gradation or variety of a color (according to dictionary.com). Generally
speaking, bright and intense colors add visual weight, while muted, neutral colors reduce visual
weight. Keep in mind that while whites and shades of beige are generally considered as neutral,
shades of any colors can be considered neutral depending their relation to the other colors used
in the room. A neutral just need to be a shade that balances the warm and cool tones of the
space. Another thing to consider is that hues can evoke different emotional responses, based
on things like cultural factors or regional bias. For instance, depending on what part of Arizona
you live in, choosing color schemes using Cardinal Red and Navy Blue or maroon and gold,
would incite powerful reactions.

Size
Size is an evident visual weight factor because, in the physical world, an object that’s bigger
than another (if they are the same type of object) will naturally be heavier and will take up more
physical space. Keep in mind that size, in this case, is relative. In small rooms or spaces choose
a light-color paint and select furnishings in the same color family, or you can paint some of the
furniture to match the walls. If you have a long and narrow room or hallway, you can consider
painting the end walls a darker shade than the long, narrow walls. The darker colors will recede
and will create an illusion of width in this instance as the light colors will advance. Also consider
that light-color ceilings will attract attention, but dark-color ceilings will direct the eye back to
head level, allowing the focus to be on the walls, furnishings and accessories in a room.

Complexity
The use of patterns or finishes can affect visual weight. Solid colors and simple patterns/finishes
will reduce visual weight, while bold patterns will add visual weight. More complex shapes or
patterns seem heavier visually when compared to plainer shapes. If an element takes more time
to process, we must look at it longer and, it occupies more of our attention.
Techniques in Water color rendering
Graded Washes
A variation on the basic wash is the graded wash. This technique requires the
pigment to be diluted slightly with more water for each horizontal stroke. The result is
a wash that fades out gradually and evenly

Glazing
Glazing is a similar watercolor technique to a wash, but uses a thin, transparent
pigment applied over dry existing washes. Its purpose is to adjust the color and
tone of the underlying wash. Non staining, transparent pigments such as Rose
Madder (or Permanent Rose), Cobalt Blue and Auroline are ideal for glazing as
they can be applied layer after layer to achieve the desired effect. Be sure each
layer is thoroughly dry before applying the next.

Wet in Wet
Wet in wet is simply the process of applying pigment to wet paper. The results vary
from soft undefined shapes to slightly blurred marks, depending on how wet the paper
is. The wet in wet technique can be applied over existing washes provided the are
thoroughly dry. Simply wet the paper with a large brush and paint into the dampness.
The soft marks made by painting wet in wet are great for subtle background regions of
your painting.

Dry Brush
Dry brush is the almost the opposite watercolor technique to wet in wet. Here a
brush loaded with pigment (and not too much water) is dragged over completely
dry paper. The marks produced by this technique are very crisp and hard edged.
They will tend to come forward in your painting and so are best applied around the
centre of interest

Lifting Off
Most watercolor pigment can be dissolved and lifted off after it has dried.
Staining colors such as Phthalo or Prussian Blue, Alizarin, Windsor Red, Yellow
or Blue are difficult to remove and are best avoided for this technique. The
process for lifting off is simple - wet the area to be removed with a brush and
clean water then blot the pigment away with a tissue. Using strips of paper to
mask areas of pigment will produce interesting hard edged lines and shapes

Dropping in Color
This technique is simply the process of introducing a color to a wet region of the
painting and allowing it to blend bleed and feather without interruption. The result is
sometimes unpredictable but yields interesting and vibrant color gradations that
cant be achieved by mixing the pigment on the palette.
Flat Wash
A flat wash is a simple way to cover a large area with solid color. It can play the
role of a flat backdrop to more dramatic visual elements or serve as an initial layer
of color, or underpainting. Washes can be laid in on wet or dry paper, and a
combination of the two also can produce expressive results. For a flat wash, load
your brush with color before each strokes to maintain the same depth of color
overall.

Wet in wet
The wet in wet technique is distinct only to water color paintings. Using this
technique produces an effect that is not possible in any other medium. To do
this, the entire paper is laid flat and is brushed wet with water. When the
paper no longer wicks, the work begins by plunging it with a paint-saturated
brush. The effect will generally be large areas with irregular color definition.
The subject of the painting is then defined and sharpened as the color dries.
There are different procedures of wet in wet technique that presents different
characteristics.
Backruns
This effect is achieved by the natural tendency of the paint to be drawn from the wetter surfaces
to the dryer surface of the paper. This is commonly referred to as the blooms, watermarks,
oozles, backwash, or backruns. As the pigmented water runs from the wetter to the dryer
surface, it carries along pigments leaving the wetter areas with a lighter shade and depending
on how the backrun is treated; it will leave an image with a serrated edge. This effect is
commonly used for lighting contour of an object and at other times simply for decorative
purposes.
Salt Texture
Since the salt will absorb water, this technique is used to create snowflakes in
the picture and other imperfections in the color. A salt will rot the paper overtime;
a fine water spray using a spray bottle held three feet from the painting is used
as a substitute with similar effect. Fine grains of sand could also be sprayed over
the surface that will be brushed off later.

Dropping in Color
Here the artist dilutes a defined area with paint or water then the artist drops in color through the
brush that has been loaded with paint. The added shapes are then manipulated by stroking or
tilting. Backruns are induced by adding more color or clear water or lightening up the surface by
wicking. This technique produces an effect that is tasselated.

Glazed Wash watercolor

Glazing is a technique where thin, transparent washes of color are laid
on each other in consecutive layers of dried colors, allowing underlying
colors to shine through the paint. Think of it as laying multiple sheets of
transparent colored tissue papers. Because a glaze is transparent it lets
light pass through it, as well as be reflected off the underlying color. The
result is a painting that is not only transparent and rich in color, but is
also glowing.
 Plastic wrap watercolor texture
This effect can be used with other painting media as well (in particular,
acrylics). The effect always gives surprises and is startlingly beautiful to
look at.

Lifting dry watercolor paint

Sometimes when you are painting, you'll need to remove watercolor
from your paper. Perhaps your color or value is too dark, or you've
made a mistake, or you've painted over an area you didn't mean to. Or,
on the positive side, you want to create some interesting effects.

Sgrafitto and Stamped watercolor textures

Sgrafitto is an Italian term for scratching techniques usually associated
with stratching through layered ceramic glazes to expose the
underlying glazes. Do you recall those rainbow colors covered in black
crayon you would scratch pretty pictures into as a child? Same
concept.

Using a Blow Dryer

There are times when we need to hurry a painting along, so I use a
blow dryer. Remember, however, do not use it full force on a wet
passage, as you will push the pigment into areas that you might not
want it to flow. Some people seem to think that a dryer changes the
look of the paint, but I haven’t found that to be true.

Tissue Paper Texture

Tissue paper is useful in creating textures in foliage, rocks, etc. The
paint on the surface should not be so wet that it is still shining or you
would pick up all the paint with the tissue. Paint that has “lost its shine”
is still damp enough to have textures created by the blotting of tissue.
Here's what the tissue paper technique looks like when I'm finished

Spraying Watercolor Techniques

I use a trigger type sprayer to put droplets of water on the painting surface
and then drop in color. The paint follows the droplets across the page, and
since the droplets run into each other, the paint does not appear to be
polka dots! I use this for painting all kinds of tree foliage.

Alcohol Textures Watercolor Techniques - Of course, you know that

alcohol and water don’t mix, therefore, alcohol, when sprinkled into a wet
wash of color creates a texture. It repels the paint and pushes it aside. The
effect is different if you sprinkle alcohol first, and then add the paint. Quite an
interesting phenomenon. When alcohol is sprayed onto the wet pigment, it
causes a "foam" appearance and is great when painting water that is rushing
over rocks, ocean waves, etc.