4/2/15 2D Design

Today's Class-  Tonight we returned to our study of color, specifically the concept of color temperature.    While making the color wheels I touched on the idea that colors have perceived temperatures, warm or cool in themselves or in relation to other colors.  I started by showing a few dozen slides of historical art, and we discussed whether the overall temperature scheme seemed to be warm, cool, or balanced.  Then the class began our next graded project.  I reserved time at the end of class to look at the word design exercise we did last week.

How to make this up- You will need to create 200 unique hues, to be arranged by temperature and season.  On a sheet of your 18" x 24" paper, draw two boxes with pencil, each 10" x 10", and set it aside.  On other paper start mixing colors using any colors of acrylic paint you want.  Choose 100 of the colors to be a season based on overall temperature of that season- all cool colors for winter, all warm for summer, a mix for the transitional seasons of spring and autumn.  The color pieces should be no more than 1" square.  Arrange them in any way you like within one of the 10"x10" boxes and glue into place.  Do the same for a second and different season in the second box.  Label the chosen seasons on the back of the page.  Above is a student example from a previous semester.  More detailed instructions and additional examples can be seen here.

This graded color temperature project is due at the beginning of class on April 16, 2015, but I recommend getting as much done as possible before next week.  On April 9th we will start another graded project that will be much more complex than this one and you may want more time to work on that one.

Homework- I'm still waiting from completed woodblocks from a few students, which can still be turned in for partial credit.  

For next class 4/9/15- We will continue with color, a new graded project involving limited color palettes.  Sometimes artists choose colors not just to imitate what they are depicting, but because of the inherent effects of the combinations.  You will be start with a black and white photo of a real object of scene (as we used for the stipple drawing), but it will be the starting point for four color studies based on the value patterns in the composition.  As with that earlier project, I'll bring my bag of magazines, but if you come with your own photo, ideally with a wide range of value, you won't have to waste time looking for one to use.  Also bring your 18" x 24" pad, pencil and eraser, and all your paints and brushes, palette and palette knife, and water container.