Color and Light - Premixing Chapter 7

MIXING COLOR STRINGS

• A color string is a group of prepared paint blobs of a given hue mixed with a palette knife in a set of steps from light to dark.  
• saves time to prepare before you start painting 

GAMUT MAPPING 

• The entire group of possible colors for a painting is called the gamut.  
• the gamut for a triadic scheme would be a triangle 
• start with parent colors everything you mix will come from them.  
• You can mask over a painting with gamut colors to unify it even more 

SHAPES OF COLOR SCHEMES 

The most common shape is the triangle 

hues directly next to each other are harmonious 

MIXING A CONTROLLED GAMUT 

• remove tube colors 
• try not to mix too many after initial mixing plan 

COLOR SCRIPTING 

• Sequential art needs to consider previous and future color schemes as a whole 
• consider the change in color schemes and what it means 

Color and Light - Paint and Pigments Chapter 5 pgs 96-99, 104-107

WARM UNDERPAINTING

• instead of beginning a painting on white canvas sometimes artists pretone the painting
• a warm underpainting is good for skies or foliage or anything with major blue or green 

SKY PANELS 

• prepare a panel with a sky gradation as a base layer for the future painting 
• paint the sky gradient then the details on top.

LIMITED PALETTES 

• keep your color palette simple to create a more unified piece 

Color and Light - Atmospheric Effects Chapter 10 + 11

SKY BLUE

• The sky is not a flat even blue 
• looking in the vicinity of the sun much more golden green 
• looking away from sun much cooler, purple blue 
• sky gets lighter near the sun 

ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE

• objects at a distance are brighter and dimmer because of all the atmosphere between you and them 
• Warm colors advance, cool colors recede 

REVERSE ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE 

• cool colors advance, warm colors recede 
• rare

GOLDEN HOUR LIGHTING 

• at dawn and at dusk 
• colors become bold and dramatic because sun shines through an ocean of air 

SUNSETS

• if the air is full of moisture and dust, red and yellow clouds 
• light hitting clouds remains relatively white compared to light hitting the ground 

FOG MIST SMOKE DUST 

• contrast drops 
• soft cast shadows 
• blue illumination from the sky 

SKY HOLES AND FOLIAGE 

• when painting leaves use selective detail 
• kinda like hair 

SUNBEAMS AND SHADOWBEAMS 

• sunbeams are shafts of light made visible in dust or moisture from the atmosphere  
• they have to go through something 
• shadow beams occur most often when a jet contrail aligns with the line of sight 

DAPPLED LIGHT 

• as sunlight passes through upper leaves it leaves dappled pattern in the shadows 
• spaces between leaves act as pinhole projectors
• if sun was eclipsed little eclipsed shapes 

CLOUD SHADOWS 

• Passing clouds interrupt the sun 
• shadow area is darker and cooler than sunlit area but not as much of a blue cast because light entering shaded area is average of blue light and white light from cloud layer 
• soft edge 
• size and spacing matches the clouds in the sky 

SNOW AND ICE 

• pick up more shadow color and light 

WATER REFLECTION AND TRANSPARENCY 

• can see through the water better closer to you than farther away 
• darks reflect on water too.  depends on how dirty the water is how they show up 
• cast shadows not over deep clear water 
• cast shadows do go over deep dirty water 

COLOR UNDERWATER 

• water filters selective colors, leaving a blue cast 
• various impurities can discolor the water 

Color and Light - Surfaces and Effects Chapter 9

SURFACES AND EFFECTS

TRANSMITTED LIGHT

• When sunlight travels through a thin, semitransparent material, the light becomes reichly colored

SUBSURFACE SCATTERING 

• light enters the skin or any translucent material and spreads out beneath the surface, creating a glow 

COLOR ZONES OF THE FACE 

• Complexion of a light skin face divides into three zones 
• forehead is light golden 
• the brow to bottom of nose is reddish 
• the bottom of nose to bottom of chin is bluish 

THE HAIR SECRET 

• use big brushes 
• blend where it meets the forehead 
• soften edges 
• control and design highlights 
• keep masses simple 
• think ribbons 
  

SPECULAR REFLECTIONS

• objects with a shiny surface are like mirrors.  It reflects images of whatever is around it 
• specular reflection has light rays that bounce off the surface at the same angle they approached it 
• diffuse reflection matte surface 

HIGHLIGHTS

• specular reflections on wet or shiny surfaces 
• perpendicular to the light 
• not pure white

COLOR CORONA 

• when an extremely bright source such as a setting sun or streetlight is surrounded by a region of colorful light 
• lens flare 

MOTION BLUR

• blurring to suggest rapid movement 

PHOTOS VS OBSERVATION 

• references are good but paint from observation to best record color 

Color and Light - Light and Form Chapter 3

LIGHT AND FORM

THE FORM PRINCIPLE

• the form principle is the analysis of nature in terms of geometrical solids, which can be rendered according to laws of tonal contrast 
• matte surfaces can alter this, less of an effect 
• MODELING FACTORS
• In direct sunlight, there's a strong division of light and shade.   
• modeling factors are the set of tonal steps from light to shadow based on the level of light
• THE TERMINATOR 
• where light turns to shadow 
• texture can be difficult to see in the shadow region 
• CORE OF THE SHADOW 
• Area just beyond the terminator
• DIFFUSE LIGHT 

• no distinct light or dark side or terminator 

SEPARATION OF LIGHT AND SHADOW 

• sometimes the darkest dark might be a "white" object.  it all depends on the relative lighting 

CAST SHADOWS

• When a form intercepts a parcel of direct light, it projects or casts a shadow onto whatever lies behind it.  
• THE EYEBALL ON THE ANT
• imagine yourself as an eyeball on the back of an ant.  look up and walk across a shadow and notice the light sources.  all of the light and colors will affect the shadow.  
• THE LIGHT AND THE SHADOW EDGE 
• the nature of the cast shadow is closely related to the nature of the light source. 
• hard light- sharp edge
• soft light- blurry edge
• side by side lights- side by side shadows 
• the edge of a shadow gets softer farther away from the source 

HALF SHADOW 

• creates drama 

OCCLUSION SHADOWS 

• dark accents appear where forms come close together leaving a dense area of shadow
• grounds things, make sure they don't float 

THREE QUARTER LIGHTING 

• good for portraits 
• also called broad lighting 
• emphasizes the near side of the face 
• flattering and unobtrusive

FRONTAL LIGHTING 

• light that shines directly toward a model from the viewers perspective.  
• emphasizes two dimensional design instead of three dimensional form 

EDGE LIGHTING 

• comes from behind and touches the sides.  
• strong source of light 
• very dramatic effect 

CONTRE JOUR 

• contre jour lighting is a type of backlighting where a subject blocks out the light 
• white light spills over the sides 

LIGHT FROM BELOW 

• unusual 
• has a theatrical effect 

REFLECTED LIGHT 

• shadows are affected by reflected light.  IE. shirt color on the chin and cheek 

SPOTLIGHTING 

• also dramatic 
• everything but the area in the spotlight falls out of detail and into shadow 

Color and Light Visual Perception Chapter 8+4

IS MOONLIGHT BLUE?

• Moonlight isn't really blue.  It's actually slightly red but our visual perception tricks us into thinking that it's blue when things are dim.  
• observe carefully when drawing in moonlight so not to be deceived. 

EDGES AND DEPTH 

• painterly control of blurriness, especially along the boundary of the form.  
• Edges give a sense of depth 
• Depth of field-- keep the background out of focus 
• Intersecting contours-- different focus shows different planes 
• edges in moonlight-- less sharp edges at night

COLOR OPPOSITIONS

• complements mimic natural opposites like fire and ice.  Use complements to show contrast and direct the eye.  one complement brings out the other 

COLOR CONSTANCY 

• We interpret local colors as stable and unchanging regardless of the effects of colored illuminations etc.  

ADAPTATION AND CONTRAST

• Colors are affected by other colors 
• Cool Light and Warm Shadow 
• having both warm and cool keeps things looking natural 
• Simultaneous contrast: The Hue, saturation or brightness of a background color can produce the opposite qualities in the object sitting in front of it 
• Successive contrast: looking at one color changes the next color we see 
• Chromatic adaptation: our visual system becomes accustomed to a give color of illumination.  When the illumination changes, our eyes adjust accordingly. 
• Color constancy: local colors appear consistent, regardless of lighting circumstances
• Size of the objet: the smaller a colored object becomes, the less distinct the color looks.  

APPETIZING AND HEALING COLORS 

• Certain colors promote healing, the appetite etc.  
• Healing colors: avoid red and yellow 
• appetite: warm, bright colors.  IE McDonalds

ELEMENTS OF COLOR 

CHROMA AND VALUE 

• when painting from direct observations, tones are translated and wont be exact.  That's okay
• Peak chroma value is where a given hue reaches its greatest chroma.  blue is most intense when dark, red is most intense at it's middle brightest.  
  

LOCAL COLOR

• Local color is the color of the surface of an object as it appears close up in white light 
• usually when mixing for a painting, the colors you mix will vary from the precise local color which is supposed to happen

GRAYS AND NEUTRALS

• Grays and neutrals are opposites of intense colors 
• more paintings fail from using too much intense color than too much gray
• gray provides a setting for bright accents.  

THE GREEN PROBLEM

• the human eye is most sensitive to yellow green wavelengths 
• use blues to balance it out it will still look green 
• make green by mixing yellow and blue not straight green pigment 
• vary your mixtures 
• Have a pink or reddish background and paint on top green.  this is called Smuggling reds

GRADATION

• gradual shift of color.  Looks pretty in the sky 

TINTS 

• Adding white to a color raises the tint making it pastel.  These convey a feeling of light 

Color and Light- Color Relationships Chapter 6

MONOCHROMATIC SCHEMES

• A color scheme composed of any single hue taken from a range of value or chroma 

WARM AND COOL 

• COOL FAMILY PIECES
• suggest mystery, darkness, or gloom 
• develop interest by adding warm color notes 

• WARM FAMILY PIECES
• Romantic, exotic, happy 

COLORED LIGHT INTERACTIONS 

• Two different colored lights mix to make a new color.  

TRIADS

• A triadic scheme is composed of any three basic colors but not necessarily full chroma colors

COLOR ACCENT

• Spice up a gray piece with a little dash of color  
• can attract the eye to where you want the interest to be 
• any small area of color noticeably different than the rest.