These are the experiments I conducted in class, with objects that the class had brought in.
The stock we used to use as a backdrop to our objects:
Vaseline Experiments:
We chose to use blue as our "control" colour, as we thought it would be interesting to consider one colour in depth. The Vaseline tin seems to be our "bluest" blue, so we use this to see how the other backdrops could effect that.
1.
Against a neutral backdrop, the Vaseline appeared more blue. This is due to our eyes tricking is unto believe the backdrop was much closer to blue's complimentary colour, being orange.
2.
When positioned on a complimentary backdrop, the tin appeared even more saturated, due to the colours being on opposite ends of the spectrum.
3.
4.
Unlike when against yellow, the vaseline now appears much less dark. This is due to there being less of a contrast in tone.
5.
Against green, the Vaseline appears much less "blue", meaning it appears less saturated.
Mango Fandango Experiments:
We then chose to study the effects of the background on the complimentary of blue, looking at an object we would consider our most "orange", orange.
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Due to a large contrast in temperature, the tin appears much warmer than it would on an orange or red background.
5.
Against a neutral backdrop, the tin appeared more orange. This is due to our eyes tricking is unto believe the backdrop was much closer to orange's complimentary colour, being blue.
Combining the Two
We looked at putting both objects between two backgrounds, to see if they hold any similarities or differences.
1.
Similarities: Both objects stand out from the background, this is due to both being highly saturated - the "bluest' blue, and the "most orange" orange.
Differences: The Vaseline tin appears much darker against the blue, as a shift in tone. The Mango tin appears marge warmer, due to a contrast in temperature. Against the green, the Vaseline tine appears cool, whilst once again, the Mango tin appears much warmer.
2.
Differences: The Vaseline tin stands out against both backgrounds. This is due to a contrast in tone, and in temperature. The Mango tin merges in more, due to being at a similar saturation to the green, and a similar temperature to the red.
Home Experiments
1. Natural Vs. Unnatural Light
One recurring theme that we came across in class was the idea of which is better to work with: Natural or Unnatural Light.
I chose to work with extremes of both environments:
Colour in Sunlight:
1. Natural Vs. Unnatural Light
One recurring theme that we came across in class was the idea of which is better to work with: Natural or Unnatural Light.
I chose to work with extremes of both environments:
Colour in Sunlight:
Colour in Unnatural Light:
Yellow (1st Image is in Natural Light, the 2nd in Unnatural):
Both images share a contrast in saturation, with the natural lighting creating a much more vivid colour. The unnatural lighting also creates a darker tone.
Violet (1st Image is in Natural Light, the 2nd in Unnatural):
The natural lighting creates a much more vivid colour, similarly to the yellow. There is also a chromatic shift to more of a blue-ish hue, when the object was put in unnatural light.
Blue (1st Image is in Natural Light, the 2nd in Unnatural):
The contrast here seems to be strictly tonal, but the natural light seems to make the object slightly more orange, thus warmer.
Red (1st Image is in Natural Light, the 2nd in Unnatural):
The only difference between natural and unnatural in this couple of images is a shift in tone.
Green (1st Image is in Natural Light, the 2nd in Unnatural):
The only difference between natural and unnatural in this couple of images is a shift in tone.
2. Natural Vs. Unnatural Light - White & Yellow Light
In the previous study, the lamp I was using created yellow light, which is normally used in unnatural lighting.
Recently we have had our bathroom refurbished, with a white light fitted:
I decided to compare the images from natural in the previous study, with images taken in the bathroom with this white light, to see how much difference there is. The reason I chose this, was to see if the colours would look similar, as both sources are white light.
Yellow (1st Image is in Natural Light, the 2nd in Unnatural Yellow Light, the 3rd Unnatural White Light):
The yellow appears much more vivid in unnatural white light than the other two, and also much lighter in tone.
Blue (1st Image is in Natural Light, the 2nd in Unnatural Yellow Light, the 3rd Unnatural White Light):
Once again, the object is
brightest in the unnatural white light. The largest difference in tone is
between unnatural white light and unnatural yellow light.
Violet (1st Image is in Natural Light, the 2nd in Unnatural
Yellow Light, the 3rd Unnatural White Light):
The largest difference in
tone is between unnatural white light and unnatural yellow light. The unnatural
white light also gives the object a highly saturated colour.
Green (1st Image is in Natural Light, the 2nd in Unnatural
Yellow Light, the 3rd Unnatural White Light):
The green appears much more
vivid in unnatural white light than the other two, and also much lighter in
tone.
Red (1st Image is in Natural Light, the 2nd in Unnatural
Yellow Light, the 3rd Unnatural White Light):
The largest difference in tone is between unnatural white light and unnatural yellow light. The unnatural white light also gives the object a highly saturated colour.
3. Contrast of Extension (1)
Formed by assigning proportional field sizes in relation to the visual "weight" of a colour. This is also known as the contrast of proportion.
I chose to use two complimentaries, in order to have colours from opposite ends of the spectrum. In theory, the image should look even with 50/50, but both objects have different hues. I experimented with different amounts of each colour to find the most "evenly weighted" image.
In my opinion, the first or second image are the most evenly weighted in terms of colour, as the orange is much more saturated than the background complimentary.
4. Contrast of Extension (2)
Formed by assigning proportional field sizes in relation to the visual "weight" of a colour. This is also known as the contrast of proportion.
I wanted to see if the ration that worked on the first experiment would be similar with a different sent of complimentary colours:
I think the second or third image this time creates the most even contrast. However, it can be hard to judge through the images, as the more of the red/ pink object that is in the image, the less saturated the background becomes.
5. Contrast of Tone - Backgrounds
Normally we use a white background to see how something can look, as generally designs are produced on lighter paper, as oppose to black. Here I wanted to look at how different background colours can effect the colour of the object in the foreground:
I expected that the objects would appear darker against white, and lighter against the darker background, however it seems the opposite. On the left, the objects appear lighter in tone, whereas they shift to a darker tone when on a black background.
6. Contrast of Tone - The Influence Of Hue On Tone
When looking at different hues on the colour wheel, it is not made obvious a change in tone unless the colour wheel is put into greyscale:
I chose to look at how this effects the objects I am studying:
Violet has the darkest tone by far. Also, the blue on the label appears almost just as dark, this may be due to it being highly saturated.
I learnt here that saturation doe not effect tone. The object on the left is just as highly saturated, but there is still a large contrast in tone with the equally as saturated label of the object on the right.
Similarly to red and green, these complimentary objects have little difference in tonal value.
Unlike the other 4 complimentary colours, there is a huge contrast in tone. Yellow seems to be the lightest hue in the colour wheel, and violet the darkest.
7. Contrast of Saturation - Gloss Vs. Matt
The depth of intensity of a colour. The lower the saturation, the less intense the colours seem, looking pale. A fully saturated image will appear monochromatic. A highly saturated image can appear fake and unnatural.
I chose to look at how matt and gloss can affect saturation. I focussed on using the same lids, as they have a smooth texture to them, whilst using an item of clothing in contrast, due to cotton having a matt colour to it.
I found that the material gave the plastic objects a much higher saturation.
8. Contrast of Temperature
Warm colours appear to "advance", and cool colours appear to "recede". This creates a push and pool effect between the colours. When a cool colour overlaps a war colour, it seems to cool it. White, black and grey are seen as "neutral".
Here it appears that the red is further forward that the yellow, as the yellow is much cool, thus recedes.
Due to green being cooler than yellow, it precedes, and the yellow is brought further forward, in contrast to the last image.
These are both relatively cool colours, meaning little contrast in temperature is shown.
The complimentary orange is much warmer than the blue, therefore bringing it further forward.
Interestingly, in another complimentary colour situation, the yellow recedes the purple immensely. It is only made obvious due to a contrast in tone with the background.
Formed by assigning proportional field sizes in relation to the visual "weight" of a colour. This is also known as the contrast of proportion.
I chose to use two complimentaries, in order to have colours from opposite ends of the spectrum. In theory, the image should look even with 50/50, but both objects have different hues. I experimented with different amounts of each colour to find the most "evenly weighted" image.
In my opinion, the first or second image are the most evenly weighted in terms of colour, as the orange is much more saturated than the background complimentary.
4. Contrast of Extension (2)
Formed by assigning proportional field sizes in relation to the visual "weight" of a colour. This is also known as the contrast of proportion.
I wanted to see if the ration that worked on the first experiment would be similar with a different sent of complimentary colours:
I think the second or third image this time creates the most even contrast. However, it can be hard to judge through the images, as the more of the red/ pink object that is in the image, the less saturated the background becomes.
5. Contrast of Tone - Backgrounds
Normally we use a white background to see how something can look, as generally designs are produced on lighter paper, as oppose to black. Here I wanted to look at how different background colours can effect the colour of the object in the foreground:
I expected that the objects would appear darker against white, and lighter against the darker background, however it seems the opposite. On the left, the objects appear lighter in tone, whereas they shift to a darker tone when on a black background.
6. Contrast of Tone - The Influence Of Hue On Tone
When looking at different hues on the colour wheel, it is not made obvious a change in tone unless the colour wheel is put into greyscale:
I chose to look at how this effects the objects I am studying:
There isn't much contrast in tone here, as the colours are analogous.
Interestingly, these complimentary colours have very little difference in tone.
It seems a re-occurring theme that yellow has the lightest tone. Green is darker, as it is a shift towards Blue/ Magenta, the two darkest colours.
I learnt here that saturation doe not effect tone. The object on the left is just as highly saturated, but there is still a large contrast in tone with the equally as saturated label of the object on the right.
Unlike the other 4 complimentary colours, there is a huge contrast in tone. Yellow seems to be the lightest hue in the colour wheel, and violet the darkest.
7. Contrast of Saturation - Gloss Vs. Matt
The depth of intensity of a colour. The lower the saturation, the less intense the colours seem, looking pale. A fully saturated image will appear monochromatic. A highly saturated image can appear fake and unnatural.
I chose to look at how matt and gloss can affect saturation. I focussed on using the same lids, as they have a smooth texture to them, whilst using an item of clothing in contrast, due to cotton having a matt colour to it.
I found that the material gave the plastic objects a much higher saturation.
8. Contrast of Temperature
Warm colours appear to "advance", and cool colours appear to "recede". This creates a push and pool effect between the colours. When a cool colour overlaps a war colour, it seems to cool it. White, black and grey are seen as "neutral".
Here it appears that the red is further forward that the yellow, as the yellow is much cool, thus recedes.
Due to green being cooler than yellow, it precedes, and the yellow is brought further forward, in contrast to the last image.
Here the red makes the green much cooler than in the last image, as red is hotter than yellow, increasing the contrast in temperature.
These are both relatively cool colours, meaning little contrast in temperature is shown.
The complimentary orange is much warmer than the blue, therefore bringing it further forward.
Interestingly, in another complimentary colour situation, the yellow recedes the purple immensely. It is only made obvious due to a contrast in tone with the background.
9. Simultaneous Contrast
This happens when boundaries between different colours "vibrate".
This was hard to record with a camera, as it is normally something which can only be seen with your eyes through blurred colour.
I took photos of the objects and their backgrounds, but also used a colour dropper tool to find the exact colours of the objects, and place them on a grey background, in order to emphasise the effect.
Due to the object having two obvious colours on it, I wanted to explore both. The light blue side gives a darker complimentary than the darker side around their edges.
10. Simultaneous Contrast (2)
I wanted to explore further into simultaneous contrast, looking at how the effect works inversely, with a neutral object and a highly saturated background.
The most effective of the studies. For some reason, the complimentary of yellow (magenta) is made extremely obvious, despite the background being so neutral.
This happens when boundaries between different colours "vibrate".
This was hard to record with a camera, as it is normally something which can only be seen with your eyes through blurred colour.
I took photos of the objects and their backgrounds, but also used a colour dropper tool to find the exact colours of the objects, and place them on a grey background, in order to emphasise the effect.
Green objects give a red outline around their shape, when placed on a neutral background.
Red objects give a green outline around their shape, when placed on a neutral background.
Yellow objects give a purple outline around their shape, when placed on a neutral background.
Violet objects give a yellow outline around their shape, when placed on a neutral background.
Due to the object having two obvious colours on it, I wanted to explore both. The light blue side gives a darker complimentary than the darker side around their edges.
10. Simultaneous Contrast (2)
I wanted to explore further into simultaneous contrast, looking at how the effect works inversely, with a neutral object and a highly saturated background.
You can clearly see green around the outlines of the grey shape, on the inside. I find that it is more obvious on the horizontal lines than the vertical lines.
You can clearly see red around the outlines of the grey shape, on the inside, the complete opposite to the previous image.
