Final Reflection

After completing this class I feel that I have learned so much more than what I would expect of color. To start off, the use of hue was vital in all of our projects. Specifically referring to projects that involved color, such as the color wheel project, hue was vital because using the correct hue means achieving what the project entailed: showing the differences of color. Hue was used in all of our projects except for the black/white 10-line composition and the very first project we did, the achromatic scale.

Saturation was most used in projects that involved showing a different view by contrasting with the original hue colors. What I mean by that is, for example, the color wheel project. In order to show the original hues color and try to make it “greyer” by enclosing the circle, we have to know the saturation levels of each hue and use it in correspondence to the project. Saturation was vital not only for the colored projects, but as well as the achromatic projects. Finding the different/specific shades of black and white required knowledge of knowing saturation.

How light or dark of a color is the definition of value. The way we used it in class the most was by the use of the color aid packet. For example, the final project required a lot of knowing the definition of value. In order to make a contrasting pattern in relation to the historic patter, we have to know that the colors are typically lighter, but they also need to “catch” the eye. Meanwhile, making the pattern dull, we know that the dark values need to be in play to make the feeling more soothing and calming.

One project that I learned the most from was the 10-line composition. I found it interesting to make a chromatic pattern and incorporate colors to it. It was challenging for me because all of my color swatches were darker, making it harder to match with the whiter pieces. Looking at the project now, I can see that I didn’t accomplish this. But realizing that I didn’t accomplish this shows that I know a little more about the corresponding between black and white and color. Though it wasn’t my favorite project, it was definitely a learning experience.

My favorite project that we did this quarter was the distance/emphasis project. The reason being that, to me, it was more of an art project than it was a color project. For my pattern, I used birds as my subject, and cutting the pieces out in difference sizes was time consuming and didn’t look good at first. However, as I about to finish my project, I remember looking at it and being amazed at the progress I made. The realization I made from this reminds me of something like an art project: if you look at it up close, you can’t tell what it is. Take a few steps back and you can see the goal. That’s why I liked this project the most. If I had done emphasis, I imagine I would have that same concept in my mind as I would make it.

Color Wheel Photos

Commercially, McDonald’s is always known for it’s yellow M ark. Historically, the yellow brick road is known from the Wizard of Oz. It’s no other color than yellow. And locally, though Athens isn’t big, there are still taxis in town that drive around.

Historically, Andy Wharhol is well known for his unique paintings. This painting in particular is of Maryln Monroe, and it is incorporated with a lot of yellow-orange. Locally, I was in Chubb Hall the other day and saw that the University College sign right outside the office door was yellow-orange.

Commercially, Sunny D is not only orange, but it’s label is mostly orange as well. Big Lots is a store on State St., it’s most commonly known for it’s orange lettering.

Netflix is most commonly known for it’s red envelopes. Red is associated with the company logo and my roommate is a subscriber to Netflix. Red has been associated with the behavior of seduction, so for historical I put a picture of red heels. And locally, my apartment has red place mats that I used for this project.

The sunset is always known for it’s many various colors that it create. This picture was taken by one of my friends, Amanda, in Florida. It has a blend of red and violet.

Historically, violet is most commonly known for royalty. Kings and queens of medieval times would wear purple as a sign of hierarchy. I was walking around Krogers the other day and noticed that not only does Welch’s make grape juice, but their logo has violet/grapes all over. Locally, I was getting my bike from the bike rack at Baker and saw the bike next me was violet!

Though Nintendo Gamecube is a little older of technology, the logo uses a blue-violet color. This is the best representation of the color.

The movie Avatar was recently released at the movie theater, and the characters are blue, so the poster best represents blue as a commercial piece. Though Athens doesn’t have one, when I went home this weekend I went to Best Buy for a picture of their famous yellow and blue logo on their buildings.

Though I’ve never actually seen a leprechaun, come St. Patty’s Day everyone dresses in green as a tradition of the holiday. Commercially, I have been a member of 4-H clubs for many years and their logo is famous for it’s 4-leaf green clover. Locally, though the picture isn’t the greatest, when driving there are road signs such as this one that are green.

It might a little hard to tell (due to the surrounding green messing with the eye’s vision) but the logo for the recent Rose Bowl candidates, the Oregon ducks, the lettering is yellow-green. Commercially, I couldn’t find much that had a good representation of yellow-green, but I did find a photo from fashion week in NYC and DKNY had a few dresses that were yellow-green.

Photo Exploration

I went home this past weekend for Easter weekend and thought my house would be the perfect spot for finding lots of color. With spring beginning, and it being Easter weekend, my mom set out a small dish of candy and as soon as I saw it I thought it was perfect! There’s so much color to the photo, and when I turned it to black and white, it’s funny that some of the labels of the candy disappeared. I tried my best to count the number of hues in the black and white and I got roughly 20. It’s hard to count because of all the blending and duplicates of black.

My aunt and uncle from Texas came up for Easter and brought a present with them. This is a huge and decorative mardi gra wreath that was sitting on our door. I like this photos because mardi gra is all about crazy colors and is about colorful beads and elaborate masks. When I transitioned the photo to black and white I counted roughly 57. This is hard as well to count the number of black hues because it’s so diversified in color and the shading has an effect on the counting as well.

This next one is sitting in our living my room. My mom loves to sew and quilt as a hobby. She has used our front room as a storage for all her fabrics and sitting in our love-seat is this pile of cloth. I thought this was perfect for this project because it had so many shades of color and it displays so many hues of color. When converting it to black and white I counted roughly 29. Counting the number of hues is a little easier compared to the other two because the fabrics were all piled and the number of shades is slightly easier to notice. However, 29 is a rough estimate, not 100% clear.

Springing into Color

For my first post, my response to the question of what I expect out of HCIA 181, is I plan on expecting a lot. Seeing the syllabus and hearing of all the supplies needed, I’m expecting a lot of time in the classroom as well as many projects that are made through the quarter. I’m planning on looking into the visual marketing field of retail, so taking classes such as color theory is very vital to my career.

Andy Warhol is one of the few artists that I’m familiar with. His work is so distinct and made a sensation in the 50’s/60’s era. I love that he has incorporated the color wheel that has been made by Goethe and can pick colors out that are eye-catching and pop out to people. This specific image shows the use of colors from the color wheel and ties it into a portrait. It’s very unique and tests the works of color blending.