amaze

More ink projects!

Hello! So, this will be my first post, I really hope it gets posted with no fails. This is a video of ink going through bubbles..I find it really fascinating and interesting. I tried to find more about how it works, but then the words "compressed ink" & "food colouring" kept coming up, I tried googling that, but then I didn't get anything useful. So I am guess the artist put a bowel of water & bubbles and dripped in the ink? .. It kind of reminded me of the ink video that we saw in the class earlier with the bird and the skull. It is really hard to control these kind of ink projects and it takes a long time and a lot of practice to actually successfully apply ink in water and make a nice piece instead of just a mess, that's why I love those kind of pieces. They are complicated to make and they sometimes end up different from what we expected. This piece was done by: Kim Pimmel.

For some reason the video wont post ..

here is the link tho! Oh, and you will probably assume this is a last mine post kind of thing, but I usually use the computer at this time.

anyways, here is the link: http://vimeo.com/28304264 , Hope it works! enjoy~

Optical Mixing

Earlier in the week in my colour in context class I gave a presentation on colour interaction, and though the Colour textbook states some amazing information on how our eyes perceive colour (p55-65) I thought I'd zone in on one very interesting aspect of colour interaction known as "Optical Mixing". The painting technique known as Pointillism, which was developped by the French artist Georges Seurat, is a perfect example of the phenomenon. Optical mixing occurs when two different colours are placed beside each other, and on a grand scale such as a huge pointillism piece, the effect is all the more greater. What occurs is that when our eyes sees two colours applied in separate dots all around each other, though the colours aren't mixed physically, our eye mixes them up for us. So, for example if we see a pointillism picture of a tree with bark that is painted with red and green dots, then our eye will 'mix' the red and green and we will see brown basically. The interesting part about all this is that the effect of optical mixing produces colours that are more vibrant - so the brown that we see from our eyes optically mixing the red and green dots will appear more vibrant and interesting than if the brown was physically created on a pallette by mixing red and green paint. It's fun to look at pointillism pieces and see this in action so above is George Seurat's "Bridge at Courbevoie" 1886-7. His pieces often took a couple of years to make, and the point of the art form is to let none of the dots bleed into the image, but for them all to be seprarate and your eyes do the rest :)

-Lauren

Colour as a tool of provocation.

“Look Me in the Eyes and Tell Me Honestly:
Who is your friend? Who is your enemy?
You have no friends among capitalists.
You have no enemies among the workers.
Only in a union of the workers of all nations will you be victorious over capitalism and liberated from exploitation.
Down with national antagonisms!
Workers of the world unite!”



In many classes at this school, I have found myself, as i'm sure many if not every other student in first year have also found themselves, questioning the nature of the human reaction to colour. As designers, colour and the corresponding collective reaction to it is paramount in our creation, seeing as our creations are more purpose bound than self expression pieces.

I find a great example of this form of colour utilization is to be found in propaganda, namely that of the Soviet Union. Marxism at it's core rejects vanity and religion, among other things, and therefore in states like China and Soviet-era Russia, the government takes it upon themselves to capitalize on the absence of those elements from people's lives by readily and visibly placing figures and symbols of the state and government in the people's mindset. The most popular method that Soviet propaganda departments would use to incite the feeling of the state's hand, would be to employ overpowering amounts of red, in high contrast and in the focal point of their images. Red is a colour with many emotional interpretations, however during the cold war red was the undeniable symbol of Soviet and communist ideals, and thus propaganda would employ it to incite the feeling of the Soviet Union's power, making the viewer uneasy, or even in fear of the subject matter, Russian or no.

A masterful use of colour can be found in the top poster, a poster literally and figuratively inciting the viewer to look into the eyes of Lenin. The employment of yellow in the composition essentially leaves the viewer uneasy and unwilling to do as the words command, words that demand that you reflect on any wrongdoings to the state and reminding you you should feel very bad about betraying your friends if you did (as if ten years in a hard labour camp wouldn't do that well enough). You look into the eyes of this yellow giant, and you are very aware of his power, you know he's looking for something and you can tell that there are bad things coming if he does indeed find it, and the colour and tone have illustrated that horrifyingly well.

※ Color and Music and Soul ※

I am an emotional individual, not a logical thinker. Often I "think" in emotions and when I do not know what that emotion is I give it a color (I feel more than I think, give these "thoughts" colors). So to me, (and I assume to everyone else) colors are almost synonymous with emotions. Music videos (good ones) use this to their advantage as they communicate their message through color. They set a mood or atmosphere and evoke a certain emotion through association (e.g a grey color scheme may evoke empty or cold feeling, like a cloudy day, depending on how the director uses it). I would like to share this video with you as it an excellent example of how color can engage. Click Here:  Sigur Rós - Viðrar vel til loftárása

Sigur Ros is amazing band as not only do they create haunting and moving music, they also help and sometimes direct their own music videos so that the song and the video "harmonize". I do not want to analyze or talk about my own interpretation of the video too much, as I do not want to taint your subjective impression. However, I will say that the video bought me emotionally with its cloudy and gloomy-optimistic colors and then turned my insides out towards the end using unsettling visuals that are emotionally challenging. It bought my trust and then squeezed my arm a bit too hard, and at that moment I was confused as to how to feel. It challenges expectations and manipulates your skin when you are inside it's atmosphere, taking you on an emotional roller coaster. 

Another thing that I would like to share is this video by Bjork. A woman that I find both beautiful and infinitely interesting. Her weirdness and the amount that she invests "herself" into her work make her a rewarding artist to follow as when you "get" Bjork, you get a great feeling of accomplishment. However, that is not why I am posting this video. The reason I post it is because it is one of her most colorful videos, and yet there is no color. Anything visual that is used to represent this song while it plays, so long as it is on a gray scale, would be tainted with color when this song plays in the background. Listen to it and allow your mind to enjoy this colorful feast as your eyes see black and white while the eyes inside your head register and project a range of color combinations unique to you. I can't guarantee that specific color images will approach you, but it did it happen to me. Click Here: Bjork - Big Time Sensuality

On another note: sorry these links are not presented on this blog as big, flashy YouTube thumbnails. I feel the YouTube uploads of these are bad quality and distract from the beauty of these videos and songs. I would also like to say thank you to anyone who actually invests their time to read all this and see both videos, I realize that it is a lot of stuff to look through. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I did!

Jonsi (left) the lead singer of Sigur Ros and Bjork (right) are among my favorite artists, give'em a listen. ;)

Color comes in a wide assortment of ranges and shapes and they play an important role in our daily lives. The colors we see help don’t just help us to differentiate objects and signals but they also help us identify and simplify the way we perceive our world. However not all colors appear to be what they are in plain sight. When particular shapes and variations of color are put together we sometimes get optical illusions. The video I posted is a good exercise on color and apart from having great music, it does a good job of informing us of certain image and color anomalies.   

Dawa Bokhang

Green and Red - Complementary?

http://www.null-hypothesis.co.uk/science/strange-but-true/profs-probings/colour_spectrum_magenta_complimentary_bizarre Now, as I'm sure most of you know red and green are supposed to be complementary colours, yet there is a problem. The light spectrum is out of balance, and there is no complementary colour for green, I believe. So our minds made up the colour magenta - or pink, as shown above - to complement it - and the complementary colour to red is actually turquoise! Read the article fully for a better comprehension and statement of accurate facts. I found this absolutely amazing, if it is true... If you stare at this dot of magenta for around 30 secs, then look at a blank white wall, you should see its complementary colour.

Another Way Of Self-Espression

Color is a very beautiful and effective way of self-expression. While I am not brave enough to experiment with my eye makeup like that, I admire and get inspired by people who get creative with it.

The eye makeup artist's job is just as challenging as that of a painter. Not only do they have to color co-ordinate the eyeshadows with each other, they also have to make it match the person they are doing the make up for. It might be hard work but look at the results! Such vibrant colors that fit together and create a dramatic effect.

Image is from <3SwEeTie<3's profile on Fliker.

Your Perception Has Now Been Changed

The fact that we can all see colour is amazing enough. But to understand how we categorize certain hues with emotion is a much more interesting topic. Colour just has a "tendency" to stir up certain feelings when used effectively, and subconsciously enhances the impact that certain subject matter can have upon us. It can COMPLETELY change our perception of something with ease; whether a dramatic piece like "The Old Guitarist" by Picasso incorporating deep blues that express nothing more than sadness and despair, or a powerful uplifting piece entitled "Transcending Radiance" by Niki Gulley that communicates the warmth and energy resonating from the pond water.

Manipulation of Colours

This time I'm going to talk about an artist that goes by the name panamaman, a korean freelance artist/illustrator/character designer. An example of more of his well known works is for a Korean MMOTPS called S4 League and a rhythm game called DJMax. The reason why I wanted to talk about this artist for this colour post is because of his artworks. The way he uses colours have always fascinated me which I find one of the reason why his art style is unique. He manipulates the colours and use it for shape, texture, layout, and overall design. It seems he uses colours to create a very loose form for his art, such as clothing, objects, background, etc. Colours can be use in more than one way. An example is using to make it appear like there's a reflection on the floor or river by using a simple gist of colour of what it reflects on. I really like his loose form, edgey, and modern style. Especially for his character designs, as I want to get into character design myself.

You can see more of his artworks on his Pixiv account and his own blog.

Pixiv: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=66358 (Japanese)

Blog: http://panamaman.byus.net/wp/ (Korean)

glitter

Just a picture I found on tumblr.
I thought that I should share since it's about colour after all
To think that the tiny sprinkles of glitter would make those colours
when reflected by light
I think its awesome.

original source:
SweetMelonx3

Night Sky

Colours you can see in the sky can be so breathtaking sometimes. Especially at night with all the stars and northern lights and stuff.    

All of the Lights by ~Sabre131 on deviantART

Colour never ceases to amaze me; the way it can set a mood, interact and contrast. Colour can make you feel happy, sad, angry and it has the power to change your emotions in an instant. Also it is very interesting how two colours will complement each other and bring out the best in them; like red and green, but this could also be viewed as contrasting, like the colours purple and yellow.

I think sometimes people forget that colour doesn't necessarily have to be bright and vibrant, i personally love tones and shades of colour, it gives it a calming and soothing effect. For an example of this i chose a photo i took in a plane while waiting to take off. The colours in this photo have the ability to give you a warming feeling because of the yellows and oranges in it, meanwhile it is cold and snowy outside.

-Alex G

floral colours

As a daughter of a florist, I should know how to appreciate flowers and their colours.

These pictures are taken this afternoon around the house (with my trusty digi-cam!)

I grew up in a tropical country. And with numerous green plants and trees surrounding me, it makes me smile to see flowers of various colours.

When my family moved to Canada, my mom still kept her hobby of taking care of plants. Even in winter, there are plants and flowers in the house.
Sometimes when I feel uninspired, looking at flowers puts me at ease.

Flowers in shops nowadays can be dyed to satisfy the costumers' preferences. But nothing is like the natural colours. It's probably due to the way flowers look lively.

Like that one ----->
That one was from the flower shop my mom works in.
I'm not a hater of this dyeing technique. It's quite interesting actually.

Apparently, a blue rose means the impossible.


And because there's more flowers in around the house:

Night Life

When we were told to make a blog post about color, I was unsure what to share simply because we are surrounded by color all the time; so much that I find that we don't realize/appreciate it as much as we probably should. When it came down to it I wanted to share something close to my heart⎯photography. Photography is something I enjoy a lot and when I was putting my portfolio together I began to experiment more with my camera. I discovered motion photography and instantly found myself drawn to it.

What I enjoy most about motion photography is how you can manipulate your surroundings by playing with light exposure. In terms of motion photography, I enjoy manipulating lights with my camera because I discovered how...colorful the photos turned out in the end, and how you can manipulate them in a variety of ways. I found that colors are more vivid and more...lively and began to appreciate them so much more.

Photo Credits: My own photo, YuriPanda @ DeviantArt, samelthecamel @ DeviantArt

origami

Origami has been one of my hobbies since childhood, but what makes it so beautiful and attractive? I think it is the multicoloured origami paper that makes it so interesting. Colour has made these papers into wonderful creations that resemble the real objects in life. With its display of colours, my favourite kind of origami, the 'kusudama' (origami flower ball) really makes the perfect decoration in a boring place. 

Furthermore, i have my own personal blog dedicated to origami, all of which i have personally made and turned into a business (hence my username on this blog). I love making origami of all colors and sorts, although i think that bright colors work the best. If you visit my blog http://love-at-9.blogspot.com/  you will be able to see that i have chosen a bright colour scheme  consisting of mostly warm colours. The image below is a rainbow of colours through origami stars i have made.  (ORIGAMI ORDERS ARE ALWAYS HAPPILY ACCEPTED =] )

~wilfred

Colour Craze

My first post was heavily colour based so I'm going to tone it down a little this time. Colour plays a big role in our lives and we're really lucky to have it. It makes everything more interesting. Everyone has colours they like and dislike, but think back to when you were a child. Once upon a time you had one ultimate favourite colour, right? Well check this out...

This is Colour Blind, Blinded by Colour: 'The Pink and Blue Project' of JeongMee Yoon. Children that are obsessed with their favourite colour. Photographer JeongMee Yoon captured her daughter's (pink project), son's (blue project), as well as Lola (yellow things) and Steve's (red things). This really takes us back to how far we consume and collect things that is the colour of our liking. I mean, did you do that when you were younger? I collect things now with various colours, not limited to one, but then again I like all the colours of the rainbow.

Dancing Lights!?

First of all...isn't Christmas the best time of the year? I certainly think so! I chose these two videos for my "Colour" week for obvious reasons :) Blinding us with outstanding colour; these families who take the time and effort the get into the Christmas spirit are just talented! Colour is one of those key elements that make the holiday season so marvellous!

Think about it, if there were no colour during the Christmas holiday... would you still feel the spirit??

P.S... "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas" is one of my favourite Christmas songs! So I had to include it as well :)

This is cool, enjoy!

Tomaten

I am and will probably always be completely baffled by colour and its value diversity.  We tend to associate certain objects and emotions with distinctive colours:

- blue is cool, water, sky

- purple is melo, royal, bruises

- yellow is bright, sun, school bus

Without colour, recognition would be vastly different and how we approach things may be slower without that immediate colour association.  

I found this image interesting because of the obvious alteration to the tomato colour.  Of course there are a variety of tomato colours, but most common is red. The artist has painted over one of the key aspects of recognition - this not only makes the viewer curious but also forces the exploration of the objects form.  

This almost reminds me of how our bodies adjust depending on how well certain senses work; exp. Someone who is blind can finger-read brail because one of their senses incapable of working, allowing others to be heightened.  The colour change in this image allows us to better observe the other characteristics of the tomato.  

- Joelle

colour

these are pictures of celebrations that are a part of the hindu festival of colours, Holi. the festival is a celebration marking the start of spring. on the main day of this festival, people celebrate by throwing coloured powder at each other. the photos from this event in particular are beautiful. huge groups of people are covered with bright, saturated colours. being a part of this celebration would be amazing, seeing this in person would be an incredible experience.

For all of you who know Pokemon, I present to you - Macargo.

This macro shot of the snail is a great example of texture as well as its shell sort of emulates a volcano. I thought it was pretty cool...especially since it's standing up it just seems so...king-like o.o

Tiger on Algae

I chose this image for my colour post because of how blindingly green the algae is compared to the black water and the tiger. The contrast in this image between the light green and the black is instantly noticeable. It looks as if the tiger is leaving a trail of ink in its path on top of this green backdrop. In most pictures of tigers, the orange of the tiger is what normally stands out the most; any other colour takes the backseat. In this image however the tiger takes the backseat and your eyes drawn to the image because of the fluorescent green algae. this image has a sense on solitude in that there are no other ripples in the water and in the way that the photograph was cropped. I feel that the contrast of colours would have been greater if the picture was cropped to show more algae covered water.

Texture on Blue Jay

This picture of a blue jay is a great example of texture on animals. You can see the grain of each feather and the smoothness of the feathers during flight. when looking at the head you can see the softness on the feathers just be looking at the direction that they flow in. The different shades of blue also add a sense of texture when looking at the tail. The gradient that forms adds a visual smoothness of the feathers. Birds that fly generally need to have an overall smoothness in order to be aerodynamic and this picture shows just how well a birds feathers are perfect for flight.

Francoise Nielly

This piece by Francoise Nielly has a great use of colour as well as style. By using colours which are surreal, it makes the image seem much more interesting. With the vibrant, high contrast paints it really makes the painting come out at you. By using the same colour for the hair and background, it's as if the face pops out or his head is under a waterfall. By using such brilliant neon colours it really makes this piece quite interesting.Red is known to be the most eye catching colour. By using red, pinks, neon green and other bright colours it really makes you stare at the photo and look at the colours rather than the face. The style of the painting uses large groups of colour to render the face which makes colour more dominant than the figure itself.

Kimono Texture

Texture

Texture may be described to as how something feels and sensation of touch. It is a very interesting matter and a important element in the world of art and design. To symbolize this, I have chosen the patterns of kimono. These color and pattern are very creative and they display a different texture and feel into each viewer’s mind. Some patterns may create rough textures while other create soft. It also depends on what the style of material is use and how the printing is done.  For example, a cotton kimono will give off a rough texture while silk gives a more soft and comfortable feel just by looking at it. I think that it is very interesting that one type of traditional Japanese clothing can bring out so much different textures of work.  

~Wilfred

dreams

even now the power of the human mind combined with the technology we have amazes me. this is a perfect example of how beauty can be so easily melded between the two. i came across this image while just browsing the internet and was immediately drawn to it. i am not sure if it is the type of camera the photo was taken with or the way it was edited but the texture is just amazing. you cannot tell if they are clouds or bedsheets and i love that. perhaps this would even be considered Gestalt! anyways i hope you guys like it as much as i do!

ouch, scraped wood

Have you ever brushed against a wall, only to find cuts on your arm? Or even closely touched the textures of a lettuce? It's interesting that through our finger touches, we are able to experience so much texture. Texture is found everyone. As a matter of fact, any thing placed on this world has some kind of texture to it. The above close-up photograph caught my attention. It shows how up-close the wood fibres can stick out and cause a sensation, a different type of texture. It made me realize that everything does have texture to it. Something such as marbled floor has a smooth texture, in comparison to sandpaper which has a rough feeling. Every touch enables a feeling of texture. Through this photography, I was able to realize this. Must be painful touching that.

texture

one of my earliest experiences with being aware of texture was in elementary school many years ago when we were asked to find objects with an interesting texture to recreate with a crayon rubbing. the other night, I went through some old school things to find an example of this activity. here is what I found.

-Alex B.

So many choices!

Hello, guys!

Recently I discovered the difference between rough, hot pressed and cold pressed paper (I know some of you have known that for years) and I find it a great example of how much a little variation in texture could affect the artwork. For example, watercolor is better on a cold pressed paper, while hot pressed paper is good for a pencil drawing.

What about choosing the right paper for a poster? Do I want matte or do I want glossy?
With so many choices of materials that could completely alter the appearance of the artwork it becomes hard to decide.

See you all in class,
Polina Kabakova.

Info. about the paper and the image are from here.

Texture in Michael Hussar Painting

When I read the definition of texture, "a visual "feel" in a two dimensional work", I immediately remembered this image by Michael Hussar. I don't think I know an artist that uses texture better than Michael. In THIS painting you can actually feel the thorns on the man's head and if you run your eyes along the man's skin you will feel the wet and smooth flesh, interrupted only by the cut on the man's nose- where you will feel the pad of your finger sink into that groove. More example of this artist's work can be found on his website at www.michaelhussar.biz/. 

Texture in Landmarks - Kaieteur Falls

For those of you who are not aware of the Kaieteur Falls, it is known as the "longest waterfall" in the world. Proudly, The Kaieteur Falls is located in my home country, Guyana (South America). I had the privilege of visiting the falls the last time I was there and the second thing I noticed (after it's beauty) was how many different patterns and textures there are within this area. In the close-up image of the falls you can see how the enormous pressure of the water create a rigid-like texture. In the other two pictures you can also so the vast jungle and brittle rock that also contain tremendous textures. All together develops an image like no other, it just comes to show that if seen for what it is... nature is the most beautiful thing in this world!