When you are mixing paint colors, or pigments,, there are three that can't be mixed from any other color. These are red, blue and yellow.(Computer colors are based on a different system of color, which involves the mixing of light, rather than pigment, but I will not be dealing with that now.)
The primary colors are the most intense - the brightest - colors. Colors that are made by mixing the primary colors or by mixing them with black and white are less intense.
An artwork done with the primary colors is different from one done with more toned down colors in a lot of ways. A more realistic, or true to life, painting would usually be done with a combination of intense and less intense color. But using the primary colors alone is a good way to start experimenting with design.
The application allows you to experiment by playing with different shapes and the primary colors. You can do the same thing offline by cutting up or tearing pieces of colored paper, or by painting with only the primary colors. You would then have more choice of shapes to use. I have deliberately chosen shapes that are not things that you can recognize, although they might be similar to them. This is so you feel free to arrange them however you want without feeling that you have to make your composition (the arrangement of things in your picture) look like anything in particular.
Assignment 1: Play with the Flash primary color collage application, adding and moving around shapes, until you come up with an arrangement that you like. The feeling that you should have when you stop is that the arrangement of shapes and colors feels exactly right, that you couldn't change anything to make it better. This assignment draws on your natural sense of composition. Later assignments will focus on various elements of composition.
Balance: When it comes to a balance scale you know what balance means. It is when the weight is even, half on one side and half on the other. In art, too, the weight should be balanced, but it is not so simple as to put something of the same size on both sides. For instance, a smaller object that is brightly colored may balance a larger duller object. When you did assignment 1 you probably achieved a balance without really thinking about it, just by working with the shapes and colors until the arrangement felt right. However, there are some different kinds of balance that ii is useful to know about and try out.
Symmetrical (bilateral, radial): Symmetrical balance is also known as formal balance. There are two kinds. With bilateral symmetry one side is a mirror image of the other. The human body shows bilateral symmetry. Radial symmetry is when elements (things) are arranged around the center, like spokes around the hub of a wheel. A starfish is an example of radial symmetry.
Approximate symmetry is when the composition is close to being symmetrical, but there is some minor difference. Maybe there are three similar objects on each side, but a fourth is a little bit different. This may give your composition a little more interest than it would have if it were strictly symmetrical.
Asymmetrical balance is when your composition feels balanced even though it doesn't use one of the formal kinds of balance mentioned above.
Assignment 2: Play with the Flash primary color collage application again, and come up with compositions that use all four kinds of balance: symmetrical bilateral, symmetrical radial, approximate symmetry and asymmetrical balance.When you do the asymmetrical balance, see if you can identify why the composition seems balanced even though the elements on both sides are not the same. Note - this version of the application contains some objects that are mirror images to enable you to do the symmetrical bilateral composition more easily.
Coming soon: | Composition 2: Rhythm and Repetition |
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