Photo Paletting: Actually, It is Rocket Science

The original photograph

with my signature color Blue Green.

So I started out with my photograph. I selected an image that was composed of my signature hue but also included a contrasting (complementary) color.

I followed all of the suggestions to simplify photos and group colors, so that the color palette based on the photograph would be more evident.

The Median output seemed to make the colors coagulate the best. I thought at first that a Mosaic treatment or even a Crystallize treatment would separate the colors better, which they did, but the separation created so many tints, tones and shades in between, and I don't want to go crazy manually noting down the color codes of each square or fragment.

From the color separation done in Photoshop, I went to the more hands-on task of calculating the proportions of the most distinct colors in the image in Illustrator.

Here's what I did:

1) I set guides on the edges of the image, breaking it afterwards in halves, and plotting the guidelines there accordingly.

2) Then, I assigned a spectrum of greys and recreated the same plane using a square as the smallest unit of measure.

3) Since I have two colors occupying 50% of the picture, and nearly 25% of the picture, I simply divided 25 into 8 to determine what percentage a square occupies. One square is 3.125%.

4) I enumerated the rest of the proportions based on the types of shapes formed: a square, a half-square (triangle), two squares, three squares.

5) Then, I represented the %'s in a strip and in circles, scaling them according to the numbers I obtained.

Who knew that the way to arrive at this artistic representation is by using the scientific method? Thank God I listened to my high school teacher.

When Blue Green Meets Red Orange

Step 1:

Create a 4-step tinting gradation from Blue Green at 100% hue, at the L-most column.

Step 2:

Create another 4-step tinting gradation from its complementary, Red Orange, at 100% hue, at the R-most column.

Step 3:

Create a mixture of Blue Green and Red Orange that is "cooler". Place this on the column next to the Blue Green.

Step 4:

Create another mixture of Blue Green and Red Orange that is "warmer". Place this on the column next to the Red Orange.

Observation:

This 4x4 matrix was quite a challenge for me. Of all the steps, I took the longest in steps 3 and 4. I was already comfortable developing the right hue to represent blue green, and tinting it in 3 other steps was truly not that difficult. But steps 3 and 4 were mixtures, and it was up to my eye to gauge its temperature, and its logical tint when white is mixed in increasing amounts.

Generalization:

Although it doesn't scan well, column 3 from the L (the mixture close to Red Orange), produced rather earthy, muddy shades of brown. I was so surprised to find out that the base colors of my comforter was blue and orange, two of the colors I least use and prefer! Thinking it was "mocha", I automatically partner shades of that brown with baby pink - for that dessert cake feel. No wonder when I put up (and took down) a cyan colored poster it felt appropriate!

Another thing I realized is that I often select colors that are combinations of complementary colors, after all. To me, they're all just "muted" or "neutral" which I often gravitate to rather than the bold and bright. But this has awaken me to the knowledge that I don't prefer cool or warm by themselves, but a balance of them together.

A Paint's Second Life

These are some of the byproducts of paint used for the first couple of color workshop homework we have had in class. The grey was from the greyscale project; the yellow and violet was for the complementary color project; and, the blue was for the blue-green project. I'm happy to report the ingenuity which sparked my swooshing of the brushes to achieve these monochromatic works. Homework paint's second life begets clouds, a dancing ballerina, and a moonlit path through the woods.

True Colors

You know, I don't think we realize just how much color helps us. They tell us things. They do.

You can tell if the food you're cooking is ready to eat when it changes color. Meat turns from pink to golden brown, and you know you're going to have a nice satisfying meal. Or when a fruit's ripe, you know it when it changes color. If those mangoes are still green, that means you're in for a sour awakening if you try to eat them too soon. If you get a bruise on your leg, it turns blue-violet. That color's telling you to make sure that area doesn't get banged up again, or else it's going to hurt.

If you're swimming out to sea, and the water changes from light blue to royal blue, that means that you might not be able to touch the ocean floor and keep your head above water at the same time. Or if you talk to someone and see that her eyes are red, that may mean either she's got colds or she had been crying.

So watch out for color. Because it watches out for you.

The Color of Paradise

I'm starting to own my color more and more now. Although it's difficult to find it applied in a city like this which is so urbane, I am going for the Blue-Green that represents paradise. If I can't find that in this city, does that mean New York City isn't paradise?

Where are you Blue-Green?

I can't find any blue-green in the city! Help me! If you see any, please tell me!

Blue-Green Sampling

Note: I experimented testing mixtures to create hues that are associated with my assigned color Blue Green. BG stands for Blue Green, which is an existing pigment I have from Guerra. Y stands for Azo Fgl, another pigment from Guerra, which really is just yellow. and BI stands for Binder, which I chose to be the Silica Flat. I didn't know until after class that I can (and really should have) use white (Golden Fluid Acrylic) to open up the darkness of the samples I made, and see what the colors really were trying to be.

In the end, for the tinting project, I selected the swatch on the Right column, Top square, with the code BG-3, Y-1, BI-1.