IMAGES AND COLOUR

Name and surname: /146

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Class: Date: 1°ESO Unit 6
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Colour
We all perceive light and colour differently. What you see as red is different than what I see as red, though we’ll both call it red. How colour
affects us and how we react to it is also different for each of us. Colour is relative.

Colour is light. Light is electromagnetic radiation and over a range of wavelengths it makes an impression on the human eye. This range of
wavelengths is the visual spectrum. When light hits an object some wavelengths are absorbed and others are reflected. We see the reflected
wavelengths of light as colour.

When all the wavelengths in the visual spectrum are absorbed we see black and when all are reflected we see white. When some are
absorbed and some are reflected we see different colours of the spectrum.
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The colour wheel
Colour theories create a logical structure for colour. For example, if we have an assortment of fruits and vegetables, we can organize them by
colour and place them on a circle that shows the colours in relation to each other.

The colour wheel is a colour circle, based on red, yellow and blue, traditional in the field of art. It can be drawn in many ways but all colours
must be in the same relative position.
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Primary, secondary and tertiary colours
There are also definitions (or categories) of colours based on the colour wheel. We begin with a 3-part colour wheel.

Primary Colours: Red, yellow and blue. In traditional colour theory (used in paint and pigments), primary colours are the 3 pigment colours that
cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colours. All other colours are derived from these 3.

Secondary Colours: Green, orange and purple. These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colours.

Tertiary Colours: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green and yellow-green. These are the colours formed by mixing a
primary and a secondary color.
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Complementary and analogous colours
Colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel are considered to be complementary colours (for example: red and green). The high
contrast of complementary colours creates a vibrant look especially when used at full saturation. This colour scheme must be managed well so
it is not jarring. Complementary colours are tricky to use in large doses, but work well when you want something to stand out. Complementary
colours are really bad for text.

Complementary Analogous
colours colours

Analogous colour schemes use colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel. They
usually match well and create serene and comfortable designs. Analogous colour schemes are often
found in nature and are harmonious and pleasing to the eye. Choose one colour to dominate, a
second to support. The third colour is used (along with black, white or gray) as an accent.

Intensity means how different a colour is from grey, or how similar it is. Another word for intensity is
saturation. When you see a colour that you would describe as dull or dirty, it has low intensity
because grey has been added to it. On the other hand, a clear, strong colour has high intensity, and
we would call it a saturated colour.

Neutral colors are colours with very little saturation. They are earth tones that are not included in the
colour wheel: white, beige, brown, grey, and black

Saturation changes
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CREATIVE COLOuR WHEEL Exercise: Design your own original colour
wheel, you have some examples to inspire you (20p)
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Colour systems
Colour systems refer to how we produce colours. When producing physical colours as in paint a subtractive system is used. When producing
colours with light, as on a computer, an additive system is used.

Exercise: Watch the video and answer (3p)

1. The seven colours in a Newton’s disk mix to form ____________________________________.
2. If you mix all colours from light, you get ____________________________________.

3. If you mix all colours from pigment, you get ____________________________________.

Exercise: Watch the video and make a Newton’s disk. Stick it in the free space in this page (6p)
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Colour meaning
The first and perhaps most important thing to understand about the meaning of colour is that there is no universal system of colour meaning. It’s not
that colours themselves have specific meaning, but rather that we have culturally assigned meanings to them.

While some colour symbolism exists globally (red as the colour of a stop sign, yellow for caution), colour symbolism tends to be more common
within a given culture than across different cultures (white is used for weddings in Western cultures and for funerals in Eastern cultures).

Even within a single culture individual differences will exist. You and I will not necessarily be affected in the same way by seeing the same colour.
Anyway, there are some general concepts we can say about them.

Exercise: Watch the video and answer the questions (4p)

1. Which colour do the eyes focus on first?

2. Which colour has the opposite impact to red, and what emotion is it most associated with?

3. With what is the colour purple associated?

4. Which colour typically makes us angry, hungry or both?

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Meaning of colours in our culture
Warm colours (yellow, red, orange..): These are the colours of fire. They radiate warmth.
Warm colours are more often associated with passion, energy, impulsiveness, happiness,
coziness, and comfort. They draw attention.

Cool colours (green, blue, violet..): These are the colours of water. Cool colours are more
often associated with calm, trust, and professionalism. They are also associated with sadness
and melancholy.

Exercise: Watch this and this video. Think what emotions do you associate with the following colours and why (5p)

● Red_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_

● Yellow_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_

● Green_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_

● Blue_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

● Black________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_
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Meaning of colours in our culture
Exercise: Choose one of these emotions: Sadness, Hope or Fear, and paint with
the colours you consider appropriate, this drawing based on Vincent Van Gogh's
"The Starry Night".
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Images and their meaning
An image is a message in the form of a visual sign. It is the graphical element of visual language that represents an idea or the figure of a thing
or object. It shows how we perceive or imagine things, not how they really are. It doesn’t show how it smells, feels, or how it really is. In other
words, the real object and its representation as an image are not the same thing.

René Magritte expressed this idea in his famous painting “Treachery of Images”. The painting shows a pipe. Below it, Magritte painted, "Ceci
n'est pas une pipe.", French for "This is not a pipe.". When asked about the painting he said:

“The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe?

No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture

'This is a pipe', I'd have been lying!”

Like colours, images on itself mean nothing, they are just shapes. We give them meaning depending on our previous experience and the things
we know. This gives two types of content to images:

1. Denotative content: it is the objective meaning of the image. It is the description of the things someone can see, and it is the same for
everyone. For example, the image below shows a man with his hands on his face, and two more people in the background.
2. Connotative content: it is the subjective meaning the image has for you. It is what that image makes you feel, and it can be different for
different people and cultures. The image below can make you feel anxious, scared or surprised.
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Types of
images
Images can be divided into three groups, depending on their iconicity. The more iconic an image is the similar it is to
how we would see it. It is important to note that images can have high level of iconicity even if what they represent
wouldn’t exist in reality.

1. A figurative image has a high level of iconicity because it is a faithful representation of reality.
2. An abstract image has a low level of iconicity.

A symbolic image represents something. When we see it, its shape reminds us of an idea, a person, a group, a
brand.. there are three types of symbolic images

3. An icon is a sign that can represent something because it is physically similar to some aspect of the idea or
object it represents.
4. An index shows evidence of what’s being represented. A good example is using an image of smoke to indicate
fire.
5. A symbol is a sign that can represent something because its meaning is established by custom. It is not similar
to the object or idea it represents.

Figurative image

Abstract image
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Exercise: types of images
Exercise: Decide if each image is figurative, abstract or symbolic. If its symbolic, decide if it is an icon, an index or a symbol. It can be more than one
thing (11p).
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DENOTATIVE CONTENT Exercise: Choose an artwork and fill in the gaps with information about it

(11p)
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CONNOTATIVE CONTENT Exercise: Answer the questions using full sentences (9p)
“Nothing”, “I don’t know” or anything similar is not an acceptable answer for any question

1. Write three questions you could ask a small kid about this piece of art

2. Pretend you could go inside this piece of art. How would it smell?

3. Did you like the artwork when you started the project? Why?

4. After doing the project do you like the artwork more or less? Why?

5. If you could change a thing about this artwork, what would it be?

6. How does the original piece of art make you feel and why?

7. How does the artwork with the changed colours make you feel and why?