Color Composition is HARD

[rowyn]

About, I dunno, three months ago, I spent some time working on a picture. After two drafts and several thumbnails, I got the pencils to the point where I was more or-less happy with it. And then I thought, "I'll finish it up by coloring it."

This decision brought to my attention one of my many shortcomings as an artist. Namely, that I have no grasp of design.



B&W version of image: "Enough Rope"



Most of my artistic development has been purely mechanical: figuring out how to make my drawing look like whatever I'm trying to draw. I'm not all that good at this part, even, but that's still where most of my energy has gone.

There's this whole other side of art which boils down to "making your image look interesting" and I don't grok it at all. I was trying to get all of these bits together for this picture, and it was quite a struggle. my first effort at composing it fell flat, for example, and it took me a while to work out what to put in the background (and even now, I feel like I made a mistake in orienting the page vertically instead of horizontally, but I don't think I want to draw it all again. Especially since this is a gawdawful depressing thing to stare at for hours on end) . Once I finally figured all that out, I looked at the picture and thought, "I have no idea what colors to use on it."

My normal approach to color is completely haphazard. I think of what colors the things I'm drawing would have in the real world and then make it match. Sky: blue. Grass: green. Buildings: brick/stone/wood, possibly painted in neutral colors Etc. This ... sort of works. It works much better with natural scenes, because Nature has a pretty good color sense and seldom makes things that clash horribly. Collections of assorted man-made objects and people, not so much so.

So I asked koogrr for help, and he offered various suggestions, like making all the background people shades of grey, which seemed like a pretty good idea. But I still felt 'meh' about it. I did a couple of color tests and put it to one side. Lately I've been thinking about it again, so today I finally did several more color tests, including trying to get bolder and use less obvious colors. ("Let's try ... purple! for the ground. How's that look?")

I do want the wings to be some shade of red, because this is (sort of ) a character portrait and the character has wings in shades of red and pink. Other than that, I'm not feeling tied to anyone idea except that I'd like it to, y'know, look good when I'm done. Coherent. Instead of haphazard. For a change.

Here're the color tests I've done so far:

1:


2:


3:


4:


5:


6:


I think the fifth one is my favorite of the lot but ... uh. Yeah. I don't know what I'm doing.

Any suggestions? Help? Please?

Comments

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I like #3... because the hanging fae forms a triangle with the wings, and triangles with the weight on the bottom are very "peaceful" compositions: they rest the eyes with their stability. There's a reason a lot of pictures of the Virgin Mary with baby are triangular compositions.

Given that, using hot colors to fill in that triangle creates a very interesting dynamic: stable, peaceful physical arrangement, with moving, unsettling, invigorating colors. To my mind, the dichotomy between those things makes the picture more unnerving, which is appropriate for the subject matter.

All of which is a lead-in for my suggestion that you find some resources on color theory and compositional theory, read them and explore what they have to tell you. Working with color is very difficult, and I found I benefited immensely from conscious development of the skill with exercises and experiments. You might also. :)

[rowyn]

Thanks! That's a neat perspective on the picture and one I had not considered. Do you have any suggestions for specific books/websites/other resources you found useful?

[level-head.livejournal.com]

Here's one that looks concise and reasonable -- and leads to others.

It occurs to me that the "garish" colors, including the red/pink tinted wings, would be rather muted in this image -- especially with the lowering sky you've shown in some of the tests. That certainly fits the mood.

Recommendation: Fire up YouTube and look at the opening of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 -- a similar scene (It's the "Hoist the Colors" -- or "hoist the pirates," really -- piece.)

Freeze the image, say at 1:34 in this video, and note how few colors are actually involved.

It's quite a trick, to convey the sense of the color while being restrained by realism -- but it can work.

It may not be photorealism you're looking for -- but it would enhance the drama, I think, of this piece. The video is a good place to look for details of the hangman's noose, too, which is quite thick compared to the rope.

Best wishes!

===|==============/ Level Head

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

Basic color theory is fairly easy to get in most books... just go to a store and have a look, find one that speaks to you, perhaps.

As for other resources, you mentioned looking for things to rent? I'd recommend renting Samurai Jack, which has some of the most stunning and masterful use of color in any art form I've consumed lately.

[koogrr.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I agree. Samurai Jack is great for that.

[level-head.livejournal.com]

In addition to the one below, here's an interesting set of "rules of thumb for color design" webpage.

===|==============/ Level Head