Squares
and
Diamonds
WORKING WITH COLOURS:
Documenting a Colour Story
Use colours from an image to produce a abstract visual equivalent.
Details:
Middle-high school and up (Younger students may be able to do this exercise if they have access to digital products.)
Time: 20 minutes
Learning Outcome: Recognize the key colours that represent the image and be able to choose and arrange them while keeping the legibility of each shape in the design.
Colour Concepts: The choice and placement of colours from the inspiration image affect the overall effectiveness and legibility of the design as a ‘visual equivalent’.
Materials:
Digital images - Copy and paste from your own images or download images from the CLP Google Drive folder with copyright free images. LINK to images folder.
OR
Take photos to use for the exercise.
Instructions:
The task is to sum up the colour impression of a scene in a standard format with just five colours.
Open the Squares and Diamonds Slide Deck
Download 1 to 3 inspiration image(s) from your files or from the CLP Images Folder. LINK
Add an image to the left side of the first blank slide in the slide deck. Slide 13.
Study the scene to identify five colours that sum up the overall colour impression of the scene.
To add a colour to the design on the right, select one of the grey shapes by clicking on it and then go the the ‘shape fill’ paint bucket. To choose a color in the image, go to ‘more fill colors’, then use the eyedropper to select the colour you want to try from the image. The shape will then change colour accordingly.
Fill each of the shapes.
The colours you choose will be shown in the ‘recent colors’ of the colour picker.
Note: You will find that the order in which you place the colours can be critical both for capturing the ‘colour story’ of the inspiration image and for the legibility of each shape in the design.
