Colours.

Sketching 20 ideas and deciding on which character to choose were just the first steps of the project set for the next few months. Next, after a session dedicated to colour theory, colour meaning and expression, we were asked to work on several options of the same character presented in three different hues. At this stage I was hovering between two characters I liked, so I had to prepare six coloured images. I started this task using an online platform called Photopea, which is similar to the well-known, industry standard Adobe software, but free of charge. Next, I continued digital colouring in an application called Drawing Desk which is quite simple but allows me to achieve pleasing results with using a digital drawing pen. This creative process helped me to decide which character I wanted to design, and at the later stage, animate. I chose the one inspired by the L.O.L doll series, with a big square head and a little body. 

During the workshop dedicated to the colours we briefly talked about cold and warm colours, components of the colour (hue, saturation, value which respectively mean pigment, chroma and brightness), primary, secondary and tertiary colours. We discussed colour schemes: complimentary colours (opposite on the colour wheel), split-complementary, double-complementary, analogous (next to each other on the colour wheel), triadic (three colours evenly spreaded on the colour wheel) and monochromatic (shades and tints of one hue).  

Then we were introduced to a tool called Adobe Color, that analyses images in terms of the colour used and can be useful when learning to accommodate the right colour combinations to our designs. For the task where we had to extract the theme of chosen characters I used Oh from the Home movie and one of the L.O.L dolls; both characters were included in my inspiration board. The outcome of extracting used in both characters colours are presented in my Padelt called Adobe Color. Colour Theory Task.  

Talking about the meaning of certain colours was another interesting part of the workshop. We had a closer look at the following colours and their associations and meanings: red, yellow, blue, green, purple, orange, white, black and grey. What’s worth remembering is the fact that various shades and tints of the same hue can express different feelings and connotations.  

Colour script was the term we discussed next; it is a tool to create and change the mood of the scene, action, to evoke certain feelings. It is a carefully planned change of colours to achieve a desired reaction in the audience. Therefore, our next task was to try to identify a colour script from a chosen movie. Finding Nemo (2003) was an example we discussed together, and the Coco movie (2017) was the example I thought of. Looking closer into the colour theory it was easy to observe moments of anticipation, fear or sadness built up (not only with the characters’ behaviour and their dialogs but) with a carefully planned colour script. 

Vibrating boundaries, another interesting term we talked about, is a result of using two complementary colours (opposite on the colour wheel) in exactly the same saturation (the same strength). It is hard to focus on the point where the colours meet, it also creates an illusion of them vibrating. Using such a combination might be deliberate in art projects but in general should be avoided as not pleasant for the eye.  

With all the colour theory knowledge refreshed and enriched, I have a reflection that I need to re-think the colour scheme I want to use for my character. I have created three coloured versions of it: blue and its analogous colours, yellow and its analogous colours and black and grey; which I think I will treat as an exercise, a warm-up before setting the actual colour combination I want to incorporate into this design.