How does use of colour influence interpretation of an illustration
The use of colour in an illustration directs us to understand the overall concept. Our eyes will register with the colour of a piece before we notice the details, so understanding how to use colour properly to better communicate your desired outcome is essential. Not many people realise this more than Dan Mumford, It is his use of colour and fine detail that attracts me to his works. Dan doesn't ever seem to use more than 5 colours in his pieces, and sometimes limits himself to only two or 3. In doing this he is setting the theme for his works. For example look below at this image...(fig1)
For this image dan has decided to only use two colours, red and black. Red of course a colour often associated with blood, fire, used greatly in horror themes because of its dominant and intimidating aspects. Here used as the main colour of the piece, its not hard to see that the image is of gruesome intent, and the hues of blood red exaggerate this concept. The black, here used not only as the main detailer but also used to show depth of field, growing darker towards the bottom where he just so happens to have placed the viewers eye line...It feels as though your looking through the eyes of one of the many rotted heads that lay upon the floor! The question to ask is would this image have the same effect had it not been coloured as it is? If the skies where Blue, the grass was green and we could see everything in full detail, would it still have its sense of impending death? I think not.
Bibliography
http://www.dan-mumford.com
No comments:
Post a Comment