Jason Manley: Color and the Theory of Light - Closed

[Liquidspider]

Hahah, and here I thought I was looking at an older post. So this is something you are doing just now? Awesome. I sure hope that maybe someday others that won't be participating in the online class can get a hold of it, even if they still have to pay.

[Studio Colrouphobia]

Wish I worked for someone so they could help pay this, or that I just had the cash myself.
It is a great thing to have around and I truly wish that you get the cash collected to fix the website but considering my financial situation I wont be able to afford this. Not now.
For anyone with is "pondering" this, has the cash and is just wondering whether to spend it or not- Don't hesitate.

[Earendil]

Well here are my color studies. It will be interesting to see what these look like at the end of class.

[BRINKMAN!]

I said this in the other thread in the lounge, but I am so freaking stoked for this! Manley is the A#1 dude.

[Dark_Eyes]

I'm definitely interested in this, and will do the suggested studies. I've already purchased the zhanglu file, it is excellent! Thanks for all the hard work Jason! Ever since Revelations my life has changed in so many beneficial ways, I hope to give back a little. Cheers!

[Nightblue]

Ohh, shiny... Hopefully there'll be a late night session. This sounds like a great solution for my lack of mentors after moving away from home base.

[Devere]

I'd Love to take this course but not sure what connection speed is gonna be like when I reach down to Jamaica in a few weeks to help out with family biz. if it's half as fast as canadian one I have now then I'll be there? can't wait, what are we looking on in terms of cost?

[Maledict]

I've never done much natural environments, much less colour studies. The first 4 are horrendous, but the 2nd batch of 4 I'm more pleased with. I could literally see myself improve with practice (Duuh!!). I'm waiting anxiously for the class. We'll see how I improve

Thanks again Jason for all you've done for the artistic community.

Without further adieu, here's 8 colour studies.

[sony]

This is very exciting ... these are just some moods from mind.

[hala]

I got lazy with the anatomy and forms >< will probably redo this before the course.
can't wait to compare the end results I didn't realize how little I know about darker settings like moonlight or cloudy days.

[Carbon Productions]

Heres my four

They look really artificial.

Can't wait for this to start.

[nicehighs]

money is always a factor if its between 100 and 150 and includes pdf notes im in.

[artmessiah]

Awesome

[Maledict]

Here's another colour study - a bit better, I'm improving every time I do them.

I'll be doing some more this evening.

[Jason Manley]

We have our work cut out for us. Every single one of you posting images needs to start painting and drawing from life. Every day if possible. There is not enough observation happening in your day to day experiences regarding colors. Start paying attention to what colors shadows are compared to the light. Start paying attention to what colors you see as many times of day as you can, outside and in. Look at the light. Observe. Remember. For most of you the weakness is not just that you don't understand color but that you are not looking at light everyday and remembering what you saw. Look. Look again. Remember.


I will have more info on the course shortly.


Jason

[jubjubjedi]

Question: When and where does one use muted colors as opposed to temperature in show form? And vice versa. I understand that things might be fairly relative, especially when observing from life, but I guess I am thinking in general terms. Hope that makes sense...

[Earendil]

Here's one from life. I had trouble seeing some of the really dark hues. I'll do the same view at a different time.



Sun going down. 6:30

[Jason Manley]

Question: When and where does one use muted colors as opposed to temperature in show form? And vice versa. I understand that things might be fairly relative, especially when observing from life, but I guess I am thinking in general terms. Hope that makes sense...

It depends on the lighting condition.

Is your light muted and desaturated or your shadows? Are your light and shadows both more muted but your middles (the transitions between light and shadow or the reflect light) are more saturated? You get to make the call.

There is a range of saturation in both light and shadow as well as in the transitions. First you must choose which of the three contains your saturation as a whole, when considering how chroma level effects form.

You can pull with muted colors or you can push with them. It depends on your lighting choices.

For example...an environment with a rich golden ray of light casting across the middleground of a landscape...but unseen clouds in the sky cast shadows across the foreground. In that case the shadows in the front planes are more muted (as a general starting point) since the light is very saturated. Just like lights and darks vary in value...light vs shadow varies in saturation in most cases.

If in that same landscape, the saturated light was hitting the foreground and the cloudy misty drab areas were in the middle ground, then the saturation would be pulling toward the viewer, instead of away.

Color is relative. You must just be consistent. You can push or pull. You must choose your lighting situation first in order to decide...ala your light might be a warm saturated orange....thus your shadows would lean toward the opposites...a cool desaturated blue. Opposites opposites.

Adding in a secondary fill light color for variation and interest and it does not look so formulaic. Radiosity (the bounce light from objects in or out of the scene...of those objects which reflect color into the scene around them) can be used in the same way...and will change the formula to something a little more believable.

Another thing to keep in mind is that as the form turns in space it will often contain color information that is toward the background color as it moves that direction...as it turns farther and farther away to the background it picks up more of the background color. Of course one must purposely decide which planes are further away, and where the planes are in space on the form, in order to use such devices.

This same point, about background color, is appropriate for seeing color move in space...ala trees getting more and more blue as the move toward the horizon on a blue sky day. You can push and pull in any direction you choose.

I will go over all of this in the class in depth...and this is just a teensy part from the big picture.

I look forward to more questions in class and will be showing great examples of how this is all used. Many will understand just by my showing it.

See you next weekend.



Jason

[Sidharth Chaturvedi]

Here's a color study from observation at close to noon. Not sure if I'm doing this correctly, but what I picked up was bright, warm, desaturated color in the light areas and cooler, saturated shadows. Shadows on any white objects looked like a saturated blue. I'll try doing a person in the same light next time.

[Jason Manley]

If you are working from life let your eyes relax...take in the whole scene at once...once your eyes relax and you see everything at the same time (not focusing on any details but the entire field of vision), compare the the various large areas of color against one another. Compare shadow colors vs. light colors. Compare big light shapes against one another. I think you will all find that your are currently ignoring most of what you see. Gotta look at it all at the same time and then compare. Color is relative. You cant just focus on one part and put it down. Once you block it all in compare what you see to what you have painted. You will find every color in the spectrum in front of you in subtle ways. Red bricks might be violet in one area and more orange in another. Gray sidewalks might be greener in one area of space and more yellow in others...LOOK. LOOK. and LOOK. that is the key.

[Ian Barker]

Next weekend, eh... sounds good to me, but are you going to be able to announce a price soon? Me and I'm sure a lot of other people are going to need to plan their budget accordingly.

[baBio]

im in!!!!...ye how much is it?

[Asatira]

So interested. I need to sit down and do the studies before the class starts.

[jcdied4me]

How do I join? I've read the whole thread but it would seem there is no where to sign up. Is this class still in the planning stages? Great stuff here

[Farvus]

I actually planned to do this type of stuff for a long time but somehow I couldn't start. Quick colors studies from the office window I saw lately on the Nathan Fowkes blog and this thread were impulse for me though.

I don't have very exciting view from my room and I tried hard to make some decent composition out of it. These are very quick beacause light changed like in kaleidoscope that day. I started painting with one palette and ended tweaking it up a little.



Observations.

12:30 PM - No clouds. Strong wind. Local colors seem slightly muted in the shadow. The movement of leaves enhances the effect of mixing colors in the eye.
15:10 PM - Thunderstorm. No wind. Very little value contrast. Strong contrast between individual local colors. It seems like juicy colors more juicy while gray colors more gray.
18:10 PM - Partially clowdy. Subtle white haze from the sun above the building (that I couldn't capture).
21:00 PM - Rain. Beginning of dusk. Uniformly clouded sky was almost pale green which made everything look like through green filter. It also made the reds pop a lot. Later sky turned into pale orange.
22:00 PM - Rain. For a split second before it got completely dark I noticed that roof could be dark purple and everything behind the lamp more red. I left those colors but with darker values than I initially painted.
4:30 AM - Clowdy. Beginning of the dawn. Everything seems much less saturated than in the night.

[Jason Manley]

farvus...try working half value step darker for your daytime studies...it will push the saturation and feeling of light to seem more like how that light actually feels. Great exersize though. Total monet in it's intent. Like his cathedral studies...all about the light. For night time, work half value step lighter so you can get your color in there too. Staying off white and off black helps give the feeling of actual light...after all it is an illusion...and that little trick can help the cause!

Look for a spectrum of colors in any given shape of value that you see. They are there. If you see pink look at that shape..i bet there are some purple pinks in parts or greener pinks in parts or...let your eyes relax. Compare. You will see it.

[Jho]

This sounds pretty awesome. Is there limit to how many people can attend?
I suck at queuing.
Time is not really a problem, even though I live in the far north away from everybody. Staying up late comes natural to me

Pity I first opened this tread just now, if I'd known better I had woken up to see this in morning light... Well I have to do it tomorrow morning or something. Good exercise though, thanks! Would never have thought to do this on my own.

For some reason it looks a lot more saturated than in Photoshop, I guess I have messed with the color settings or something.




Night (started 22:22). The lighting chanced a bit during painting...
I was supposed to paint a cloudy day too but my nephew came over and I couldn't

[kyurai]

hey all

i would be very, very interested in this course but i think i need a little bit more information :
- i understand that the classes will begin next weekend ? is that correct ?
- how many will weeks will the course take ?
- is the class opened to beginners ? is it for digital medium only or for all types of mediums ?
- and where do i sign in , or is there a screening process for choosing the students ?

[Ghostbrush]

count me in

[Jason Manley]

The first post has been updated. Date and time is within, as are some samplings of the images we will be covering in this very important class.

Hope to see you soon! Keep painting folks. After the class you are ALL going to have breakthroughs. I imagine the world will be seen a little differently, more clearly, once you see how I have broken it all down into basic terminology, examples, and details. Great stuff!!! You will be able to apply these concepts immediately.



J