Contrast of form in composition. How to Use Contrasts in Graphic Design

Contrast of light and dark based on the use of colors of varying lightness and tonal gradations of color.

Contrast between light and dark colors or tones creates the effect of enhancing the qualities of both. Light color it seems even lighter next to a dark one or against a background, and a dark one seems even darker.

By using the separation technique in light contrast, different impressions can be achieved.

Impression: drama, formality, dynamics, movement, rhythm, space effect.

Contrast of light and dark. Image: Any Davray

Contrast of light and dark, sharpening effect. Hair: Yuri Demchenko

Contrast of light and dark based on the use of colors of varying lightness and tonal gradations of color.

Saturation Contrast lies in the contrast between bright and dull, saturated and faded, neutral colors.

When there is a contrast in the saturation of colors of one tonal range, the less saturated one acquires a unique individual shade. The strongest contrast is achieved by juxtaposing primary and neutral colors. Faded colors appear more vibrant when surrounded by bright colors.

Impression: tranquility, sophistication, a sense of space.

Temperature contrast. The greatest effect of such contrast is achieved by combining warm and cold colors. Eliminates the contrast of dark and light; all color tones of the composition should be equally light or equally dark.

The contrast will be moderate between “warm” and “hot”, “cool” and “cold” colors.

The closer the colors are to each other within the same color group, the less contrast there will be.

Impressions: sensations of vibration, collision, proximity or distance of space.

Temperature contrast. Image: LOreal Professionnei

Contrast additional colors is a combination of colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel.

This type of contrast is the most impressive, as each color combination contains a strong contrast of light and dark, as well as cool and warm. When a color is surrounded by or near its complementary color and both colors are saturated, maximum contrast is achieved.

Impressions: expressiveness, vibration, sensations of space. Used to create a feeling of complete balance and harmony.

An example of the contrast of complementary colors in image modeling:

Contrast of complementary (complementary) colors. Image from Matrix

Contrast of complementary colors Image: Alexander Krasheninnikov for WELLA

Contrast of complementary colors. Image: Ekaterina Garus for WELLA

Contrast of areas. Colors can be combined with each other in different proportions across the area. Area contrast characterizes the dimensional relationship between two or more colored areas.

The strength of the effect is determined by two factors: brightness and the size of the color area. To harmonize the sizes of color areas, the following ratios must be observed:

Based on the maximum occupied purple area (9 squares out of 9), the harmonious dimensions of the areas for primary and secondary colors can be expressed by the following numerical ratios:

Yellow - 3 out of 9
Orange - 4 out of 9
Red - 6 out of 9
Purple - 9 out of 9
Blue - 8 out of 9
Green - 6 out of 9
Then the relationships between
Yellow-red - 3:6,
Yellow-orange - 3:4,
Yellow-green - 3:6,
Yellow-blue -3:8,
Yellow-violet -3:9.
\Different contrasts of color areas create different impressions: from dramatic-formal to soft-delicate.
Strong contrasts of color areas.

Soft contrasts of color areas.

An example of the contrast of areas in design (here there is also a contrast of complementary colors)

Simultaneous contrast based on the perception of complementary colors by the human eye. Every pure color physiologically requires its opposite color. If there is no such color, the eye simultaneously reproduces the sensation of the presence of the necessary additional color.

Gray color is visual

removes a color complementary to the background: on red - green; on yellow - purple; on blue - yellow.

Any color located next to or against another color is also subject to simultaneous contrast.
Yellow color on a red background acquires a greenish tint, on an orange background it becomes gray-violet.
The blue color on a red background acquires a greenish tint, on an orange it does not change, and on a yellow background it acquires a violet tint.
The yellow color on a green background acquires a reddish tint, on a blue background it becomes orange, and on a violet background it does not change.
The blue color on a green background acquires a reddish tint, and on a violet background it becomes yellow.
Impressions: the same color on different backgrounds will “behave” differently, in each case acquiring its own shade and causing different emotions.
On a white background, all colors become darker and less bright.
On a gray background, the strength of the color is softened, richness is added, but the background takes on a shade of an additional color.
On a black background, all colors become lighter and brighter.

Any color located in the background can have optical illusions: to increase, decrease, recede or protrude.

A white square on a black background appears larger than a black square on a white background (the inner and outer squares are the same).

Red, orange and yellow stand out; green, blue and purple recede.
Achromatic colors do not create movement, but in combination they can reveal depth, spatiality and movement.

I recently heard about an interesting thing like contrast and nuance in art. Again, I want to write about some aspects that affect the final result of visualization of the selected topic.

Where should you start so that the drawing is not uninteresting and dull? To do this, you need to keep the viewer busy with some kind of work... +)

Nuance

Let's start with nuance.

On Figure 1 you see a composition of 3 mugs. Absolutely identical... well, no good. Somehow unfinished and uninteresting. At least somehow you can correct such a dry image using nuance. Let's turn one of the mugs, and the photo will become more vibrant.

At all NUANCES called interaction in composition several items similar for some reason.

Figure 3– good example. Pears, it seems like all pears are like pears - “alike”, but each of them has individual traits, which gives the composition interest. This composition does not give the viewer the impression of incompleteness. A person involuntarily begins to compare objects... with the help of this effect you can achieve increased interest in the picture.

Contrast

CONTRAST– a more expressive method of increasing the interest of a picture.

Let's take three objects... that could serve as the main objects of the composition.

Three vases, exactly the same. Agree somehow “they are here in the forest”, they are in no way connected with each other.

This is because, looking at a group of objects, we always mentally, albeit unconsciously, compare one with the other. Let's compare them. And here it’s not interesting to compare.

Rough and heavy, an angular object seems even more rough and heavy next to the light and fragile one. The quality of the compared objects seems to become brighter and sharper when compared. And the objects from this comparison turn out to be interacting, compositionally connected.

A clear, sharp difference between the elements of a composition in some way is called contrast.

Fig.6

On Figure 7 contrast in the size of the cats, which looks more impressive than the composition on Figure 6.

On Figure 8 a row of mugs is depicted. Two white and a red with a number. There is also a contrast in color and number. Questions immediately arise: Why? Red? Why Right? Why 42 ?

Intrigue emerges...

Don't forget about these principles of composition creation. Contrast And Nuance These are great rules to follow when thinking about the components of an image.

Contrasts and nuances in composition

Contrast nuance is the thread that holds all sections of the “composition” together. We are able to see only what is different from the background. The line along the light line is drawn with the dark line, otherwise it will not be visible.

Gradually loosen the pressure on the pencil so that, as it dissolves, the line gently fits into the space of the paper. A line of variable tonality and width receives spatial characteristics. Dark areas that are contrasting to the background seem close to us, but as the contrast weakens, the line moves away. As you can see, contrast and nuance work together here.

The texture of a line can be created artificially, but in most cases it depends on what we draw with and what we draw on. Black charcoal on paper with a rough roughness will produce a jagged line with a characteristic grain. A fountain pen on coated paper will give a line with smooth edges. There will be a separate conversation about artificial texture.
The textured line contrasts with the smooth one. Both black lines are contrasting to the white paper, and to each other in thickness.

Start listing the types of contrasts. No matter what you mention, there will be two sides of the same coin.
Shape - large and small, simple and complex, dark and light, smooth and rough, transparent and dull...
Color - bright, rich, and dull, colorless, dark, and light, warm and cold...
Mood - calm and excited, grief and joy...

If you are a philosopher, then a different list of contrasting pairs will pop up in your head: light and shadow, truth and lies, order and chaos, life and death. One contrasts with the other and is not separable from the other.

But there are shades, there are nuances of the same phenomenon. They are located between the extreme (contrast) points of this phenomenon. Contrast and nuance are always explored in interaction with each other. We move towards contrast, moving away from nuance, and vice versa, we move towards nuance, moving away from contrast.

It is necessary to highlight composition center, - enhance contrasts and soften the environment.
You need lyricism and peace, do not overuse contrasts, build the composition on nuances.
Exuberant joy is unthinkable without contrasts of color and tone.
And the depth of space, without the contrast of foreground and background in size, tone, color, detail.

And so, while working on a composition, we remember that we always have a choice between a whisper and a scream, and the whole range of voices in between. We are learning to make choices against the backdrop of established rules! All of life consists of our attempts to break the stereotypes of the past. If it works, you will gain creative freedom and the lifetime contempt of others. But then you can count on immortality.

Basic information about the phenomenon of contrast is provided on a separate page (see link -).

The lines themselves can become the object of the game. You can make them thick, you can tear their edges, change the color or tone.
It may be chaos, but it is organized chaos. The space is evenly filled and limited by a frame. Notice that the straight lines of the frame contrast with the curves inside the frame. The lines of the lower drawing are “picturesquely” distorted, and try not to repeat themselves in their direction.

How can work on this composition develop further? And this is a composition, it has no plot meaning, but there is a decorative beginning.
Does contrast play a role here?
It would seem that the last thing we need is contrast when creating texture (the proposed compositions so far look more like samples of textures).

Consider a very common technique for organizing tangled elements (tree branches, nets, masses of wood shavings, or piles of bricks) into something memorable.

The problem is that a person is able to keep in random access memory 4 - 7 elements. Anything beyond that is perceived by the unorganized masses. The despondency caused by apparent monotony must be made expressive and unforgettable.
In such cases, visual division of the composition into two or three large parts is used, absorbing particles of chaos, and spatial stratification. In this form they are accessible to our perception.

We take the first “motif” of tangled lines as a basis.
We didn’t get rid of texture, we made it an element of the composition. The drawing acquired a dynamic rhythm with straight lines contrasting with the grid.

The lower drawing is divided along a pattern curve into two parts in a contrasting tonality.

We use the second motif from the set of curved lines.

You can transform both the background and the decorative motif itself, trying to play up their relationship. And here contrast can play a key role, enhancing or weakening the visibility of certain areas of the composition.
The technique of dividing an array of scattered elements into several clearly readable objects was again used.
As you can see, the works bear little resemblance to multi-figure paintings. And yet, these are compositions.

Don’t be lazy to look at your work more often from a distance, when it completely falls within the field of your sharp vision.

Let's continue to savor the contrast with a group of parallel lines.

We have pitted two opposites against each other, fat and fine line, placing them side by side. There was a contrast.

Now let’s squeeze a number of other gradually changing lines between the contrasting lines. The contrast in thickness is softened by intermediate steps; subtle nuances in transitions from one line to another. The fading lines make us think about the depth of space. Why? Changing the thickness brightens the lines and makes the objects appear to be in perspective. Take this as a note, it is used often.

Let's try
explore the potential of a beam of lines of variable thickness.
We try to stay in the plane, without resorting to angles and light and shade (the specifics of children's drawings).

From a variety of easy-to-make shapes, I chose an oval to attach eyes to it (to me, like children, everything seems animate). This is how objects for creating a composition appeared.
We tried a lot of options and chose two.

Me in initial stage work is always drawn to creating a silhouette clearly perceived from a distance. Otherwise, after working out the details of the image, everything will be perceived from a distance as a faceless, barely understandable mess.

You can develop a composition using the appliqué technique, pencil, and watercolor, there are no prohibitions.
However, here I rely on a formal graphic language, which has greater clarity in presenting educational material.

Everyone is tired of its contrast, but what can you do, it is present here too, like a juxtaposition of a clear-shaped monolith and openwork-loose formlessness. Bright and dark, thin and dense. For now, let’s not ask ourselves what we are depicting.

At some point, there is a desire to concretize the image and introduce details. Start with the minimum, with something without which the image is simply not recognizable. For beginners, this is a terrible test; they are simply bursting with the desire to draw everything down to the smallest detail.

When the principle of constructing a composition is clear to you (a silhouette drawing and its location have been found), we proceed to the details.
We are trying to add a background in the form of light and thick ribbon lines. They fill the voids of the frame, creating a feeling of openwork. We feel how the space is stratified due to the multiple overlaps of some elements by others. Color also contributes to this. The brightest on foreground, the lightest and least saturated, in the background.

Everyone already understands that hair lines are needed to contrast the silhouette of the head. One large spot without the support of light elements looks dull and boring. Such impulsive ejections of matter from the silhouette are simply necessary; they enliven the picture. This is not a special case; the contrast of the density of objects is used in most compositions. Look at the picture with a critical eye, imagine what tones and colors you would choose. It was no coincidence that I chose dark red. It does not break the overall silhouette, it merges with it into a single spot, creating a feeling of backlight.

As soon as the frame was removed, the graphics spread out on the paper. The effect will be enhanced if the graphics in some places exceed the boundaries of the invisible frame. In this form, the design fits well with the font, forming a single whole with it.

If I try to describe in detail each stage of the birth of a composition, it is solely for the convenience of readers. Real work subject to the impulses of the soul, flashes of inner insight. Often, the imagination clings to an insignificant trifle, and following its will, you forget about the memorized sequence in your work, trying to quickly record a vaguely felt idea on paper. The idea is everything! If it exists, everything else is a matter of technique. The technique of “orchestration” associated with the design of an idea into a “marketable” form will be discussed on other pages.
I had to bring a few pictures “to mind”, but not to abandon the matter halfway.

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Think about contrasts and nuances when considering works of art. We become smarter not only in the process of personal practice, but also in the process of studying the world's masterpieces. In our work, we rely on our ideas about correctness and incorrectness, and they are formed over the years. Learn to find the use of contrasts from masters, and learn to apply them yourself. Just remember, you have contrasts - faithful allies in work, companions of richness and brightness, antipodes of dullness and boredom.

If you approach the choice of color from the perspective of a special representation of reality, then it becomes clear why black and white photography does not lose its popularity.

Firstly, this color scheme not at all like what we see the world. Secondly, the juxtaposition of black and white produces a fairly strong effect on the viewer, subconsciously evoking associations with light/darkness, good/evil, etc. Therefore it seems that black and white picture looks better than its colored counterpart. This is partly due to the fact that by converting a picture from color to black and white, we seem to simplify the composition. This statement is not entirely correct, but its meaning is that we remove color from the frame as an object of attracting attention. Thus, we pay more attention to the rest of the content of the image. Let’s be clear right away that this method does not always work. And it doesn’t work at all in cases where you deliberately selected a combination of colors in the frame, consciously making the color important element compositions. So it's time to talk about color.

Black and white photography has little to do with how we perceive the reality around us. It would seem that for color photography the opposite statement should be true. But that's not true. The fact is that even the most advanced cameras do not reproduce all the shades that they see human eye. Or they reproduce them not quite the way we are used to. In addition, the photographer can change the shades and saturation of colors, making the picture more or less similar to the real one. That is, color can be used at the same time as a means of most accurately conveying the picture. real world and, conversely, as a means of presenting an alternative vision of reality.

Returning to the first question - color or b/w - we can safely say that it’s both. It all depends on your plan.

Working with color

Let's try to master a few simple techniques working with color, but first let's briefly explain the basic terms that we will use when describing color.

Color

Physics says that color is the length of an electromagnetic wave, which is the light we see. We don’t need to go into such technical details. It is enough to know that the perception of colors is a physiological feature of human vision. Light falling on the surface of objects is not completely reflected, as a result of which we distinguish colors.

What's most interesting to us is that it highlights several primary colors. Since childhood, we have known them as the “colors of the rainbow.” Mixing all the colors creates White color, and the complete absence of light is black. Since there are different color models, it is worth mentioning the one in which there are only 3 primary colors, and all the others are obtained by mixing them. This is an RGB (Red Green Blue) model. It includes the following primary colors: red, blue and green. Almost all modern electronics that reproduce color operate on its basis.

Hue

Hue is a type of color. Shades are obtained by adding a light or dark tone and an admixture of other colors to the main color. A combination of similar shades forms a color tone (for example, light red, dark red, blood red, all together - a red tone). By color tone shades are often divided into warm and cool. Warm colors include red, orange and yellow. For cold ones - blue, blue and violet. The transition from black to white occurs through various shades grey, "gradation of grey".

Brightness, saturation

Important characteristics of color are brightness and saturation.

When brightness decreases, any color tends to black.

Shades of the same color may differ in saturation. The lower the saturation, the more faded the shade. As saturation decreases, all colors move closer to gray.

Contrast

The concept of contrast doesn't always apply to color, but I think it's important to bring it up here. Contrast is the degree of difference between areas of an image. Most often they talk about contrast in light. That is, how much different the light and dark parts of the image are and how smooth the transitions are between them. For example, a photo of a road surface will most likely be low-contrast, since it will only contain smooth transitions between shades of gray.

You can also highlight color contrast. For example, red on blue is a contrasting combination, but blue on purple is not.

Color circle

There is more than one model that describes the color relationship, but in photography the so-called color circle. It consists of several sectors different colors(there are many color wheel options with different numbers of shades). There are 3 primary colors in a circle: red, yellow and blue. Orange, green and violet are called intermediate, they can be obtained by mixing the main ones. You can come across different interpretations of the color wheel, including one where the circle is not divided into sectors, but all colors smoothly transition into one another.

Now that we've bolstered ours a little theoretical knowledge, it's time to move on to practice.

How to put it into practice

The color wheel is ours a starting point to understanding the interaction of colors. There are 2 in effect here simple principles. Adjacent colors in a circle form calm, harmonious combinations, and opposite colors form the most contrasting combination. At the same time, each of the contrasting colors seems brighter and more saturated.

In addition, all colors can be divided into warm and cold.

Warm colors: red, orange, yellow and intermediate shades. Cool colors: blue, purple.

As you can guess from the name, these are the sensations that are caused by the combinations of the listed colors. Warm colors will be more attractive and calm, while cool colors will have a slightly repulsive character.

It is very easy to study the impact of color combinations using advertising as an example. The design of all kinds of banners and logos is selected so as to influence the buyer. Most attention contrasting combinations attract attention. Moreover, as you can see, not only the colors from our circle are successfully contrasted. White looks impressive against the backdrop of rich and dark colors: red, blue, black, etc. Black can often be found next to yellow, red, orange.

There is another one interesting system, describing the relationship of colors. Goethe assigned a kind of intensity index to the primary colors. It looks like this: yellow = 9 orange = 8 red = 6 green = 6 blue = 4 purple = 3

That is, to achieve harmony between green and blue, for example, you should take more blue than green. The main thing is not to try to apply this scheme every time you try to balance the colors in the frame. This is just another tool, a kind of lifesaver that you can use when you have serious doubts when constructing a frame.

Any printing layout consists of certain elements, for example: text, photographs, illustrations, shapes and lines, color spots, various design elements, etc. The integrity of the composition depends on how well the elements are selected from each other and Among the laws of arrangement of elements, you can highlight contrast, nuance and repetition (identity). These are the basic principles of composition, which can be traced to one degree or another in almost every printing design. Since it is practically impossible to live without them, they deserve more detailed study. So, in this article I will talk about what contrast, nuance, and repetition are and show where it is used with specific examples.

Contrast- a sharp difference in elements in tone, color or size. The most contrasting is black text on a white background, which you are reading or vice versa - white text on a black background. All information in a layout can be divided into more important and less important, so contrast is used to highlight one element relative to another or to draw more attention to some part of the layout.

Nuance- the opposite of contrast. Very weak between layout elements. It is used to complement the layout less important information, barely visible against the background or among other information. Often nuance is used in combination with repetition. For example, lines or shapes may be duplicated in other parts of the layout, but not so contrasting as to attract unnecessary attention.

Repetition (identity)- repetition of elements. Possibly modified, but easily recognizable. Repeating design elements give the layout consistency and uniform style registration

All these three principles coexist freely in one layout. Although their combination may vary in any design, contrasting elements are visible, repetition of style and less contrasting details complement the layout well. Now let's move on to specific examples:

This booklet contains an advertisement for a fish product - caviar. The designer used two colors as the main ones: red (the color of caviar) and green (the color of greenery or water). The red color contrasts very well with the yellow-green. If you look closely at the background, you may notice air bubbles or enlarged eggs. They are barely visible and almost blend into the background, so nuance is clearly used here. The red fill at the top of the layout and the red wave at the bottom are repeated on inside. Also, the main word “special fish product” is highlighted with size and a white outline, which makes it visible even on a red background.

The topic of the next leaflet is some kind of train apparatus. Here, as in the previous one, they are barely visible in the background. Railway, which is also directly related to the theme of the leaflet. The alternation of contrasting blocks makes it easy to perceive information, and thanks to their correctly selected repetition, a feeling of integrity of the layout is created. Interestingly, the blocks themselves are made in a technological style according to the shape of the advertised part.

This layout uses an arc or oval extending beyond the leaflet as a repeating design element. If you look closely, in the inside of the leaflet you can see the same arcs, semi-transparent and not very noticeable. This is the use of nuance. The contrast is evident in how well the booklet's page headings and other important information are highlighted.

So, in absolutely any layout you can notice the use of contrast, nuance and identity. Their combination may be different, but the application of these simple laws of composition will make your message for the viewer and literate from an advertising point of view.

Learn more about the laws of composition in this video:

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