Biome Research

In case my labels aren't particularly legible post-photograph, my pictures show examples of (from top to bottom) air and sky, land, animal, and vegetation examples of what may be found in a River Biome. It was difficult to find examples of atmospheric conditions, as they vary depending on the time of year, location, etc. of the river so I just used the generic "pretty day" setting. I tried to find cute, while still accurate, animals, so I picked otters and turtles over frogs and snakes. Vegetation also can vary, so I tried to find examples of a few different things such as trees, reeds, bushes, flowers.

Illustration Friday - Midsummer Night

I was needing a little inspiration for this word prompt, and I knew the dictionary would be less than helpful for this particular word, so I stepped outside. It was about that time when the sun has started to set, when it's about halfway down, and the bright blue sky is starting to mix with the orangey glow of the setting sun. I immediately thought "complementary colors!" which I guess is what happens when you've been in art mode all week. Anyway, it was really pretty (and it is kind of mid-summer) so I thought it'd be apropos. Watercolor seemed like the best way to show the pretty, mixed colors. 

Color and Space

For this assignment I wanted to mix warm and cool colors in a way that made the cool colors seem to shadow the warm colors (because cools tend to recede and warms seem to come forward). So I put the red and orange in the center and shadowed them with their cool, complementary colors. Then I shadowed said complementary colors with the color that lies next to them on the color wheel. I think I was able to accomplish my intention of creating an image that draw the eye toward a focal point in the center. However, in an attempt to fill up the white background with color and shape, I think I created a separate image that draws the eye away from the intended focal point.

Complementary Color Scale

Now this was especially difficult, especially due to my aforementioned war with the oil pastels. But looking at it now, I suppose that's how it was supposed to look. If not, I'm still going to pretend.

Color Wheel

I don't know what it is about these oil pastels, but they never seem to do what I want them to. Nevertheless, here is my color wheel. Ta-da!

Color Value Scale

I also had some trouble figuring out how to shade with color. This one didn't turn out quite as well as the black and white, but I do think I was able to show a sufficient range of blues. 

Black and White Value Scale

Here's my black and white scale. It took me awhile to figure out how to do the shading and all that, but I think it turned out pretty well!