Color and Emphasis

The purpose of today's in class exercise was to learn new skills in color and emphasis. According to our book, Design Basics Index, by Jim Krause it states, "Color is an extremely effective tool when it comes to making one element stand out above others. But, just as with other forms of emphasis, its effect depends on how it is used in relation to its surroundings" (74). Using color creates value in images to bring notice to a certain aspect.

As the warm-up exercise, we used an image from the web. I chose to use a puppy because I find them to be very cute. Below is the original image of the puppy:

The following image is my first exercise using the puppy as my image: 

The purpose of this image was to present one shape as more valuable or distinct from the other existing shapes. First I used the magnetic lasso tool to outline the shape of the puppy from the original image. Then I used the select inverse tool in order to delete the background. After that I opened a new window and dragged the puppy shape onto it. From that point I created four different layers, each layer with one puppy on it. Each time I moved the puppy shape to the image, I used the "free transverse" tool to resize the shape. Then, I selected the second layer, with the middle puppy and used the selective coloring tool to make the middle puppy red. Finally, I inserted some opacity in order to identify the shape as a puppy. This image has drastically changed from the original image because there is no grass background and there are now three smaller shaped puppies rather than one large one. There is also a new color scheme. I enjoyed making this because everyone loves an image of a cute puppy like this one. 

The next exercise we completed in class was to combine a feeling of an old picture and a modern picture. To do this we were asked to find a picture of a street and make it black and white. Then we were asked to make one aspect of the image a color. 

The following is the original image I used: 

This image was taken in Paris, France. 

Below is my version of the photo: 

The purpose of this image represents past and present. The beginning creations of this image was quite difficult for me, however, I explored the different tools I could use and finally discovered an effective and easy way to use color and emphasis. To create this image I first used the magnetic lasso tool around the woman's dress. I then used the select inverse tool, but did not delete the background, instead used the adjustment tool to turn everything but the red dress black and white. This image has changed from the original because now the red stands out more than in the colored version. The red dress holds more emphasis and dominance. The black and white also makes the image seem more seductive, which could send a different message from the original image. I believe that my edited version actually looks better than the original because the one color makes it pop more. 

I had a lot of fun doing both of these exercises and now want to continue more with some of my own personal photos!