Activity 4: Simultaneous Contrast  

Purpose:
To explore simultaneous contrast.

Materials:
Drawing paper, illustration board, paints and drawing materials. 

Method:
The rule of simultaneous contrast states that any color can appear to vary depending on the color placed next to it, suggesting that the color similarities are cancelled as the dissimilarities are emphasized. This is evident in this example where the circles contain the same color but each seems different. (Fig. 7.4A)

In this exercise you will set up a grid filled with a repeating image. That number or letter will break the cell into shapes that will be used for the placement of colors to see how they affect each other.

A) Research and bring to class several different, interesting styles of numbers or letters of the alphabet you find in magazines, books, in advertising, or any other media you see. Choose one number in one style and create a repeated pattern composition by first drawing a grid of three rows by five columns, into which you will fit your number motifs. Single or double (or more) motifs are acceptable.

B) Use one constant, low-intensity color near middle gray on the value scale. (See your textbook) Repeat this color fifteen or twenty times in the shapes throughout your composition without letting them touch. Any shape (positive or negative) counts as a single shape in the design. Fill in the remaining shapes with new colors that contrast with the low-intensity constant in terms of higher intensity, complementary mixtures, and related or analogous hues. Also, vary the values of the hues; have a range of light, medium, and dark colors. Do not arbitrarily duplicate these colors. Use as many new, contrasting colors as you can. The goal is to change the appearance of the constant color by the new colors you put next to it depicting simultaneous contrast. (Figs. 7.4B, 7.4C, 7.4D and 7.4E)

Submitted by Instructor Debra Babylon, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio.