Week 3 Primaries of Design

Primaries of Design

Below are examples of what I call the Primaries of Design.  These consist of Line/Texture, (because both line and texture sit on or define a surface) Notan (Light vs Dark, the local value of objects without consideration of light and shadow), and Chiaroscuro (Light vs Shadow, when the effect of light overpowers the local value contrast).  Our Primaries of Design should not be confused with Visual Elements themselves.  They serve very different functions.  Primaries of Design have to do with the bias of the artists application of marks and shapes.  Our images may be composed with shapes, colors, spatial relationships, and the rest of our visual elements, but how we choose to bias these shapes, colors, etc. has a profound effect on the total image.  These choices made by the artist when applied distinctly, and consistently emerge as what we consider an artist's style.  Clarity and discretion of the artists bias in their application of marks over proportionate areas of the total image creates a unification we may call a style.  The method we use to compare or measure both visual elements, as well as our primaries in any image or composition is the same, proportion to the overall, and range of contrast within the image.  We will discuss further when we discuss Major and Minor Keys.  Combined, our visual elements, and the manner in which we put them down work in contradistinction with one another and like other languages a greater connotation can be achieved through the sum of their juxtaposition, dominance and subordination, and nuance of choices and relationships.  This is not to say that our visual language has a grammatical framework, it does not.

I have gathered illustrations and paintings below as visual examples and characteristics of our primaries of design.  Again these relate to the bias of our application.

1

2

3

These primaries are the pillars of a whole style spectrum.  And just as we might look at one painting being predominantly one color by proportion, we also consider the range of contrast of other hues when we are designing a scheme.  A design scheme may favor one primary component through proportion of dominant influence.  But it may also contain a range of contrast from that primary to the others all within the same image.  This allows for great variety of styles.  It's important to note that artists and image makers may or may not be aware of these primaries as they are explained here.  Images considered both good and bad have been designed through various means throughout the generations but if we look at the images most coveted in museums around the world through this filter we can see the influence of line, mass, and form is used with distinction.  In the same manner with primary chroma of both additive and subtractive triads, when they are mixed together without bias the result in both cases is achromatic.  The same thing happens if the primaries of design are all applied to one another without dominance, distinction of style is lost.

From the earliest cave paintings until today, our primaries of design have influenced the distinction of  artistic styles. 

The cave paintings of Lascaux, France were painted approximately 17,000 BP and are line and notan dominant.  For hundreds of thousands of years these were the most common primaries used in creating visual imagery.  The image below is from the book of the dead approximately 1500 BC.

Some of the earliest accounts of the use of the depiction of light and shadow can be seen as in Ancient Greek art like the one below from approximately 300 BC.  But the contrast between light and shadow remains minimal compared to the surround establishing the silhouettes to define the matrix.  Chiaroscuro, depicting Light vs Shadow as the dominant separation within the design matrix would not gain popularity until the Italian renaissance.

In the Byzantine, Early Christian period artists made it popular to separate these components of line and mass into specific zones within their imagery, and began to use value gradients harkening back to the ancient Greeks acknowledgment of light and shadow within specific zones, mainly emphasized in the region of the faces.  This can be clearly seen in stained glass of religious subject from this period onward.

In the image immediately below we can see the clear change of execution from Notan in the overall image and Line becoming the dominant primary in the face.  This separation of bias remained clear but expanded to include what would later become known as chiaroscuro as you can see in the handling of predominantly the faces in the second image below.

Compare these two images below by Sandro Botticelli the presence of light and shadow is laid in with great clarity but the greater contrast in value remains between local values within the matrix.

And this image is divided into far more distinct contrasting  local value shapes.  Notice the total range in contrast in light vs. dark is greater than the more subtle range of contrast of the light vs. shadow areas in the face, neck, hair, and outfit.

In contrast to the image above this sculpting my Michaelangelo is void of local value variation and 100% Chiaroscuro dominant.

Leonardo Di Vinci pushed the range of contrast between light and shadow creating an astonishing example of Chiaroscuro.

Many years later Rembrant would also master this bias.

Compare the Rembrandt image above to the Manet painting below.  The Rembrandt image is a beautiful depiction of Chiaroscuro, and the Manet clearly has little to no form lighting at all!  It was written that Manet painted this after he visited Spain and was inspired by Velazquez's paintings.  But by this time Japanese prints were a new influence in Parisian artists.  This more Notan approach was considered too modern for the salon paintings of the day and placed Manet with other impressionists.

There were other artists who understood this triad and explored changing the bias of their marks within an image like Hans Holbein had done.  Look at the clear distinction of application of marks in the handling of the mans hat, to his hair, to his face, and his shirt.  This approach illustrates the importance of clarity to the execution of marks in various zones.

Gustov Klimt many years later revisited the Line/Texture over Mass bias from the Byzantine period.  This time merged with the influence of the Ukiyo-e style of prints during the 1800's from Japan.  We see some of the pattern motifs in this image, and in other Klimt images he applies gold leaf as in earlier Byzantine art.  His balance of tonal contrasts places Mass as the dominant contrast with Line/Texture as supporting bias, completely diminishing the effect of Form.

The influx of Japanese prints from the 1800's into Europe inspired many of the Impressionists and post impressionists, like Van Gough.  In fact without Hokusai there may not have been a Van Gough.  

Henri Matisse himself was worried that his minimalist approach would be misinterpreted by younger artists.  His paper cut outs such as this one were clearly Mass dominant and Line secondary.

Baus Haus is clearly the balance of Mass and Line with no visual reference to light and shadow.

This image is also line dominant but includes variation of value within the mass area of the image.  Since the tonal variations do not have clear reference to light and shadow or a light direction it remains a textured mass.

This is a contemporary poster design by Mac George that has Mass, Line/Texture, and Form.  Like Hans Holbein, he has made the distinction where he leans heavily into one bias or another.  The distinction of application within the individual zones gives it clarity.

Again clarity is key when designing and combining these modes.

Art history as it is explained may concern itself with the story of the human visual enlightenment throughout time.  The artists, their origins, and circumstances, and the social and economic causes that molded and places them across the human timeline.

For the artist, visual communicator of today, it is important to become aware of not only the manner in which these primaries of design have molded and defined the styles in the past, but we must also become more self aware of our own personal bias.  We need to  "Understand what great artists knew, and know ourselves".  

We all have our own personal affinity to certain primaries, and that to a large degree defines our style, our visual clarity and our visual failures.  The Primaries of Design provide a spectrum of design possibilities as broad as the color spectrum.  Below are more examples of images that push these bias.

More than our choices in manipulating visual elements, how we bias our application can have a greater impact on our individual styles.  When we are self aware of our personal bias we gain the key to change our natural bias in an effort to overcome bad habits, "break the rules", or become more inventive in designing new robust styles.  Establishing visual boundaries as to how we bias our application of marks is critical in the collaborative arts like animation.  This is evident in great movements and by great artists throughout art history.

 

Above are a couple images that are designed (tonally) by Notan and Chiaroscuro.  Sometimes people attach the term graphic to a Notan design but graphic can be too vague and general a term, sometimes referring to edges or type or spatial condition.  Again a design matrix that is divided by Notan is one in which the greater tonal contrast is between local values of light and dark.  A design matrix that is divided by Chiaroscuro is one in which the greater tonal contrast is between light and shadow. 

This painting by Charles Hawthorne is Notan dominant.  The rise in popularity of this design bias was the result of the influx of Japanese prints that influenced the impressionists artists.  Hawthorne studied these processes in Europe and taught them in the United States in the early 20th century.

I have added some images below that have distinctive drawing or painting styles.  When the style has one dominant primary and another secondary or subordinate, the style is usually more clear and successful.  That goes for any combination, but when your application or bias is unclear or too confusing there is a good chance your design will be unsuccessful.  Just as when your Matrix is non-committed your composition will appear mushy.  In the animation images below, are images from some animated films whose distinctive styles are both memorable, timeless.  

The image below is by Valentine Serov, look at the difference of the texture of her dark hair and dark skirt.  The amount of contrast in the form handling on the woman's face is also different than the application of her blouse.

Like Sleeping Beauty, the delicate features stand out because the texture of the background is even and has become a wall paper.  This is due to the break-up of the background texture being very consistent.

Call out on your own the dominant primary in these images below.  Some are rendered completely through one bias (like line in the image below) and other artists mix it up.  Remember keeping the bias distinctive helps the clarity of the image.  It's very possible to have all 3 primaries within any given image, the key is to make the areas and transitions clear.

Look at these images by Serov of Konstantine Korovin

the first one appears to have a lot of Chiaroscuro, and yet we compare it to the second image with his head blocked out we see that Serov set up the painting as Notan dominant, and delivered Chiaroscuro in his area of focus, the sitters face.

Here are more images that I hope will make clearer these three modes.  As you will see that any image from the beginning of time until now reference these primaries in one manner or another.  Images that have defined periods of art and human history usually call out the bias most popular of the day.  This does not mean that we are telling the same story over and over again, it means that Line, Notan and Chiaroscuro define the primary elements from which all styles can spring from.  And  artwork throughout history is connected in a more accessible manner than we may have thought.

In the photo of Rodin and his sculpture below the sculpture is light with a strong light direction where Rodin appears as a silhouette.  Silhouettes define the contour in a manner tangent to Notan.

 Robert Fawcett clearly designs his drawings by creating designated areas of different design bias.

Klimt appears to have been influenced by both Japanese prints as well as art of the Byzantine period, here displaying the gold leaf.

NC Wyeth

NC Wyeth's approached lighting and design in his illustrations differently in different situations.  I have grouped them by the range of his approach.  By doing this we see the genius of his design sensibilities.

Mulan off style drawing

In the concept image from Mulan below the design is very weak.  There is a variety of shapes which we might find appealing individually, but as a composition, there are too many shapes similar in scale, no real area of focus, and a minimal area of rest.  The tonal break-up varies without purpose of local color, or light and shadow, and sporadically relies on line for depiction of both shape and texture.

In contrast to the image above, this image below is very clear in its design bias.  This one is clearly Mass dominant and Line secondary.  There is an isolated light area (in the second image) that appears to be strongly Form driven, and yet the characters in this area are more Mass or Notan dominant.  Also important to note is the very subtle gradients in the larger Mass area remain very subtle.

See the image below

Form over Mass dominant is the bias for 

"A Tick Tock Tale"

The interaction of the effect of light is the dominant design bias in these images below, with Mass (local value grouping) supporting the design.

Genndy Tartakovsky and Samurai Jack

Clearly Mass over texture/Line dominant background keys provide a clear depiction of the priorities of this type of design.  Offering clarity to the parameters of a style allows what we would call elastic performance capabilities.  This means that within the style there remains a great flexibility as how to apply the bias while keeping the "look" of the world.  When the design of a show is minimal it is of great importance to lean into clearly depicting of the manner of the bias which determines the style.  For instance what is the range of shapes and the depiction of their gradients?  Also, what is the range of texture/Line to be used to display distinction from shapes as well as from other textures/Lines.  

We always want to ask; What is similar, and What is different?

This is true within all of our visual elements themselves, and the distinction between them that manifests through the bias of the artists' application.

Tyrus Wong

In these designs for Bambi by Tyrus Wong he is using a technique of Counterchange (a faux form technique in which the illusion of form is created through interpenetrating light and dark gradients to imply the illusion of form, without rendering form).  In this process as others, the distinction of shapes are very important to the clarity of the images.  Tree trunks, branches, groupings of leaves, and blades of grass are distinctly different.  This brings a level of clarity in a would be complex illustration.  Tyrus Wong was an avid watercolorist who employed this technique that is often used in that medium.  Many other artists through history have used Counterchange within their images, but for Bambi it allowed the painters to paint backgrounds which have a deep, rich feeling of light over dark, and dark over light giving the impression of dappled light in the forrest.  When characters (with their various values) moved across these backgrounds they would appear as if they were going into light and dark without animating tones on the characters.  Again leveling up to the genius of their choices to create the illusion of life, and not rendering every detail.

Syd Mead the Futurist Illustrator

In these images Mead has designed in areas of focus, interest and rest.  Though we are discussing line, mass, and form we still need remain focused on the grouping details and rest.  These images display large areas of detail (areas with a high concentration of small contrasting marks) which need to be balanced with areas of rest.  Look at these images to map out the difference.

Ky Nielsen

line and Mass

Areas of Focus, Interest, and Rest

In any image we design we should be conscience of the distribution of detail.  This should not be taken for granted, but a clear decision as to where your area of focus, (that area in which we may have our greatest concentration of small, high contrasting marks), an area of interest (that area of your image that has a higher frequency of visual break up and interest which may lead to the focal area but is in itself not the focal area) and the area of rest (the area with the least tonal, color, shape, contrast, or least information in general).  In images where there is an abundance of line mass and form, the distinction of shapes (either figure or ground, or both) as well as a clear presence of the distribution of rest, interest, and focus will allow the artist to maintain a balanced design, and maintain image clarity.  In these images below the artist has designed in a few areas of focus, interest and rest.  

Homework week 2

Notice in the photo above there is a strong light source but per our assignment the drawing below was altered by the artist to be Notan dominant, and line secondary. There were deliberate choices made in this depiction to make clear the stylistic difference.

From one image design five different images changing the design bias.  You can try designing  an image with one dominant bias and change the bias in your area of focus.  The change of mode will be the contrast in the image that will aid in defining it as a focal point or areal.

Here are some more example sketches