Assignment 7: Greyscale- Free Composition. Due Monday, March 6th

Project Description

Design and execute a composition in greyscale with the unused paint swatches left over from your black and white value scale. Refer back to your notes regarding the elements and principles of design, and apply these to create an arrangement of line and shapes that move the eye around the page. 

Specifications

Minimum 8 inches x 8 inches overall. You can make it larger if you want.
Mount the composition on matt board with a 2 inch border around all sides. 
Name on back. 

NO pieces may overlap. I originally said this in class but I am going to allow you to layer your swatches. You MAY overlap the painted paper swatches. You man also tear, rip, scratch, etc. Be creative, thoughtful and intentional. 

The composition may be representational or abstract. It just has to be good. 

Schedule

Wed, March 1st- 

In-class work day. Bring materials to work and a sketch of the composition. 

Mon, March 6th @ 10:30am. 

Project Due On-Line (NO CLASS)

All work must be posted to your blog by 10:30am on Mon, March 6th. Each student will review ALL other students in the class. Use the comments sections on the blog to post your comments to your classmates' work. This required feedback will replace our regularly scheduled in-person critique. It should take you about two hours to do. 

All work posted after 10:30am will be marked as late and reduce a full letter grade. 

Tips

Focal Points- 
Create at least three different focal points in the composition and arrange them on the page to help move your eye around the entire space. Positioning them in a triangular configuration is a common approach. 

Hierarchy- 
Establish an order of importance to all the elements (lines/shapes) in your design. 
What is most important? 
How will you establish this?
Answer: Contrast

What is least important? 
How do you establish these? 
Answer: Similarity with the ground and with the majority of elements on the page. 
What is the purpose of these elements?  
Answer: To support the most important things. 

Figure/Ground-
Remember that you SIMULTANEOUSLY create figure and ground as soon as you make a mark in space. The moment this happens, you define both the mark, and the space it resides in. If you keep this in mind, you will not make the mistake of drawing things on a "background". Instead, you will have interesting positive AND negative shapes. Interesting Figure AND Ground. Test your composition by studying the negative shapes in your composition. Are they as important and essential as your figure/subjects?

Framal Reference-
Have you considered the way your composition works with the frame of your page? When an element/shape is confined within the frame it feels small/contained. When an element/shape extends beyond the frame it feels large/expansive. Use this to your advantage. Also consider gravity and the fact that we read from left to right. 

Atmospheric Perspective-
As things move back in space there is less edge contrast and less overall contrast. In addition, the colors move toward achromatic gray. Your swatches are all achromatic treys (grays without color). Can you introduce more swatches of muted and prismatic colors to bring things to the front/closer to the viewer? Yes

Similarity and Contrast-
Use similarity to create unity and contrast to create interest. This is a balance. Too much similarity = boring. Too much contrast = discord. 

Texture-
You got it... use it. a bad paint swatch from the last project could be a great thing here. 

Create the unexpected. Have fun. Use those swatches!