The influence of lighting on the colors of objects. How light affects the choice of color or how to choose the right shade

Surely, each of you has encountered slight sadness and apathy on a cold cloudy day, which instantly turns into causeless inspiration in bright sunny weather. Perhaps the whole point is a lack of vitamin D, which we produce in the sun, but there is another secret. Depending on the lighting, the color palette of all objects around us completely changes. In clear weather we see rich colors and sharp shadows, which are synonymous with dynamism and positivity; on cloudy days, shadows are blurred, and a feeling of calm or even slight sadness is created due to the decrease in contrast. In addition, the natural color of objects depends on the temperature of the lighting, which also affects our impression of the landscape around us.

Often they pay attention only to the tonal modeling of the form, depicting the same color in the shadow of an object as in the light, only with a difference in tone. This is a serious mistake because the color always changes. It is impossible to paint both light and shadow with the same pigment!

To create a realistic image of objects, you must remember the following axioms:

1. If the lighting is warm, then cool shades appear in the shadows, and vice versa, if the lighting is cold, warm shades appear in the shadows.

For example, if we paint a landscape in bright sunlight on a cloudless day, then there may be warm shades in the shadows, since daylight is most often white, bluish or lemon-colored and is considered cool light. At sunrise and sunset, sunlight is usually warm - bright yellow or orange, so cool bluish and bluish shades appear in the shadows.

K. Monet “Rouen Cathedral: portal and tower of Saint-Romain: morning effect.” K. Monet “Rouen Cathedral: Portal and Tower of Saint-Romain: Noon.” C. Monet “Rouen Cathedral: portal and tower of Saint-Romain: effect of the sun, end of day”

In the same way, if we paint a still life under an electric incandescent lamp, the shadows will become noticeably colder, you will see shades of blue, purple or even green. Also, in the flames of a fire or a candle, which provide warm lighting, cold shades appear in the shadows. However, when using a fluorescent lamp with cold light (from 4000 K), the shadows will become noticeably warmer, as with cold moonlight.

The following tables will help us understand the temperature of light

2. Shades appear in the shadow that are opposite on the color spectrum to the local color of the object.

This simple means that in the object's own shadow we can see shades of a complementary color. For example, you are painting a still life with a red apple, a peach and blue grapes. The complementary color for red is green, for yellow it is purple, and for blue it is orange. This is why in the shadows you will be able to see shades of green, purple and orange respectively.

If we look at the color wheel, these pairs will be: yellow and purple, green and red, blue and orange. And intermediate ones between them, respectively.

3. An object illuminated by warm light and having a warm local color becomes even brighter and more saturated in the light, and an object having a cold local color becomes closer to an achromatic color that is equal in tone.

And an object that has a cold local color becomes even brighter, louder and more saturated.

For example, we draw an orange illuminated by a lamp with warm light. In the light, the orange area will appear even brighter and more saturated than it already is, while in the shade the orange color will not only become noticeably cooler, but will also lose color. This effect can be achieved using blue paint. Many people know that complementary colors placed side by side on a canvas enhance each other. But not everyone knows that complementary colors, when mixed with each other on the palette, neutralize each other. If we illuminate this orange with cold daylight, then in the light its color will become more faded, while “burning shades” will appear in the shadows.

These simple rules allows you to predict what color will appear in the shadows or in the light and choose the right shades for mixing. That's all. Happy drawing!

When choosing wallpaper, furniture, curtains or any other item for the interior of your apartment, we first of all pay attention to the color of the item. Color is one of the main criteria that influences the decision to purchase a particular item for the home. And what a disappointment it can be when, seeing a purchase at home, we discover that in our apartment the color has suddenly become completely different and does not look as charming as in the store. And the culprit for this fairly common problem is metamerism, a term denoting color change depending on observation conditions (lighting, etc.).

There are 4 main types of metamerism:

Radiation metamerism is a change in color depending on the light source;

Observer metamerism is a natural phenomenon and has long been known fact that all people perceive color individually, so for different people the same color will look different;

Metamerism of the size of the measured field - a change in the perception of color depending on its area; many colors become more “aggressive” with a larger occupied area;

Metamerism of geometry or viewing angle is a change in color depending on the viewing angle of the observer. This effect is especially noticeable on metallized or coated surfaces with special paints.

How does light change color?

The color in your home always depends on the lighting. If you are observant, you have probably already noticed this yourself. In daylight, the color of the walls is the same, but in the evening, when the light sources are turned on, the color of the walls changes and becomes different. And of course this applies to all surfaces in the room.

That is why it is recommended to check all finishing materials under different light sources and always at home, so that there are no unexpected surprises. After all, it often happens that you like the wallpaper in the store, but when you bring it home, it’s not the same color.

There are certain patterns in color changes under the influence of light. They can be summarized something like this: in warm light warm colors become softer and more delicate, and cold colors fade and turn gray. In cold light, on the contrary, cool colors become brighter and more radiant, while warm colors take on a grayish tint.

This must be taken into account when purchasing lamps for your lamps. Incandescent lamps, which are now a thing of the past, have a warm light. Energy-saving lamps can have both warm and cool light. Their packaging always indicates what kind of light the lamp produces. Pay attention to this and buy exactly those lamps that will highlight the colors in your room.

The smallest change in color of finishing materials is produced by simple halogen lamps, which emit white light that is closest to natural midday light.

With natural light, you need to take into account the climate and the location of the windows. In southern latitudes the light is brighter, and in northern latitudes it is more diffuse. In bright southern light, colors appear paler, so to compensate for this effect, it is recommended to choose a color 1-2 shades darker. To soften too sunny rooms, choose cold, dark pastel (desaturated) colors.

To prevent northern rooms from looking too gloomy and cold, use warm colors. If there is not enough light in the room, then light and intense colors can compensate for this deficiency. In general, when exposed to indirect northern light, colors appear darker and less intense.

The table shows examples of how colors change when exposed to warm and cold light. Since the color rendering of your monitor may distort true colors, use these as approximate values. And remember, in order not to make a mistake in your choice, test the finishing materials at home under home lighting.

Additionally, the perception of color is influenced by the colors surrounding it, for example, the illusion of contrast and Hering gratings provide insight into this phenomenon. Also, colors in color combinations can mutually enhance or weaken each other. When going to the store to choose finishing materials and furniture for your home, you should take these phenomena into account.

In order to get exactly the color in the interior that you wanted, you need to approach the choice with preliminary preparation. First, determine what types of lighting will be present in your apartment, and how a specific object or finishing material will be illuminated. How much natural light there will be, which side of the world the windows face.

In southern light, most colors appear more intense, but also become slightly paler. Bleached, desaturated colors in a southern room will be almost white. In northern indirect light, colors lose their intensity, but at the same time they look darker. To compensate for this effect, you need to choose more saturated color tones for northern rooms.

What artificial light sources will illuminate the subject - incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps or others. The greatest change in the color of finishing materials is observed when illuminated with incandescent lamps and sodium lamps high pressure and sodium lamps low pressure. The least change in the color of an object occurs when illuminated with high-pressure mercury lamps and high-pressure metal halide lamps. Other types of lamps have an average ability to influence color changes. In addition, we must take into account that, other things being equal, saturated colors are subject to the greatest changes.

Perfect option The solution to this problem is to bring the selected sample into the house before purchasing and see how it will look. But this, unfortunately, is not always possible. Firstly, during renovation, lighting sources are installed on last stage, and therefore you cannot see in advance how the selected finishing material will ultimately look. And secondly, stores very rarely provide such a service.

Therefore, you will have to solve the problem of metamerism yourself. To do this, stock up on different types of flashlights and do not hesitate to shine them all at different angles on the selected material. Be sure to bring the selected sample to the window and see how it looks in natural light, not forgetting about the cardinal directions. Rotate the sample and look at it from different angles, notice what happens to its color. Make a purchasing decision only if you like the color different types lighting.
If the material you choose will occupy a large area in the room, then try to “turn on” your three-dimensional imagination and imagine how this color will look on a large area. Sometimes colors and patterns look expressive in a small area, but lose their charm in a large area.

If the material is selected for a room where several people will spend their time, be sure to take family members with you. The chosen color should be liked by everyone, otherwise quarrels, disputes and other undesirable consequences are possible in the future. Agree, few people like to often be in an unpleasant color environment.

The next point you need to pay attention to when choosing colors is finishing material, furniture and interior fabrics, these are color combinations. What other colors will be present in the room? How much area will each color occupy? If you already have samples of other materials that will be present in the room, take them with you and attach them to the material you choose. See how the colors affect each other and only make a purchase if you are happy with everything.

If you nevertheless bought a material, fabric or furniture that has changed its color in an unpleasant way in your home, and it is impossible to return the product, try to soften the unsuccessful color using an analogue one, placing it nearby. For example, a bright green sofa can be toned down by throwing soft turquoise pillows on it. Or, for example, if the red-blue color, which looked spectacular in the store, has merged into a single purple color in your apartment, then choose the color that you like best from the color and use it as a dominant feature in additional accessories.

Knowing all the pitfalls that await you on the path to choosing a color scheme for the interior of your apartment, you can easily avoid them. Well, if you still didn’t take something into account and got a not entirely satisfactory result, there is always the opportunity to correct everything by using other colors from color palette. To do this, you just need to study the influence of colors on each other or seek the help of professionals.

Home design for happy life, or How to create the ideal space for the emotional well-being of the whole family

The book describes a step-by-step algorithm for creating a home interior design with your own hands.

It contains everything key points important for design - from coming up with ideas and choosing colors, to arranging furniture.

This book is about how to create an atmosphere of warmth and comfort through design.

It contains practical advice from a designer and art therapist on arranging comfortable housing for a fulfilling life.

Simple step-by-step algorithms for selecting colors and furniture will help solve all issues related to interior design. You will know exactly how to choose colors and arrange furniture so that the whole family can live well in the house.

The science of color – color science – studies many issues that are of interest to artists. For example: proper mixing of paints, how color changes under different lighting, at different distances, the influence of neighboring colors on the color and many others. similar questions. Color issues have been studied for quite some time. Back in 1810, Goethe wrote “The Doctrine of Flowers.” Color science reveals patterns of color phenomena in nature, thereby helping artists and painters. This article is about the most important aspects in color science.

BASIC PROPERTIES OF COLOR.

If you put any three equally white objects: one in a well-lit place, the second in a less lit place, and the third in a poorly lit place, you can see that the less lit the place, the grayer this object will appear. If you do the same with a blue, green or red object, then it will still be perceived as blue, green or red. The thing is that all black, gray and white colors differ from each other only in lightness. Although in the world around us there are no purely white, gray and black colors. They always have some shade. White, gray and black paints also come in different shades. Even ordinary white paint different manufacturers may differ, so if you need to paint on something that has already been started with one white paint, it is better to look for paint from the same manufacturer whose paint was used at the beginning. Because the difference between two white colors may be too obvious and completely inappropriate. The same is true with gray and black colors.

Colors that differ from each other only in lightness are called achromatic (colorless). It's pure black, pure white and pure grey colour.

Achromatic colors. The position on the scale from black to white is called - lightness.

These colors cease to be achromatic if there is even a slight color tint. All other colors are called chromatic (translated from Greek - colored). They differ not only in lightness, but also in color (red and blue), as well as color tone (red, orange, yellow).

Chromatic colors. Consists of chromatic colors color spectrum.

When mixing paint, the lightness and darkness of the color can be adjusted by adding black or white paint. For example, if you add white to red, you get pink, and if you add black to the same red, you get brown. In order to make a color less saturated, you need to add gray paint to it of the same lightness as the color itself, and the color will become less saturated, cloudy, but will not become lighter or darker than it was originally. Saturation is determined by the degree of difference between achromatic and chromatic colors of the same lightness.

Color saturation This is the degree of distance between a chromatic color and an achromatic color of the same lightness.

Although very often saturation and lightness or darkness are adjusted by mixing paints of chromatic colors. Moreover, when more than two are mixed different colors– the color becomes more achromatic and in order to make it less saturated, it is not necessary to add gray paint.

Chromatic colors vary in saturation, lightness, and hue; these criteria are called the basic properties of colors, because they absolutely accurately characterize the color. Even a slight change in any of these characteristics will result in a change in color.

NON-SELECTIVE AND SELECTIVE LIGHT ABSORPTION.

When white light passes through a prism, it is divided into colored rays; if a white screen is placed in front of them, a spectrum will be reflected on it - a strip with all the colors of the rainbow. If you place a gray or black screen in front of these rays, then the same spectrum will be reflected on it, only all its colors will be darker, and the darker the screen, the darker the colors of the spectrum will be. And if you put a screen of any other “color” color in the path of the rays, the spectrum will change. It may have a change in brightness distribution, colorless areas may appear, or it may become shorter, without red-orange or blue-violet colors. The surfaces of achromatic colors reflect colored rays equally, while those of chromatic ones reflect them differently: some less, some more. Under colored lighting, black, white and gray objects seem to be slightly colored in the color of the lighting. The surfaces of other colors visually change differently. For example: blue will become more saturated if the lighting is bluish, if the lighting is any other color, then it will darken, maybe even blue-black and will appear less saturated. Will also be with red and green flowers. This happens because objects that do not glow reflect some of the light that illuminates them, and absorb some. Objects of all colors absorb part of the light, converting light energy into other energies, mainly heat. That is why white objects heat up in the sun much less than black ones. Moreover, the reflection and absorption of colored light is the same for all surfaces of achromatic colors. It is this absorption of light that is called non-selective. Objects with chromatic colors absorb rays of some colors to a greater extent and others to a lesser extent. Red objects absorb green rays more than red ones, and green objects, on the contrary, absorb red rays more than green ones. This is how selective absorption of light manifests itself.

If you take green glass and shine green light on it, the light will pass through it; if, for example, you shine blue light on it, it will be partially absorbed by the glass and it will appear darker and more colorless. If you put red and green glass together, they will transmit little light and appear very dark. And yellow and blue glass, folded together, will freely transmit green light. Rays different color, are transmitted (absorbed) differently by glasses of different colors.

COLOR CIRCLE.

The color spectrum starts with dark reds and ends with blues and purples. If you mix red and violet, you get purple. The very beginning of the spectrum is slightly similar in color to its end. If you add magenta to the spectrum, placing it between red and purple flowers, you can close the ring of colors. Purple will become sort of intermediate, you will get what is commonly called the color wheel. Such circles come in different colors, but the human eye can distinguish no more than 150 of them.

The color wheel can be divided into two parts: warm colors such as red, orange, yellow and yellow-green; and cool colors: green-blue, cyan, blue and violet. They are divided this way because warm colors are similar in color to fire and the sun, and cold colors are similar to water and ice. Although, this is all relative. In the color wheel, colors that are opposite in tone are opposite each other: red is opposite to green, orange is opposite to blue, yellow is opposite to blue, green is opposite to violet.

CHANGE OF COLORS FROM LIGHTING.

Artificial light (from a lamp or candle) appears yellowish compared to daylight. All objects under such lighting acquire a yellowish or even slightly orange tint. If an inexperienced, novice artist paints a landscape under such lighting, then in daylight it will appear yellowish, because in the evening the yellowness is not noticeable. If a person looks at a certain surface, he will capture the characteristics of the lighting and restore the color characteristic of this surface, discarding the shade imposed by the lighting. While in the darkroom, it will be very difficult to find a piece of red paper when the red photographic lamp is on. All papers in this laboratory will appear white.

Change colors depending on lighting. In daylight (top) and artificial light (bottom).

Identical objects, if placed in the light or in the shade, will visually change color slightly. At sunset, tree leaves appear reddish because chlorophyll reflects some of the red or reddish sun rays. In bright light, the colors will seem to fade. When it starts to get dark, the tones stop being different. The red ones become difficult to see first, then the orange ones, then the yellow ones, and then all the others in order of location in the spectrum. Blue colors remain visible the longest. In the morning, all colors become visible in the opposite order: we begin to distinguish blue and cyan first. Yellow colors During the day they seem lighter than all the others, and in the evening the blue ones seem the lightest. All these color changes under different lighting must be taken into account when painting.

Chiaroscuro.

Chiaroscuro is the main means of conveying the volume of a form in fine arts. Lighting can also be conveyed through chiaroscuro. With an average degree of illumination, on medium-light objects, you can see the richest transitions from light to shadow. Reflexes are sometimes visible in the shadows (shades that are given by light reflecting from different objects nearby).

Reflexes are still visible in the glare. Highlights on non-metallic surfaces always have the color of the illumination, while on metallic surfaces they always have colored highlights. For silver or silver objects they are bluish, while for copper and gold objects they are orange and yellow. To convey volume, you can use the effect of receding and protruding colors. Warm colors are prominent because to most people, objects in those colors appear to be closer than they actually are. And objects of cold colors, receding, on the contrary, seem more distant than they are. The lighter and more saturated the color, the more it seems to stand out and vice versa - the less saturated and darker, the more it recedes.

CHANGING COLORS AT A DISTANCE.

The earth's atmosphere contains tiny particles such as moisture, air molecules, and dust. By creating a cloudy environment, they block the passage of light. Red, orange and yellow rays pass through the atmosphere better than blue, indigo and violet, which are scattered into different sides, give the sky its blue color. The more dust and moisture there is in the air, the more the color of the light scattered in the air approaches white, as in fog.

Light that is reflected from a light, well-lit object located far away, passing through the atmosphere, acquires a warm tint and darkens, losing some of the blue and cyan rays. Light reflected from a dark, dimly lit object that is far away, passing through the atmosphere, picks up blue and cyan rays scattered in it, becoming lighter and acquiring a bluish tint.

Color, over long distances, changes not only under the influence of haze. Orange color at a distance of 500 meters it becomes reddish, and at a distance of up to 800 meters it becomes almost red. Yellow objects also appear reddish from a distance, provided they are well lit. Green ones become more like blue ones, and blue ones, on the contrary, turn greener. At a distance, almost all colors become lighter, with the exception of blue, violet and purple, which darken with distance.

MIXING PAINTS.

In order to easily mix paints, knowledge of the theory of paint mixing will be useful.

Red, yellow, and blue are called primary colors because they produce the most variety of colors. When drawing, these three colors are often not enough; you also need black and white.

The formation of a paint mixture of a certain color is largely due to the characteristics of the absorption of different spectral rays by paint particles when passing through their mixture. Each particle absorbs, as if subtracts, some part of the light energy that penetrates it. This process is called subtractive, color subtraction. For example: when light falls on a mixture of yellow and blue paints, it is partially reflected, but most of it penetrates and passes through the particles of one or the other paint. All the rays of the yellow and green parts of the spectrum will pass through the yellow particles, and all the rays of the blue and green parts will pass through the blue particles. In this case, blue particles, to some extent, will absorb: red, orange and yellow rays, and yellow particles will absorb blue, indigo and violet. It turns out that the green rays remained unabsorbed, which determined that from a mixture of yellow and blue paints, we got green paint.

Mechanical color mixing.

If you apply translucent layers of paints of different colors on top of each other, the color that was applied most recently will dominate the color of the resulting mixture.

When dry, all paints are water based, brighten and in varying degrees lose saturation. If a picture painted with such paints is placed under glass or opened with varnish, the colors on it will look more saturated and darker. This is explained by the fact that the surface of the painting, without any coating, reflects diffused white light.

OPTICAL COLOR MIXING.

For painting, in addition to mechanical color mixing, you can also use optical mixing.

If you select and add, in a certain quantity, another chromatic color to any chromatic color, you get a new achromatic color. These two chromatic colors that have been matched will be called complementary colors. These colors are clearly defined: for crimson-red there is additionally green-blue for fiery red - green-blue orange - blue yellow-green - purple-violet lemon yellow - ultramarine blue. Pairs of such colors are not difficult to find, because they lie opposite each other on the color wheel.

When optically mixing non-complementary colors, we get colors of intermediate tones (blue + red = violet).

If we mix orange and blue, we get the same achromatic color as if we first mixed red with yellow to get orange, which was then later mixed with blue. The result will not depend on which rays of the spectrum make up the colors that we mix. This is what distinguishes optical color mixing (adjunctive) from mechanical (based on the subtraction of light rays).

If you paint a leaf with different colors, small spots or small strokes and strokes, then according to the laws of optical mixing, at a distance they will merge into one common, monochromatic color. This is what optical mixing looks like, which is called spatial mixing. It is used in painting when it is necessary to give a certain area transparency and lightness, compared to other areas.

COLOR CONTRAST.

Despite the fact that paints are now on sale in a wide range, for painting luminous objects and the darkest mountain crevices, there are no paints that are ideally suited for the brightness. Artists cope with the transfer of these objects and natural phenomena, by using correct use interaction of colors.

Same color on the background various colors, looks different. Any object against a background of a darker color than itself will appear lighter and, conversely, against a lighter background it will appear darker than it actually is. And what more difference between the lightness or darkness of the background and the object located on it - the darker or lighter it will appear, regardless of whether it is chromatic or achromatic in color. A change in color when surrounded by other colors, or when in contact with another color, is called simultaneous color contrast.

The contrast in which the lightness of a color changes due to the influence of neighboring colors or the colors that surround it is called lightness contrast.

Achromatic colors on different chromatic backgrounds become colored. For example: if a gray object is placed on a red background, it will become greenish, on a green background it will become pinkish, and on a yellow background it will become bluish. Contrast, in which it is not lightness that changes, but saturation or hue, is called chromatic. And the colors that appear on an object are called colors of simultaneous contrast. To negate the effect of chromatic contrast (so as not to distort the gray color of an object on a red background), you need to give the object a background shade. If you give a gray object a pinkish tint, then against a red background its color will no longer be distorted and it will look pure gray.

If you draw a gray object on a red background and trace it along a contour, then this contour will reduce the effect of contrast or completely eliminate it. If you divide several neighboring colors with lines, you can also reduce their influence on each other, partially or completely remove the effect of chromatic contrast.

The most pronounced contrast can be seen at the boundaries where color spots touch, at the edges of these color spots. If you look at a white cube, one side of which is darkened, and the other is more illuminated, you can see that the darkened side, near the illuminated edge, looks darker, and the illuminated side, near the darkened edge, looks lighter. This contrast, which we see precisely at the edges of color spots, is called edge contrast.

All these features of contrast must be taken into account, since if you do not pay due attention to them when drawing, you will not be able to convey the relief of the surfaces in the image, or the objects in it will look distorted, it will not be clear that some of their parts protrude and which ones - they go deeper.

THE COLOR OF THE SOIL AND ITS ROLE IN THE DRAWING PROCESS.

If paints are applied to the ground in translucent layers (glaze writing), then the influence of the color of the ground on the colors of all applied paints and on general form paintings will be obvious. But even with corpus writing (when paints are applied in a dense, non-transparent layer), the color of the ground will matter, since a certain amount of light will penetrate through the top, colored layer of paints and reach the ground, and then, reflecting from it, change the overall tone of the picture, but it will be almost unnoticeable.

The most great importance The color of the primer acquires when the primer is not completely painted over, when its color is involved in the composition of the painting, with the aim, for example, of increasing the brightness of the other colors in the painting. Based on the laws of contrast, choosing a dark ground, old master artists, Italians and Spaniards, often resorted to such methods.

The same sketch painted on two different colors of soil will look different. Against a white background, all colors will appear darker, so you will need to use more light colors, than those that would be needed for writing against a background of gray ground. Since on a gray ground, on the contrary, all colors will appear lighter and darker colors will need to be used.

White primer is universal and novice artists are not recommended to use primer of other colors for work until they have studied all the influences of colors on each other and have learned to apply them perfectly in practice.

ASSESSMENT OF COLOR IN THE PICTURE.

All the colors that we see in a picture and in nature, we see already changed by their action on each other and the effect of lighting on them. We cannot see each color separately, without any changes. If you select just one element in a picture, and cover all the others with something, its color will be different from the color it acquires if you look at the whole picture, but it will still undergo changes due to the characteristics of the lighting. In order to choose the right colors for a painting, you need to take into account how, as a result, these colors change on your chosen motif, as well as correctly and evenly distribute the intensity of the colors. The most intense colors should be used in the foreground, and the colors with the least intensity should be used in the background.

FLOWER RELATIONSHIPS.

The artist’s task is to convey each color in such a way that it is correctly perceived in the lighting conditions that are captured in the picture, is correctly correlated with the painted object, and its intensity corresponds to the spatial plane on which the object is located. To do this, you need to be able to choose the right relationships between colors.

In addition to saturation, lightness and color tone, flowers also have textural properties. Colors that convey the color of a surface that has a clear location in space are different from the same colors that, for example, simply serve to add color to the background. These are called surface colors. Thanks to such differences, we can always approximately determine at what distance any colored surface is located. Colors that do not serve to display relief, which are used to draw something that does not have a clear location (for example: a rainbow or sky, we cannot determine the distance to them by eye), are called textureless colors. The colors used to paint transparent media that are perceived not in a plane, but in volume (air, water) are called volumetric colors.

There is also the concept of color density, which is determined by the density of the paint layer. Paint applied to the surface in layers of different densities, in different places, makes the picture more alive.

Color relationships are determined by textural characteristics, density and basic properties. In order not to stray from the correct color relationships, while drawing, you need to periodically rest your eyes (close your eyes at least for a short time), as they get tired of color. For example: if you look at a green spot for a long time, and then quickly move your gaze to a sheet of white paper, you will see the same spot on this sheet, only lilac-pink color. The appearance of such fake effects occurs due to eye fatigue from color. They are called negative sequential images. Also, visual fatigue occurs if the observed colors begin to ripple. If you look at a sheet of colored paper for a long time, its color will become less saturated. This is also a sign of eye fatigue. If any of the above happens, you need to stop painting for a while.

COLOR IN THE COMPOSITION OF A PICTURE.

With the help of color, you can balance the composition of a painting. Colors that resemble the color of the earth or rocks appear heavy, while colors that resemble the color of the air or sky appear lighter. But, you need to take into account that even if you paint with one of the “light” colors, an object that is actually heavy (for example: mountains) - the color will still seem heavy. To balance the composition, you need to pay attention not only to the weight of colored objects, but also to their visibility. Least noticeable Blue colour, and red and orange attract attention the most.

With the help of light contrast, as well as brightness and brightness of color, you can highlight objects in the picture that need to attract more attention.

If you check in practice everything said in this article, practice painting, carefully observe nature, become more familiar with color science - it will be easier for you to become a real landscape artist.

This funny thing has probably happened to many people: they chose beautiful wallpaper into the room, pasted it, enjoy the beautiful blue. Evening came, you turned on the light... and the delicate blue tint suddenly turned almost green. What's the matter? It is known that lighting, both natural and artificial, has a significant impact on the perception of the color of walls and objects. This is exactly what we will talk about in our article.

We get the most correct impression of color in sunlight at noon. Accordingly, before painting the wall in the chosen color, first do a test painting of 1x1 cm: you will definitely see how the color changes depending on the time of day and electric lighting.
In order to choose the right lamps for a particular color scheme of the interior, you can be guided by the general color rendering index Ra. The color rendering characteristic of a lamp describes how natural (close to natural daylight) the objects around us look in its light. The maximum Ra value is 100. The lower the Ra value, the worse the colors of the illuminated object are rendered.
Let's look at the color rendering properties of the most common types of lamps.
Incandescent lamps

Traditional incandescent lamps have almost no blue and violet (in other words, cool) part of the spectrum, resulting in a warm, “yellow” light. For this reason, warm colors - red, orange, yellow and their shades are perceived in the light of incandescent lamps with minimal deviation, blue and violet surfaces significantly darken and redden, green ones become dull. If you have not yet abandoned incandescent lamps in favor of energy-saving ones, then it is better to use them in an interior with warm colors.
Color rendering index of incandescent lamps – R 60-90
Halogen lamps
A halogen lamp is an improved incandescent lamp. Its spectral composition is significantly close to the spectrum sunlight. Thanks to this, the colors of furniture and interiors in warm and neutral tones, as well as the complexion of a person, are perfectly conveyed.
Color rendering index of halogen lamps – R > 90
Fluorescent lamps
The light of fluorescent white fluorescent lamps is close in spectral composition to natural daylight. When illuminated by these lamps, color perception will be relatively correct. However, you need to pay attention to the lamp labeling. The marking usually consists of 2-3 letters. The first letter L means luminescent. The following letters indicate the color of the radiation: D - daylight; ХБ - cold white; B - white; TB - warm white; E - natural white. Accordingly, if your interior is designed in cold colors, you need to choose any marking except LTB. If the interior is “warm”, the LCB type must be excluded.
Color rendering index of fluorescent lamps – R 80-100
Now we can answer the question why the delicate blue wallpaper suddenly turned green. The thing is that they were illuminated by an ordinary incandescent lamp. Its yellow light “mixed” with the blue tone of the wallpaper, making it green. Treat the selection of lamps with due care, and your interior will not surprise you with an unexpected change in color.

Krill Light, and now it’s time to talk about their practical application.

A long time ago, during the Second World War, the traditional color of night lighting was red. It did not illuminate the retina during night operations and did not “kill” vision, unlike conventional white light lamps. With red illumination, the fighters needed less time to adapt in the dark, because their eyes were less “strained.”

Red light lamps were most often used in two cases:

• aviation (pilots of night flights, fighters of night flights),
• at sensitive facilities (especially those guarded by patrols, during a walk-through route that sometimes falls into the shadows, sometimes into an illuminated place).

IN last years, with the advent of more advanced lighting technologies, green or blue-green light sources began to be used for night operations. This is mainly due to the convenience of their use in conjunction with a night vision device (NVD), which displays the world “in green tones.”

But what is better for the retina and what is less stressful on the eyes at night: red or green lighting? Both colors have their pros and cons, which are worth considering in more detail.

The most important factor influencing the “illumination” of night vision is the overall brightness of the light flux, otherwise called “light level”. The brighter the light source, the harder it “hits” the eyes, “killing” dark adaptation (light sensitivity of the eyes in the dark). The choice of color here is absolutely unimportant - either red or green light at high brightness can do more harm than good.

However, the human eye is designed in such a way that it is many times more sensitive to green light than to red. That is why, using green backlighting at low light levels, a person is able to see more than with lighting sources of a different color. In other words, in the case of green backlight we get better visual acuity.

Moreover, green light also allows differentiation between colors. This means that with green illumination, you can distinguish the color range of objects by dividing them into individual colors. This is unless, of course, the person is colorblind. If the backlight is red, the retina is not always capable of distinguishing colors: all objects are painted approximately the same tone, differing only in contrast and darkness. The most a shining example This is done by aviation flight charts, in which special marks are made in purple letters (purple color).

Under green lighting, they are perfectly readable and clearly visible on the surface of the card, while under red lighting, these inscriptions are almost invisible, or difficult to see in some cases.

Given all of the above, it is not surprising that modern pilots prefer to have green lighting instead of red. It makes it easier to see in a dark cabin and much easier to read notes and study maps.
However, the most main problem the overall brightness level (luminous flux power) remains. The brighter the illumination source, the greater the negative effect it has on the eye, disabling night vision and increasing the time for adaptation in the dark.

Thus, the only the right decision will use a light source with a brightness level appropriate to the situation. The power of the light flux should not exceed your needs. It doesn’t matter whether the backlight is red, green or blue-green - it is important that it is NOT bright enough and does not illuminate the eyes. To illuminate a room or area - weak and low-power lamps that emit light and subdued light. To illuminate a specific area or object, use brighter light sources of narrow (directional) lighting.
However, if you still need a BRIGHT light source, you should keep in mind that green lighting affects the eyes more negatively than red lighting. At the same brightness (above the limit that allows not to expose the retina), red light is less “traumatic” to the retina. In other words, bright green light is more “harmful” and will “hit” the eyes harder than red light, and incapacitate a fighter for a longer time.

The reason for this is that our retina is about 100 times more sensitive to green and blue-green light. color scheme than to other colors. This means that a green light source, even of medium or medium-moderate brightness, can “do things” and have a strong negative effect on the eyes, detrimentally affecting the ability to see in the dark.

To summarize briefly :
At low brightness levels, a green source provides more benefits than a red source:

• - Night vision remains sharp, objects and objects are seen more clearly, and their contours are sharper
• - Can read text or maps more efficiently, easily distinguishing between numbers and letters
• - Color discrimination is possible (i.e. one color can be more easily distinguished from another)

At high brightness levels, a red source provides more benefits than a green source:

• - Does not increase dark maladaptation of the eyes so much (i.e., a decrease in their sensitivity to light)
• - More preservation of night vision, reducing dark adaptation time
• - Less detrimental to the eye's ability to perceive light in general

As a conclusion, we can say that both colors are good - the main thing is to choose the right one for your purposes. Despite the fact that all people are different and due to individual characteristics and physiologists can see in the dark in different ways, the fact remains. Both red and green light will adequately serve your needs - the key is to choose between preserving night vision or more high level illumination

You can read more about night vision here:

• Alexander KARAYANI, candidate of psychological sciences. “NIGHT VISION OR HOW TO SEE IN THE DARK” - informational article, a short summary on night vision
• - information article from Surv24