Form

Form

Form is three dimensional. Examples are sphere, cube, cone etc. (Figure 6.15).

1. Colour

Colour is produced when light strikes on an object and reflects back in your eyes. It stirs enthusiasm. There are three properties of colour. They are:

1. Hue

Hue is the name of a colour. Examples – red, yellow and blue. The warm hues are known as advancing colours as they create illusion of moving forward. These also emphasize the body size contours. There are many theories, to explain the role of colours. Some of the common colour theories were devised by Munsell, Ostwal, Rood and Prang. The widely used theories are Munsell colour systems and the Prang colour systems. Hue may be warm or cool. (Figure 6.16 and Table 6.2).

Prang Colour System

This was developed by David Breweser based on three primary colours.

a) Primary Colours

The colours such as red (R) yellow (Y) and blue (B) are the fundamental colours as they cannot be obtained by mixing any other colours. All other colours are obtained by mixing these three colours.

b) Secondary / Binary Colours

When two primary colours are mixed in equal amounts a different hue is obtained. This new hue is called binary/secondary colour. They are purple (P) (R+B), Green (G) (Y+B) and Orange (O) (R+Y) (Table 6.3).

c. Intermediate Colours

It is made by mixing a primary with its adjoining secondary colour. These are called standard colours (Table 6.4).

d. Tertiary Colours

It is a combination of two binary colours. The resulting colour in a tertiary colour. (Table 6.5)

e. Quaternary Colour

It is obtained by mixing two tertiary colours. (Table 6.6)

2. Value

It gives the lightness or darkness of a colour. To change the value of colour, white or black must be added. The value of any colour gradually changes with the highest at the top and darkest at the bottom.

Tints and Shades

A value that is lighter than the normal colour is called a tint and the one that is darker than the normal in called a shade.

Values are changed by adding white or water to lighten them and by adding more pigment or black to darken them. (Figures 6.17 and 6.18)

Intensity or Chroma

It shows purity and strength of colour. The brightness or dullness of a colour denotes the strength and weakness of a colour. Example – bright red or dull red.

Intensity or chroma describe the degree of saturation of a colour, chroma and intensity are interchangeable. High chroma are pure, strong, brilliant saturated colours while low chroma colours are muted, weak grayed and dull. Bright, strong, high– chroma colours are conspicuous and make the body of the wearer appear larger. (Figure 6.19)

2. Texture

It is tactile which refers to the surface quality and is assessed through feel of a fabric. The fabric is said to be smooth, rough, soft or hard to touch. Visual texture is the illusion of 3 dimension surface. Imagine running hand on denim or satin fabric. The denim fabric gives a rough texture where as a satin gives a soft and smooth texture. The rough texture absorbs more light and smooth surface reflects light. (Figure 6.20)