TUTORIALS | Colour tips

058 | 3D WORLD3D WORLD June 2006

Transform ordinary renders into iconic images with this simple set of artistic guidelines for harnessing the power of colour and tonal contrast in your work

Light and colour TIPS & TRICKSTIPS & TRICKS

Our experts this issue…

● Our cover image this issue:Pétales de Lune by Olivier Ponsonnet. Although the temptation with portrait work is to focus solely on the modelling, attention to light and colour can transform a merely attractive character into an arresting one. The restricted background palette focuses attention on the model and creates an exotic, nocturnal mood

hat separates a truly impressive 3D image from a merely adequate one? It can be any number of factors, of course: the modelling, the texture work, the staging, or the sheer imagination of

the scene. But unless they have a background in fi ne art, most 3D artists probably don’t spend much time analysing the impact of colour and tonal contrast in their work. Most likely, they’re content with intuition and an instinctive ‘gut feeling’, perhaps almost subconsciously choosing a particular colour scheme because of the mood it creates.

This is great if it works, but is there more to the process

than this? Could your images become even better with a more

detailed understanding of the underlying principles? We’ve

asked a selection of working 3D artists and other professionals

these very questions, and they’ve provided us with their expert

advice on making the most of colour and lighting.

What you won’t fi nd here are the basics of colour theory:

the structure of colour wheels, or the use of complementary

colours. Nor will you see any discussion of technical issues,

such as how colour spaces differ between monitors and print.

While these topics are essential for any artist, 3D or otherwise,

they can easily fi ll a book, which is why we recommend

checking out the titles in the Further Reading list on page 61.

In any case, while theories such as complementary colours

are widely accepted, there are still many areas upon which

experts disagree. The consensus on how colour is perceived

and affects the viewer has also evolved, and varies according to

whether you take a purely scientifi c or more artistic view.

The advice our experts have to offer is a mixture of the two,

derived from their own experience in the fi eld. While personal

taste inevitably plays a part, we hope that many of their

comments will be readily applicable to your own work.

W

PASCAL BLANCHÉPascal is an Art Director at Ubisoft Canada, one of the world’s largest

games developers, and has worked in various 3D roleswww.3dluvr.com/pascalb

OLIVIER PONSONNETOur cover illustrator, Olivier was a featured artist in Exotique,

Ballistic Publishing’s compilation of the best 3D character artworkhttp://re1v.free.fr

ANGELA WRIGHTAngela is the founder of Colour Affects, a UK company that combines

scientifi c and artistic principles to advise on the use of colourwww.colour-affects.co.uk

CHARLES DARBYCharles is Digital Matte Painting Supervisor at Rushes, one of

London’s largest postproduction and effects houseswww.rushes.co.uk

FRED BASTIDEA trained sculptor, Fred is also a freelance artist and has worked in

many fi elds, including design, theatre, cinema and publicitywww.texwelt.net

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IN FOCUS | Real world versus art world

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June 2006 3D WORLD3D WORLD | 059

THE MEANING OF REDLearn the meanings of colours, or at least the meanings they tend

to denote in the Western world. In many cases, this is an instinctive

reaction: red nearly always denotes energy, while blue is cool and

unemotional. You don’t need a degree in colour theory to know this,

but other colours hold their own, often subconscious, meanings.

Green, for instance, is the colour of nature and is generally

considered to represent harmony, balance and rest, which is why

it’s often used in schools and hospitals. Purple/magenta denotes

spirituality, truth and authenticity – think of a priest’s ceremonial

vestments. Brown, the colour of earth, represents reliability and

seriousness, yet also hints at dullness.

Whether such meanings derive from their usage in various fi elds

and professions, or whether that usage was driven by the colour’s

inherent ‘meaning’ to begin with, is trickier to pinpoint. Regardless,

you need to be aware of such associations, because they’re so

heavily ingrained within our culture.

THE MEANING OF RED (to someone else)Just because Western culture associates certain colours with

certain emotions doesn’t mean it’s the same all over the world, as

our cover artist Olivier Ponsonnet points out: “For Iranians, blue

evokes mourning. And white, for example, while representing purity

and innocence in Europe, means death in China,” he explains. “So

depending of what kind of project you’re working on, you have to be

careful about the culture of potential spectators.”

Of course, this is only likely to be a problem if you’re producing

images specifi cally tailored to a particular market, and it’s doubtful

that anyone in another culture will be actually offended by an

‘incorrect’ colour scheme. Nevertheless, for more ambiguous images,

it’s something to bear in mind.

NO COLOUR IS AN ISLANDUK-based company Colour Affects combines scientifi c principles

with artistic vision to advise on the most effective use of colour for

any application. Its founder, Angela Wright, has written a book on

the same subject (see Further Reading) and offers an eponymous

system of colour planning based on psychological theories.

“To say red has this effect or blue has that effect is a totally

meaningless statement,” she believes. “There are at least a million

blues, a million reds, a million yellows ... it’s all a matter of which

particular one you use. And, even more crucially, what you put with

it. Colour works in exactly the same way as music: one note by itself

has no particular absolute meaning. How it affects you depends on

what other notes - or colours - you put with it.”

Wright also disagrees that conventional theories of colour

symbolism have much meaning, arguing instead that a response to

any particular colour can be objectively, and universally, measured.

For more on Angela Wright’s Colour Affects system, see

www.colour-affects.co.uk

BLACK AND WHITE ARE NOT NEUTRALThis, says Angela Wright, is something every designer and artist

should be aware of. Black and white are powerful colours (or a

powerful lack of colours!) in themselves, as anyone who’s designed

a web page will know, and they can change the mood of a piece in

an instant, even if that’s far from the intended effect.

“You can wreck a whole colour scheme by putting it on a black

background or a white one,” she explains. “If you’ve got nice, rich,

warm colours, the black or white background converts them into

being gaudy and harsh, instead of supporting them.”

SURPRISE YOURSELFConventional colour theory states that a mix of complementary

colours is likely to produce the most visually pleasing results. While

this is undoubtedly true, you shouldn’t let it stop you experimenting.

“I don’t really think there are any special colour combinations

that should never be used,” says Olivier Ponsonnet. “Actually,

you can get surprising or striking results when using colours you

● Gamma 10 by Pascal Blanché. The warm colour scheme, based around yellows and oranges, evokes the heat of an alien planet

● In Valkyrie by Pascal Blanché, the warm colouring of the background and the fi gure is offset by the strong red of the pillar, which creates a pleasing symmetry

Colour tips | TUTORIALS

In a photorealistic image, real-world connotations often override aesthetic choices. For Cold Meat, the colours were chosen to evoke meat, “but not in a disgusting manner,” says creator Fred Bastide. “So I’ve used only fl esh tones, and no colours that suggest rottenness, such as grey or green.” Despite its associations with nature and harmony, there’s just something not quite right about green meat.

● Fred Bastide’s Cold Meat – a disgusting mouth, perhaps, but no disgusting meat

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IN FOCUS | Opposites attract

TUTORIALS | Colour tips

thought wouldn’t work together. For example, I used to work with

low, saturated and generally dark colours. I wasn’t particularly fond

of bright and fl ashy colours such as pink or orange. So I just tried

to use these on one picture and the result was amazing: I got

something completely different from what I usually get, which is

kind of refreshing.”

STUDY THE MASTERSStudying classic images – paintings, photographs, and so on – to

determine just why they’re successful is, of course, a cornerstone of

improving your work. But distilling an image to just its colour palette

can still be a complex process, so 3D artist Pascal Blanché advocates

another approach: “Grab classic painting and photography from the

web,” he advises, “posterize them in Photoshop to get large blocks

of colours, then select the colours in the highlights and shadows as

references.” In essence, this ‘averages’ an image into its essential

colour scheme, eliminating lesser details which may be offputting.

It’s not a surefi re way to better colour, but it will at least give you

a broader understanding of a particular image.

PLAN AHEAD ... UP TO A POINTThere are both pros and cons to choosing a specifi c colour palette

early on in the development of an image and sticking with it rigidly,

as opposed to letting the colours grow organically. Although the

artists we spoke to agreed that it’s a good idea to at least have

some idea of the mood you’re trying to evoke when you start, in

practice, a degree of improvisation can be helpful.

“Choosing a colour scheme early on when making an image is

always the ideal scenario,” says Olivier Ponsonnet. “But I always end

up with different results to my initial idea.”

Don’t become too rigidly attached to your scheme if you fi nd

that results start to stray from your initial intentions. “Sometimes,

you start with one particular picture and mood in mind and also

want to use a specifi c colour, but can’t get what you want,” adds

Ponsonnet. “You then have to choose between a defi ned colour

scheme and a particular mood, because this particular mood can’t be

rendered with the whole colour spectrum.”

KEEP IT REALCharles Darby, Digital Matte Painting Supervisor at postproduction

house Rushes, knows all about how lighting and colour can affect

mood. It’s his job, after all – creating 2D images that need to appear

both realistic and three-dimensional.

“Colour evokes mood, but the play between light and shade

is often what helps the impact of a shot,” he says. “A fl atly lit

painting will always struggle to look as three-dimensional as one

with a strong light source. Warm colours also tend to draw the eye,

especially if used subtly within a cooler palette. I always fi nd that

when imitating nature, I have to be cautious not to overcompensate

with colours. Oversaturation, shadows that are too defi ned, and a

general sense of too much detail, all easily collect within a painting.”

Although Darby is an illustrator, this advice can be applied to 3D

imagery, especially if you’re striving for photorealism. Without an

adequate reference source, you may be surprised how muted many

of the colours in nature tend to be, and even subtle tweaks to their

saturation within a scene can improve the overall effect.

PAY ATTENTION TO SILHOUETTESWhen it came to designing the characters for The Simpsons, creator

Matt Groening had one simple rule: they should each be instantly

recognisable when viewed purely in silhouette. It’s a principle that

● The background in Portrait of Pascal Couchepin by Fred Bastide is kept neutral to ensure that the warm skin tones remain prominent

Opposites attract: this is a simple and obvious rule, but it’s easy to overlook. Sometimes, the composition of your image may be ‘correct’, yet the viewer’s eye is still not immediately drawn to where it should be. In this case, it’s always worth trying a subtle application of warm tones in an area dominated by cold, or vice versa. Fred Bastide does this in Red Devil. As the name implies, most of the image consists of the devil’s red skin, but by making his eyes bright yellow, Bastide ensures they’re impossible to miss as the main focal point of the image.

● Light and shadows create high drama in The Nest by Pascal Blanché, particularly in the highlights of the creatures’ heads, ensuring they don’t blend into one homogenous mass

● Sometimes, opposing colours work wonders in bringing an image to life, as in Fred Bastide’s Red Devil

060 | 3D WORLD3D WORLD June 2006

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FURTHER READING | Colour reference books

Title: The Beginner’s Guide to Colour PsychologyAuthor: Angela WrightISBN: 0954065700• The theory of the four

personality types and corresponding colour palettes, plus an in-depth look at how colour affects everyone.

Title: The Elements of ColorAuthor: Johannes IttenISBN: 0471289299• A classic from one of the pioneers of colour theory. This is a shorter version of his original book, The Art of Color, which unfortunately no longer seems to be available.

Title: Theory of ColoursAuthor: Johann Wolfgang GoetheISBN: 0262570211• More useful as historical

background, this summarises Goethe’s experiments into the nature of colour.

Title: Pantone Guide to Communicating with ColorAuthor: Leatrice EisemanISBN: 0966638328• An introductory guide to the power of colour from the masters of print, complete with hundreds of lavish and extremely useful examples.

Title: Principles of ColourAuthor: Faber BirrenISBN: 0887401031• Since colour theorists

don’t always agree, here’s an overview of the whole process, including a history of earlier theories and the latest accepted wisdom.

Title: Interaction of ColourAuthor: Josef AlbersISBN 0300018460• Short but essential, this condensed version of Albers’ course covers the effects of direct perception rather than theories or colour systems.

IN FOCUS | Lighting matters

Lighting a scene deserves a whole section (if not a book) to itself, but most of the 3D artists we spoke to advocated the use of the ‘classic’ set-up. That is, one main light (generally an area light with soft shadows), one back (or rim) light and, if necessary, an ambient/fi ll light to bring up details in the shadows. There’s no hard and fast way to determine if these lights should be coloured or not – it depends on the mood you’re trying to create and your own style.

Pascal Blanché says: “Most of the time, I think about lights as a way to colourise my picture. I use strong coloured palettes for lights and shadows, and I even put colours in the ambient parts of my scene.”

Conversely, Olivier Ponsonnet says: “I render my scenes with almost uncoloured lights. I then modify the colour schemes using postprocessing fi lters, such as overlay or colour balance. It avoids useless rendering.”

June 2006 3D WORLD3D WORLD | 061

other artists have supported, and one that Pascal Blanché also

advocates. So, when initially composing a scene, use the lighting

and “try to make as many details of your character’s anatomy as

visible in the silhouette as possible. For instance, if you create a

four-armed creature, don’t position the camera in a way that the

arms won’t show.”

Of course, it’s unlikely that the fi nal lighting of your image will

actually show the characters as silhouettes, and it’s something

Blanché believes you should be wary of: “Never create shadows

that ‘swallow’ your main character silhouette – or if you do, do it

on purpose.” The latter is actually quite a diffi cult pose to pull off

successfully, and usually only works if the character is already well

known. What may appear to you to be an imposing, somewhat

mysterious fi gure, may appear to the viewer as just a dark blob.

STICK TO A SCHEMENaturally, the overall colour and lighting scheme you choose for

a particular image depends entirely on the effect you’re trying to

achieve. But it’s usually a good idea to at least restrict yourself to

a particular portion of the spectrum, adding splashes of different

shades for emphasis.

“I often use a quite dark and unsaturated base colour,” says

Ponsonnet. “Most of the objects will be rendered with an analogous

colour scheme, except the parts I want to highlight. This kind of

combination works quite well.”

He fi nds that having a smaller colour palette actually makes

choosing shades a much simpler process for him. “With a couple

of colours, you can really work on their combination, with tint or

saturation variations,” he explains. “It’s also easier to force focus

on precise parts of your picture, whereas with a lot of colour, the

spectator can easily get lost.”

As well as using contrast for effect, Ponsonnet recommends

experimenting with varying only the saturation: “Impressionists used

this kind of technique,” he adds. “For instance, in Impression: Sunrise

by Claude Monet, the sun is painted with orange and the rest of the

picture is painted with cooler, less saturated colours. There are no

real luminance variations in this painting, but the sun looks really

bright due to its saturation.” ●

● Helix Rugens One by Fred Bastide. “I’ve used colour to differentiate between the landscape and other elements (such as fl ying hedgehogs!)”

Colour tips | TUTORIALS

● Tea Time by Fred Bastide: use of main and back lights is a classic solutionfor 3D renders

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