Block's Visual Components

Space, Line, Shape, Tone, Color, Movement, and Rhythm

Each of these Components can have Contrast (Difference) or Affinity (Similarity).

Contrast = Greater Visual Intensity Affinity = Lesser Visual Intensity

Space

● Four types of Space● Deep● Flat● Limited● Ambiguous

Deep Space has more Contrast

● Depth Cues include● Size difference● Perspective lines● Diffusion● Diagonal Movement● Shape change● Tonal Separation● Overlap

Deep Space

What depth cues are evident here?

Deep Space

What depth cues are evident here?

Flat Space has more Affinity

● Flatness Cues● Size constancy● Horizontal & Vertical Lines, lack of convergence● Consistent Texture● Tonal Affinity● Horizontal and vertical Movement

Flat SpaceWhat flatness cues are evident here?

Flat Space

Limited and Ambiguous Space

● Limited Space is a blend of Deep and Flat Cues: Multiple Planes of Flat Space.

● Ambiguous Space is either an mix of cues or a lack of cues. Darkness, reflections, and disorienting camera angles often create ambiguous space.

Line

● Line has the following elements:● Quality (Straight or Curved)● Direction of Movement (Horizontal/Vertical or

Diagonal)● Orientation

Contrast of Line

Affinity of Line

What kinds of line properties are on display?

How about here?

Shape

● The basic shapes are circle, square, and triangle.

Contrast of Shape

● For Block, maximum contrast is between circle and triangle.

Affinity of Shape

What shapes are at play in this image?

How about this image?

Tone

● Tone is a range of brightness, from light to dark.

Tone can be controlled by art design, lighting, or exposure. It can be used to reveal, or to conceal.

Contrast of Tone

● Silhouettes have very high tonal contrast.

Affinity of Tone

Tonal Contrast

Tonal Affinity

Color

● Color can be broken down into three components● Hue/Chroma: Quality of the color. The color of the

color!● Saturation: Purity of the color. ● Brightness/Luminance/Value: Addition of Black or

White to the Hue.

● Contrast and affinity of color can be based on either Hue, Saturation, or Brightness

Color Systems

● A color system is just a way of arranging colors. The RGB system or Additive System, for example, applies to light-based media, including photography and screens, and is typically

arranged by wavelength of light.

You might also hear about the CMYK or Subtractive system. CMYK applies to pigment-based media, such as paint or print. The old Red-Yellow-Blue system from your Kindergarten days is a version of CMYK.

An RGB Color Wheel

Contrast and Affinity of Hue

Cool Colors

Warm Colors

Affinity of Hue can refer to all colors being the same, or colors being next to one another on the color wheel. An image of all cool colors has a lot of affinity of hue, as does an image of all warm colors.

Contrast of Hue refers to colors being different. Specifically, maximum contrast occurs between colors that are opposite on the color wheel, such as Red and Green or Blue and Orange.

Contrast and Affinity of Saturation

Affinity of Saturation can occur when either the image is made of many full, pure colors or when the image is made of many gray, subdued colors.

Contrast of Saturation occurs highly saturated elements share the frame with desaturated elements

Affinity of Saturation Contrast of Saturation. Notice how the contrast draws out the diamond.

Contrast and Affinity of Brightness

● This is basically the same as tone, only applied to color

Affinity of Tone Contrast of Tone

What elements of color are at play?

How about this image?

And this image?

More Color Resources

● Worqk.com is a terrific resource for information about color, color theory, and color combinations.

In Summary

Contrast = Greater Visual Intensity

Affinity = Lesser Visual Intensity

● It's easy to get caught up in the abstract details of Visual Components and Contrast and Affinity. The idea is to control these elements in order for your images, and ultimately your stories, to have greater impact.