Challenge 26 - Monochromatic Perspective

Challenge #26 – Friday, October 24th ,2008

Guest Hostess – Anna Koziol

Working in a Series:
Continue working with the theme that you have chosen, or you may decide to work with another theme. Whatever works for you is fine; as long as you are enjoying the journey.


Color Concept: Monochromatic

Monochromatic is defined as one color. In a monochromatic color scheme, the colors in the design all come from the same color family.

“The most important ingredient in this color scheme is value – the contrast of light and dark hues. This contrast can be subtle, softly contrasted, or strongly apparent. When working with a monochromatic color scheme, keep in mind that a design is far more striking or interesting when value or intensity changes are present. For instance, if you want to create a purple design, you can use pure purple and any of its tints, shade or tone scales to create a good value contrast.” Joen Wolfrom…excerpt from Color Play.

The monochromatic scheme can be a difficult plan to work in (I have never done it…yet) ,the fabric must strictly adhere to the monochromatic guidelines. If your fabric choice is limited use paints or crayons to extend your monochromatic palette.

A monochromatic design will help us to see subtle differences in value.


Composition Concept: Perspective.

Perspective is a subtle form of geometry; it represents figures and objects not as they are but as we see them in space. (Geometry represents figures not as we see them but as they are. The science of perspective gives dimensions of objects seen in space as they appear to the eye of the spectator.

One way to develop a feel for perspective is to copy or trace the lines of a photograph, translating it to a language of lines.

Perspective is a word but also a concept. Things that are closer to us always look bigger than they would if they were far away; a beetle can look bigger than a bus if a beetle is close enough. Things also appear to change shape depending on where they are in relation to you (or where you are in relation to them). A table will look very different if you are standing on top of it, or sitting on a chair looking at it, or hiding underneath it. This applies to most other things.

Try looking at things from different angles and distances in order to see how they appear to change.

Tips for creating perspective (summarized from Gloria Loughman’s book – Luminous Landscapes)
Overlapping Objects…..using overlapping objects in the foreground to hide or partially obscure objects in the middle distance
Objects in the Distance….placing large and small versions of similar objects in a design
Detail….the amount of detail you can see depends on how close you are to an object. Objects lose clarity and detail as they are placed further back in a composition.
Converging lines…when considering design features such as roads, rivers, buildings, walls; remember that the lines made by these features converge as they move away from you.
Aerial perspective….is the effect of distance and atmosphere on color. Colors become duller and lighter as they recede into the distance.