Sunshine Challenge 2022 #3 (Garnet)

[greerwatson]

Prompt 3: Garnet

Red is a pretty basic colour; so, although it doesn't match the main prompt this time, I'm going to prioritize it. I think "moonstone" can be better combined with the next prompt, "hematite". Black and white go naturally together.

One of the interesting things about playing with brown128.jpg is that, even when one is trying simply to get a background tile that is "all red", the fact that there is a pattern to be preserved means that the result must be textured; and, depending on how one has tackled it, there emerges a remarkable range of possiblities. Given the nature of the colour-wheel-rotating doodad on GRSites.com, once I had something I liked, I could create a range of slightly different hues (i.e. more orange, purple, pink, or brown) as well as variants that were brighter/duller or darker/lighter. The first row here are all fairly "smooth" textures; the second row show more contrast. All, however, are some shade of red.



Red is fundamentally a dark colour; and, as such, some of the most effective variants are those that accentuate the grey portions of the original graphic or push the contrast to create black areas.




Of course, one can also combine rich red with pale shades—and maybe add black or flame orange for accents.



Looking at the bright tones in a couple of the ones above, it is easy to see why red is so often combined with yellow. I remember that, when I was small, my mother told me that red could be lightened with a little yellow—though not enough to make it orange, of course—but one never mixes red with white. If you do, she said, it immediately turns to pink.

At any rate, when one sees the red/yellow combination, there is a tendency to prioritize the red, treating the yellow as if it were there merely as a brightener.

So here are some red and yellow versions of the graphic. I've put the simpler versions in the top row and the most heavily "derived" versions at the bottom.



In case you're curious, when I saw the potential for the one in the middle of the last row, I did more than twenty slightly different variants before picking the one I thought most effective.



Previous Days:
Prompts #1 and #2 (Amber and Topaz)
Prompt #2 (Rose Quartz)

Comments

[yarnofariadne]

I have some trousers that look very much like the variants in the third row! These are all very lovely.

[dr_zook]

Ooooh, how very nice! I'm sure they look super dapper. ♥

[greerwatson]

They sound like gorgeously fancy trousers. Must be a thrill wearing them.  :)

[autobotscoutriella]

These are beautiful!

[greerwatson]

Thank you!

[dr_zook]

These are super cool! Thank you for sharing. ♥

[greerwatson]

Thank you for looking! Glad you liked them.

[enemytosleep]

I think the red/black variants might be my favorites of this batch, but I love the progression of "all red" to various highlight and contrasts (and the color theory reminders on things like yellow and red versus yellow and white). This continues to be a fun color dive :D

[greerwatson]

"I love the progression of "all red" to various highlight and contrasts [...]"

I figured if I just plonked a whole bunch of graphics down, it might get a bit boring after a while. Hence the text. And there is some method to my madness.

The early graphics I made were, relatively speaking, close variants of the original brown128.jpg. However, now and then, I'd either try some new combination of techniques (or maybe just hit some critical mass of tweaks) and find myself looking at graphics in colours and combinations I never would have imagined could be derived from it. And then, of course, I tweaked those.

[lightbird]

Beautiful. I particularly love the 3rd row.