Prompt #7: Opal

I've been saving Opal for last because, since the gem is inherently multi-coloured, it's the ideal prompt for a discussion of multi-coloured variants. It's turned out that I have rather a lot of graphics that qualify for this prompt; so, as they were made by a variety of different techniques, this is going to be Part One. Fortunately, one is allowed to post to the Sunshine Challenge at any time. As the mods say, "there is no deadline".

So far, I've shown the way I started making bicolours, i.e. by first using Microsoft Picture Manager to tint the muted parts of the original brown128.jpg with coloured filters, and then increasing the saturation and contrast to brighten the colours (as well as using the colour-wheel rotation doohicky on GRSites.com to shift the combinations of hues). Before I go further, therefore, let me show you a few more examples made by these methods. Some were created years ago; but I contrived the red & blue one—from the pink & blue one—literally while in the throes of working on this post.



As the bottom row shows, this technique can sometimes produce tricoloured variants.

You may be starting to get an idea of how the different techniques act on the graphics. However, before I start discussing some of the ways they have interacted to produce novel sorts of variants (in Part Two), I thought it help to have a look in detail at brown128.jpg. Although it looks monochrome, it actually has quite a complex pattern. So I've blown it up.

1. Let's start with the broad wing-shaped feathery bit that I've labelled No. 1. As you can see, much of its area consists of looping curves whose shape is distinct—hence the "feathers"—but which are only slightly different shades of brown. The feathery pattern is accentuated, however, by a broad dark border with a narrow pale rim. Just inside the border is a thin line of grey. When filters are applied to the graphic, each of these areas will respond differently.
   
2. Note that the section in No. 1 also includes a line of saturated red. A similar line is found in one of the other sections as well. Whatever is done to one will also happen to the other: for example, if the colour-wheel rotation device is applied, both lines will alter identically.
   
3. In this fan-shaped feathered area, there are a series of light, mid, and very dark bands: whatever happens to the graphic, each of these bands is probably going to respond differently. In particular, the outer band is muted red, while the light brown band is muted orange: not only these will respond slightly differently when the colours are rotated, but the differences will be accentuated if contrast levels are increased.
   
4. At the base of this fan-shaped area is a pale beige triangle. It's the same colour as the fine line rimming the feathery shape in No. 1.; and the two will be altered similarly in all variants. Note, though, that the V-shape is outlined in red at the top. As the colours are rotated, this can result in a shading of colour in the upper part of the triangle. Often, too, the paleness of the triangular area is accentuated, even to the point of its becoming white. On the other hand, if the contrast level is high, then the faint lines in the V become stronger, resulting in a clear striped effect.
   
5. There is another, somewhat rounded area which is distinctly lighter, and has multiple bands in mid, light, and red shades. As contrast increases and filters are applied, this area often splits into very distinct loops.
   
6. The dark areas remain dark, relative to the other parts of the pattern. As contrast increases, they may turn black. If coloured filters are applied they will normally manifest as dark shades. If the whole graphic is simply lightened overall (as in the pink & blue example above), these areas will become somewhat tinted greyed areas.
   
7. Running across the tile is a curving, looping ribbon of light grey, with muted bands near it. This area is susceptible to coloured filters. All early bicolours resulted from tinting it; and later modification has often resulted in this region being vividly different in colour from the rest of the pattern.
   
8. Right above the wing-shaped feathered fan in No. 1 is an area that looks almost uniform in colour. In fact, it is filled with fine bands; but these do not greatly differ in saturation. They may react differently to coloured filters; but they are so narrow that the new colours tend to blur together into an intermediate shade.
   

Overall, the interplay of light and dark areas lends depth to brown128.jpg and the derivatives shown here. As the contrast level is pushed up, the paler V looks increasingly like a background across which the feathered areas seem to occupy the mid-to-foreground; and, as coloured filters deeply tint the muted areas, ribbons of contrasting colour curl across the page.

The following set of background textures will give you an example of how I play with a graphic to see what I can do with it. The initial graphic, which you can see on the left of the top row, was created in 2012. Earlier this year, going through old variants, I thought I could see possibilities in it. The next three have been selected from a single session in March, and appear in the order they were made; and the last two in the middle row were made in April. This weekend, I went back to see how much further I could push it, and made the ones in the final row.



And here is another line of derivation. The first graphic was created on 5 October 2010 as part of a fairly busy session; and, almost immediately, I started tweaking it. A yellow filter smoothed out some of the harshness of tone, and added a creaminess to the pale areas. Then I strengthened the saturation, which increased the yellowness, but also turned the blue areas turquoise. Finally, I increased the contrast: this clarified the colours and deepened the dark areas, adding an impression of depth.

After that, I ran the newly created graphic through the GRSites doohickey. In one direction this gave me variants in which the orange areas turned gold or yellow; and, in the other direction, it gave me variants in which the orange areas turned red. For a while, I was reasonably satisfied with what I'd achieved. Given the fairly simple bicolours I'd produced up till then, getting tricoloured variants was actually quite startling.

This past weekend, though, I went back and applied the things I've learned since then about lightening and brightening, and applying various filters. This produced the last two variants:



I'm going to stop here, since there are more types of techniques I've used to create new variants; but I have to organize things. There will be a Part Two!



Previous Days:
Prompts #1 and #2 (Amber and Topaz)
Prompt #2 (Rose Quartz)
Prompt #3 (Garnet)
Prompts #3 and #4 (Moonstone and Hematite)
Prompt #4 (Kyanite)
Prompt #5 (Peridot)
Prompt #5 (Bloodstone)
Prompt #6 (Aquamarine)
Prompt #6 (Amethyst)
Prompt #7 (Sunshine Jasper)
Bonus #1 (Turquoise)
Bonus #2 (Smoky Quartz and Onyx)
Bonus #3 (Rubellite)