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Scale and Proportion Analysis

Scale is perceived by contrasting the height or size of one figure with another. Proportion is the way that the figure is built in relation to it’s height. Scale and proportion are important to the story, especially in animated or CGI movies or games, because it can help the characters appear more or less realistic depending on what the director chooses. Where the Wild Things Are uses human scale with the placement of the little boy next to the creatures in order to show off their size. When alone, there is no accurate prediction of how large they are (aside from relativity with each other, though, we also have no idea of how big the others are), because they are imaginary, and could really be any size. Though, when next to a human, there is a relative perspective to their size. The movie also takes advantage of aspect ratio in order to make the creatures appear less human and more animalistic- they are given arms, heads, noses, etc which are much larger than their height. Their aspect ratios tend to resemble the real-life animals they seem to take after. The use of scale and proportion is successful in Where the Wild Things Are because there are so many practices at use in order to distinguish these creatures from humans, other than based off looks alone. This gives the movie a much more animalistic tone, and sets the tone for a setting that is separated from humanity.

Scale and Proportion Terms

Scale: the size of one object in relation to other objects in a design.

— a certain relative or proportionate size or extent (A human is 7.5 heads tall.)

— a standard of measurement or estimation (The UFO was as big as a football field.)

— point of reference by which to gauge or rate (My puppy is twice as big as your chihuahua.)

Aspect Ratio: the proportions of the height and width of an image. It defines its overall shape, and it is usually shown as W:H (W is the width and H is the height).Geometry​- spheres, cubes, cylinders can be used to build more complex objects

Hierarchy: arranged according to importance or power. What’s bigger or taller is often more important or harder to kill.

Human scale:​ sets the stage for the story happening to human-sized characters

Proportion: size of the parts compared to the whole. Relativity.

Ratio: tells us what proportions mean to each other. Measuring one thing in terms of another. That monster is twice the size of the human. Their ratio is 2 to 1.

Relativity: how objects appear in context with each other

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Contrast Analysis

Contrast creates distinction by pairing dark and light values in a way that emphasizes the intensity of both. Contrast can be used sparingly to create subtlety, or boldly to increase drama. The game Night in the Woods uses high contrast very strikingly by placing extremely dark, almost-one value colors next to very light colors, which are mostly warm, yellow to orange or white colors. Mae (leftmost figure) is a very dark navy blue color, and when placed before light background colors, exhibits value contrast, which highlights her in particular. Many other characters, and especially those shown beside her frequently, are much lighter in color. So, in light settings, she stands out more boldly. This also works inversely when the game uses low contrast, and puts Mae in a very dark setting. Her blending into the night background sets a certain tone for the game, which works very well with the plot. Asymmetrical contrast is also used in little patches of light that offset this darkness that the background and Mae offer- for example, the streetlight on the side of the screen in the top image offsets the night setting and makes the appearance more eerie. Contrast can be used sparingly to highlight dramatic moments, or throughout the film or game to create a general boldness. In Night in the Woods, it is used in the right places to either create a more intense emotion or more eerie feel.

Contrast Terms

Contrast​: refers to the arrangement of opposite elements (light vs. dark colors, rough vs. smooth textures, large vs. small shapes, etc.) in a composition so as to create visual interest, excitement and drama.

Contrast​: creates variety within a unit, draws the eye to a focal point, creates a sense of adventure or mystery. ​Contrast ​is a unifier​.​

Value contrast: when a character or object has a strong darks and lights compared to the scene around it.

Size contrast: a gigantic space cruiser compared to much smaller fighters.

Asymmetrical​ balance: a dynamic compositional strategy in which each side of the axis are distinctly different yet belong to the same story.

High Contrast​: strong dissimilarity such as black letters on a white background. The high contrast setting is an accessibility feature built into interfaces to assist people with vision impairment. In visual perception of the real world, contrast is determined by the difference in the color and brightness of the object and other objects within the same field of view. Because the human visual system is more sensitive to contrast than absolute luminance, we can perceive the world similarly regardless of the huge changes in illumination over the day or from place to place.

Low Contrast​: means a minimum of contrast between light and dark, so that the image is either predominantly dark or predominantly light. The sun sets, dusk sets in and in the gloom there is low contrast in the landscape.

Symmetrical: a form of balance in which both sides of the axis are the same, a mirror image of each other, creating stability and formality. In visual storytelling the symmetrical formal balance is often contrasted with the dynamic action of asymmetrical configurations. For example, the formal balance and discipline on the Death Star in Star Wars is contrasted with the diversity of the different rebel cells and militias from across the galaxy. The dynamic contrasting rhythms and visuals of the dark side contrasted with the Jedi and rebel alliance has kept the franchise going for decades.

Contrasting camera angles: Part of your story is how you show as well as how you tell.  The camera is your audience’s view of your story and should be well planned to reveal the story in the most effective way possible.

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Rhythm Analysis

Rhythm can build anticipation or make expectations for a story or song to follow. It is produced by creating and breaking patterns, which are made up of creative practices such as repetition or progression. “Wishing Well” by Juice WRLD uses patterns of progressive rhythm to slowly build intensity in certain parts as the song continues by speeding up the beat and adding a second alternating rhythm in various places. The song doesn’t keep an increasing progression of intensity, but alternates back to the previous flow of the song before the shift, and repeats the change in rhythm. This is all while keeping a steady legato through the progression, without any harsh breaks in the song to interrupt the flow. The continuous movement through the song creates a stable expectation that the beat will not pick up suddenly or shift too dramatically, because it is kept so constant. The song uses rhythm to minimize suspense, and focus the listener on the words of the song rather than the beat. It enhances the words rather than overpowering or detracting from them.

Rhythm Terms 

Rhythm: caused by patterns in movement. What are those footsteps in the dark room? Are they slow or fast? Running or sneaking up on you? Rhythm controls the pace of action in your story. Rhythm can be repeated character types, weapons, or color strategies. We see and hear rhythm throughout nature as well as in our digital environment. Rhythm organizes units into patterns. Rhythm is created through repetition, alternation, and progression.

Alternating​ rhythm: a form of repetition and is predictable. We switch back and forth from one thing to another like a tennis match. Alternating rhythm can create tension, such as switching close up head shots of one character arguing with another.

Audio ​​Rhythm: sounds that create patterns such breathing or shooting rounds of ammo.

Conceptual ​​Rhythm:​ Intensifies, moves along, or calms the story. Conceptual rhythm coordinates visual and audio rhythm with the pace of your story.

Contrasting Rhythms​: two or more sounds or motions at obviously different  tempos.

Legato: music in a smooth flowing manner, without breaks between notes or a smooth flowing motion.

Polyrhythmic pattern: the use of simultaneous contrasting rhythms. A battle scene has many(poly) rhythms such as big guns, small guns, shouts, rumbles, footsteps, and explosions.

Progressive​ rhythm: a pattern that changes over time to more or less intensity. Progressive rhythm makes us feel that. something is in an evolving state of change. We can tell when the battle is heating up by the rhythm of the sounds and the actions of the characters running toward or away from the fighting.

Repeating: the same thing again and again gives us a feeling of predictability

Rhythm and motion​: When a motion repeats, speeds up, slows down it creates a rhythm. The rhythm of tai chi is slow. The rhythm of Kung Fu is fast.

Staccato: ​derives from the Italian verb staccare, meaning “to detach,” and can now describe anything - not just sounds - made, done, or happening in an abrupt or disjointed way.

Visual​ Rhythm: when motifs such as lines or shapes repeat visual rhythm forms.

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Emphasis Analysis

Emphasis is used to spotlight the most important part of a scene, or a piece that the director wants to highlight to the viewer. There are elements of emphasis that allow the director to draw the viewer’s eye, which are generally built onto each other to really emphasize the center of the work if it is a turning point in the game/movie. The movie Moana generally does not overbuild elements to create emphasis, but during the ending scene, many components of emphasis are used at once to draw the audience’s eye and create drama. The focal point of these scenes is the large woman emerging from the mountain. In the first image, many aspects of emphasis are layered over another to bring drama to the spotlight, and subordination is used to draw the woman to focus and the background out of focus. The only bit of color in the scene that is not the large woman is a reflection of the fire from her- so, the only color in the scene is either the woman or because of her. This contrast, along with the contrast between the two versions of the woman, gives the first scene a certain intensity, and softens the remainder of the movie as a result. The two scenes also differ in their means of emphasis- instead of blurring out the rest of the picture, as the top image does with isolation, the bottom image uses emphasis in the form of placement, which suggests a decrease in the intensity of the movie. Moana uses emphasis where it needs to be rather than throughout the whole movie in order to create recognizable drama at certain points in the plot and bring different tones to the same movie. This creates a mixture of emotions, which allows the viewer to connect with each scene individually rather than the work as a whole.

Emphasis Terms

Emphasis​: Pow! Something in a scene dominates. In other words, the designer gives visual priority to part of a scene in order to draw the eye there first.

Contrast​: in size, color, texture can make one thing stand out from the many things around it.

Focal point: demands attention, it is accentuated, contrasted – the star or the most prominent component of a scene.

Isolation: features a single element alone, away from other elements to create emphasis.

One Element​: eliminates everything else in the composition and the thing that’s left will grab the attention such as a bold title or symbol.

Placement​: to position your most important design component in a place to grab attention, such as the center of a poster.

Subordination​: the the elements that are not the focal point. The focal point has the visual power while other elements of the scene are subordinate.

Whole over Parts​: Sometimes we don’t want the eye to go somewhere specifically such as in an establishing shot at the beginning of a story. We want to show an overview of the environment before we jump into the story. We might look at a map with lots of details. The whole map is the important thing. When we select a place on the map to visit, then that spot becomes the focal point and the Emphasis shifts from the whole to the specific. Another example is that the whole game is more important than its levels.

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Unity Analysis

Unity is used in art to complete the picture; it ties everything together and means that the elements in the work are interacting in a way that gives it a wholeness. Many movies focus effort into unifying the important scenes, such as the climax, ending, turning points, etc, and leave the rest of the scenes to play out less thought-out or unified. This gives an emphasis to the important parts of the movie and makes them memorable compared to the other scenes. One movie series that I’ve noticed doesn’t do this, and instead, pays attention to unifying the composition of every scene, is The Hobbit. Most shots are arranged so the colors are completely balanced between warm and cool tones, and if a scene is completely warm or completely cool, there will be an upcoming scene to contrast it. Contrast is also balanced within the scenes, with an even ratio of light to dark. While the forest scene is one of the darkest in the movie, and the dark to light ratio is quite uneven, there is a break in the scene where the main character emerges from the forest for a moment (bottom image) and creates an interruption of the darkness to even out the balance once more. Proximity is also used in the movie to show the character’s progress through the journey; through the series, there are shots of the mountain (the destination) looking very small and far from the characters, who are bigger in the image as they are closer to the camera. This reminds the viewer of how long the journey is, and works to give the movies a unity between imagery and plotline. The Hobbit uses unity throughout almost every scene in the movies, giving each shot a certain emphasis, and overall making them more dramatic and put-together. Unity is one of the most recognizable aspects in these movies, as careful consideration has been put into balancing each scene perfectly with itself and the next. 

Unity Terms

Unity: an entity that is a systematic whole. A fusion or union of parts in harmony to create a oneness. A game is a unity based on a fusion of levels.

Alignment​: a common axis that creates relationship, the line up creates meaning. Alignment in games can help you find your way on the map or aim true with your weapon. Alignment of troops or vessels indicates organizational strength. Maps are visually aligned with the edge of the frame. Your stats are aligned in a table.

Beat Boards: used to illustrate major story points before the rest of the storyboard is completed. Beat boards are a series of single drawings that depict key focal points in a scene. Beat Boards can be compared to a children’s book illustration because an individual picture shows a complex story. Beat boards can serve in art direction to indicate how the shot is staged and show color strategies, using shapes and colors, but are not detailed sketches. Making sure the beat boards relate to each other creates unity.

Composition: the arrangement of visual elements within a shot. The three basic shot compositions in filmmaking are long-shot, medium-shot, and close-up.

Conceptual unity​: a palm tree, an ocean beach, and a beer unify around the concept of ‘vacation’.

Contrast​: creates variety within a unit, draws the eye to a focal point, creates drama. ​Contrast is a unifier​. ​Contrast is when a character or object has a strong darks and lights compared to the scene around it. Size contrast is a gigantic space cruiser compared to much smaller fighters.

Proximity​: when closer distances connect elements and far apart elements create separation and sometimes magnetism

Repetition​: states that things that look alike relate to each other. Shapes or colors that recur in the image create rhythm and recognizable situations.

Unifying Strategies:​ manipulate contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity to create visual unity and to pull a story along.

Visual unity: a group of repeating or similar elements that create balance or form a structure

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Point Analysis

Point is the basis of all art; it is what starts a piece, and can be emphasized or downplayed to create a bold or softness of edges, shapes, lines, etc. It is the grouping of points that creates these shapes and lines. As points are built onto each other, shapes can be recognized from the real world. In many video games, such as Stardew Valley, pixels are emphasized to give a more simplistic air. Because the pixels in the game are so large, there are much fewer points than many popular, more high-resolution games. The minimalist design can give a very nostalgic feel, and generally relax the game. Stardew Valley is also very simple in movement and focus; when moving your character in the game, the focal point is rarely changed. Instead, the screen moves with the character so that they remain the main focus, and so it is easier to follow. Other aspects of the game are simplified along with the point-style. The point of the game is to live a simple life by raising a farm with crops and livestock, using tools that require few clicks to operate and run the game with. Stardew Valley is a very simple game compared to many other more highly-pixelized games, like first-person shooter or MMORPG, which mainly focus on fast-paced action or fighting. Because the idea of the game is so simple, the point style is designed to mirror that simplicity. Point is used in Stardew Valley very strategically to enhance the feel of the game and to provide a more relaxed, recognizably easy experience.

Point Terms

Point​: the smallest visual component.

Pixel: a recently invented word. The word “pixel” was first published in 1965 by Frederic C. Billingsley of​​Jet Propulsion Laboratory to describe the picture elements of video images from space probes to the Moon and Mars. A pixel is the basic unit of programmable color on a computer display. Think of it as a logical - rather than a physical - unit. The physical size of a pixel depends on how you’ve set the resolution for the display screen. Each visual composition on your screen is made of thousands of illuminated points of hue and value.

Focal point​: the​ feature​ of a ​​design or work of art that is the most​ interesting​ or important​ or the most​ strongly​ emphasized​.

The Point​: what a player will tell a friend about the game if they like it.

The point​: the mission or a moving target.

The point of no return ​(PNR or PONR): the point beyond which one must continue on one’s current course of action because turning back is dangerous, physically impossible or difficult, or prohibitively expensive. The point of no return can be a calculated point during a continuous action (such as in aviation). A particular irreversible action (such as setting off an explosion or signing a contract) can be a point of no return.

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Pattern and Texture

Pattern and texture seems to be relatively optional for animation; some games and movies make wide usage of it and some incorporate very little or none at all. Games or movies with no shading are examples, and on the other hand, stop-motion movies are examples of media with very heavy usage. Rilakkuma and Kaoru uses stop-motion animation, and so the level of detail in the series is more impressive than many other animations. Because the series uses real-life objects and surfaces rather than visual texture in computer animation, the texture is almost exclusively tactile. This is one of the key advantages of stop-motion animation. So much work is put into the making and moving of characters and scenes, so the director does not have to worry about how much detail surfaces have- each detail does not have to be animated. In other words, with this type of animation, patterns and textures only have to be created once, so the amount of detail can be limitless without the added work of animating it all. The texture of the grass in particular is an example; it is so heavily detailed that it looks realistic, which isn’t seen in most animation. This is also seen in the bear’s fur, which looks just as a teddy bear’s would. Patterns work in the same way; since the trouble goes to creating them, there is less effort that needs to be put into animating them. So, there can be many patterns without the concern of carrying that detail through each frame. Some alternating patterns can be seen in both images; in the top image, the wall in the background, and in the bottom, the corner of the building behind the characters. Stop-motion animation is very greatly advantaged in the aspects of textures and patterns. Rilakkuma and Kaoru uses texture very heavily through the series (most notably in natural backgrounds) which gives it more of a realistic approach and allows the viewer to connect more significantly with the scenes.

Pattern and Texture Terms

Pattern: is an arrangement, configuration, array, formation, guide, matrix of repeated forms. Patterns create rhythm and can be used to predict and organize design elements such as using a grid. In Software development patterns are conventions for describing and documenting recurring design decisions within a given context.

Alternating pattern: means to occur in succession, such as day alternating with night. To pass back and forth from one state, action, or place to another such as alternate between happiness

Chiaroscuro: is a technique of painting or drawing using a predictable sequence of light and shade to achieve a three-dimensional quality. From the wayback machine: [1680–90; < Italian, =chiaro bright (< Latin clārus) + oscuro dark (< Latin obscūrus)]. Chiaroscuro has been digitized to give depth and dimension in every 3-D video game or animation object.

Collage: is a technique of an art production, primarily used in the visual arts, where the artwork is made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. Collage is a prototyping process used to assemble colors, textures, silhouettes and other assets to test ideas, colors, size relationships.

Gradient: is continuous change, darkening, lightening, increasing or decreasing color saturation. A gradient is created when two or more different colors are layered to paint one element while gradually fading between the hues or values.

Grid: means a rectangular system of coordinates used in locating the principal elements of a plan. and depression.

Progressive patterns: create active change, momentum by shifting in a direction, increasing, escalating, or accelerating.

Radial balanced patterns: are based on a circle with its design extending from its center. A few examples of radial balance are; a star, the iris in one’s eyes, and a wheel with spokes.

Texture: of something is the way that it feels when you touch it, how smooth or rough it is. The texture of an object depends on the unique structure of its molecules. Fur may feel soft or coarse, metal may be oiled and shiny or rusted and rough.

Tactile: textures are physical, touchable textures that you can actually feel on your skin in the real world, like when you pet a cat or dog.

Texture mapping: is a process in which a two-dimensional surface, a texture map, is wrapped around a three-dimensional object. When wrapped, the 3-D object acquires a visual surface texture. Texture maps create high frequency detail, surface texture, or color information on a computer-generated graphic or 3D model.

Visual texture: is an illusion of texture. Pixels or traditional drawing and painting media can be manipulated to give the impression of texture, while the surface actually remains smooth and flat. The texture on an ancient wall, a vehicle, or a creature’s scaly or slimy skin increases the immersiveness of a game. Texture artist is a career path. Texture artists are close observers as they collect, organize, and use textures to create believable surfaces.

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Motion Analysis

Motion is as much the responsibility of the characters as the responsibility of the camera. Motion is the camera angle, the proximity to the characters, the swiftness of shifting perspectives- but it is also the movement of the characters; the usage of gestures, speed of reaction, or changes in dynamics. Venom places emphasis on the main character’s shifting between very quick and very drawn out motions. The application of motion blur during fast movements creates anticipation, and the slow movement afterwards releases it. The movie uses this practice before action scenes in order to build interest for when the scenes become mostly fast-paced rather than a combination. This is called anticipated action; the viewer is waiting for the build-up of the scene to reach a climax, which would be the fast-pace that is expected. Because movement is so important to the movie, stillness is used as a kind of buffer between action scenes, or an indication of a significant or dramatic moment. If the speed of actions scenes are meant to release build-up, then stillness of other scenes is used to create it. Camera motion is also largely incorporated in order give the movie a sense of realism. An example is the way that the camera shakes very slightly when Venom moves quickly in the scene; it resembles the way that a person there would be shaken a little by the force. The resemblance of the camera movement to the way a person would be moved realistically gives the movie a much larger connection to the audience as it feels more alive. The movie uses motion to direct the audience to anticipate when action is approaching and to appreciate the contrast between stagnancy and the excitement of action scenes. Camera movement gives a more realistic effect, as it moves somewhat organically, like how a person would be moved during scenes.

Motion Terms

Motion: is action, reaction, energy, what’s happening, gestures, dynamics, mobility, exertion, labor, and progress through space. Motion varies with your story. Motion indicators in storyboards are arrows, blurred lines, smears, zooms in and out. Your character is dramatized and embodied as a personality through gestural actions.

180-degree rule: in filmmaking is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. By keeping the camera on one side of an imaginary axis between two characters, the first character is always framed right of the second character. Moving the camera over the axis is called jumping the line or crossing the line; breaking the 180-degree rule by shooting on all sides is known as shooting in the round.

Anticipated Action: is a dramatic action frozen in time, the tension mounts, we feel anticipation. We expect the sword to swing or the finger to pull the trigger or the couple to kiss.

Camera Motion: arrows are standard cues, a simple and recognizable way to show motion or progression in a storyboard.  

Kinesthetic Empathy: is a player’s actual movement when responding to action in a game. Leaning into a curve in a driving game is kinesthetic empathy.

Line of action: is an artistic concept, an invisible line that captures the thrust and vitality of the movement. The line of action can be drawn by artists as the first element to capture or exaggerate the pose. Tip: Create the line of action as layer 1 so that you don’t downplay the pose. When you have the full energy of the drawing delete the action line layer.

Motion Blur: when your eyes or objects are in motion, the image will suffer from motion blur, resulting in an inability to resolve details. To cope with this, humans generally alternate between saccades (quick eye movements) and fixation (focusing on a single point).How is this biological situation useful in storyboard drawing? How do storyboard artists use motion blur? How does a smear function in animated motion?

Optical movement: is an optical illusion. Although the image is not moving, it appears to move. To see examples search “Op Art”.

Stillness: is calm, quiet, inaction, and peace. Stillness is the opposite of motion. It can be used to contrast with motion.

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Space and Depth Analysis

Space and depth is used in media to direct focus. It is another device that allows the director to control how much or little of a scene the audience should see and how they will perceive it. AbyssRium uses space and depth to showcase the many organisms in the game. From afar, the atmospheric perspective affects the scene by casting a deep blue hue over the water to give the illusion of greater depth. There are also clouds of high opacity in the water, which give it a sense of realism and, again, greater depth. When zoomed into an area of the glacier, the view appears more transparent, which allows for a clearer picture. Less of this overlay makes the depth seem shorter, and thus, the world much smaller. The ability of the player to foreshorten the scene gives more of a connection to the creatures in the game because of the closeness to them. Though the glacier can be enlarged, the background water will stay the same. This stillness of the ocean behind the glacier resembles the limitlessness of the actual sea, which, for the most part, will appear the same no matter how you move in it. Space and depth is shifted to the user’s wish, as they can zoom in or out to see more or less of the picture at once. The use of space and depth in the game allows the player to see the game much more realistically, which can help them to connect to the experience more. 

Space and Depth Terms

Value in design: is lightness or darkness on a scale of white to black (with white being the highest value and black being the lowest value). Value is widely considered to be one of the most important variables to the success of a design.

Chiaroscuro: (English: kee-AR-ə-SKOOR-oh, -​SKEWR-, Italian:; Italian for “light-dark”), is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark with bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. Chiaroscuro is a technical term for the use of contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modelling three-dimensional objects and figures.

Light and dark: Every element in your design has a value from 1% black (almost white) to 100% black. Value is relative to everything in the composition. Every color has an underlying value somewhere between white and black.

Value as emphasis: happens when a strong contrast in value draws attention to itself such as on this ancient Greek vase illustrating value contrast in the service of visual storytelling.  

Value and space: Designers use dark and light values to create the illusion of light as it falls on objects.  Value is used to create the illusion of highlights and shadows.  Highlights and shadows combine to create the illusion of a light source. The pattern of light and dark can create dimension, volume, and mass.

Value patterns: appear regularly in the world, in human-made design, and even in abstract ideas such as stories. The elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. Night and day is a value pattern common in stories

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Value Analysis 

Value is different from color; value is the change from lightness to darkness that gives a film either drama or softness. Though hue does not have nothing to do with it, it is also not everything. Value is primarily the dark to light on a black and white scale, though, as seen in the first picture, movies will usually also employ hues, which mean that the film is not exactly longer black and white. Value can be seen most easily when hues are dulled; Corpse Bride primarily uses blue hues with very strong chiaroscuro between the dark background and lighter characters. This light and dark exchange in the movie is heightened in dramatic scenes and dulled when the audience is supposed to perceive softer emotions; there will be less of a contrast between the two values, and instead, the scene may be more or less saturated in color rather than stronger in value. This value pattern that switches between the extreme use of values and loss of that dramatic usage in exchange for very saturated scenes help guide the audience to anticipate the tones of the movie.

Value Terms

Value in design: is lightness or darkness on a scale of white to black (with white being the highest value and black being the lowest value). Value is widely considered to be one of the most important variables to the success of a design.

Chiaroscuro: (English: kee-AR-ə-SKOOR-oh, -​SKEWR-, Italian:; Italian for “light-dark”), is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark with bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. Chiaroscuro is a technical term for the use of contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modelling three-dimensional objects and figures.

Light and dark: Every element in your design has a value from 1% black (almost white) to 100% black. Value is relative to everything in the composition. Every color has an underlying value somewhere between white and black.

Value as emphasis: happens when a strong contrast in value draws attention to itself such as on this ancient Greek vase illustrating value contrast in the service of visual storytelling.  

Value and space: Designers use dark and light values to create the illusion of light as it falls on objects.  Value is used to create the illusion of highlights and shadows.  Highlights and shadows combine to create the illusion of a light source. The pattern of light and dark can create dimension, volume, and mass.

Value patterns: appear regularly in the world, in human-made design, and even in abstract ideas such as stories. The elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. Night and day is a value pattern common in stories

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Color Analysis

Color sets up the tone of scenes and movies by evoking emotions with certain color schemes. Color psychology helps directors to target emotions; audiences will likely have similar reactions to the selected color schemes, color is one of the most heavily incorporated strategies when pursuing emotions in media. Joker is a good example of color usage, because the color palettes seem to surround the main character’s emotions, which help the audience to connect more easily. Eerie, strangely lit scenes give a feeling of unease, where warmer or more saturated scenes are used to relax the tone of the movie. This works especially well in Joker because of the main character’s suit, which is composed mostly of warm colors, so when the background is also warm and seems to blend together with the main character, the scene seems very unified and generally less unsettling. This is called a monochromatic strategy, which employs variations of one color, and works to unify a scene. Overall, color usage in Joker plays a very important role, as it allows the audience to connect with the main character and understand when there is a sense of unease in a scene, which is very important to this movie in particular. 

Color Terms

Color Psychology: is the study of the effect that colors have on emotions, behavior and feelings of people.

Color systems: classify color and analyze their effects.

Additive color system: is used for colors of light such as light emitted from computers, phone screens, and projectors. Red, green, and blue are the primary colors

Subtractive color system:` is used for pigments such as ink, dye, and paint. Cyan, magenta, and yellow are the primary colors.

Color to Show Depth: is the use of color to separate the foreground, midground, and background planes to create the illusion of depth and is commonly used in animation.

The color wheel: or color circle, arranges a pattern of hues around a circle. There are several ​versions of the color wheel​ or color circle.  The circle connects relationships between hues to illustrate color strategies.  ​Color wheel history​ goes way back.

Local color: is the natural color of an object unmodified by adding unrealistic light and shadow or any other distortion. The color that the eye observes is altered by lighting conditions such as time of day or the surrounding environment. The local color of a lemon is yellow.

Palette: is the range of colors used in a particular composition or by any person who uses color such as an artist, house painter or interior decorator. An example of a palette is Vincent Van Gogh’s limited palette of hues in his Starry Night painting. ​Starry Night’s palette ​is a variety of blues, greens and yellows. Close up video of ​Starry Night​ lets you come closer than you could at the Museum of Modern Art.

Properties of color: are hue, saturation, and brightness. The H, S, and B in the Photoshop Color Panel​ stand for hue, saturation, and brightness.

-Hue: is the named color around the color circle such as red, orange, green, yellow, violet, and blue.

-Saturation: ​is the intensity or purity of a hue. Fire engine red is more highly saturated than brick red or the color of red wine.

-Brightness:​ is the perceived intensity of light coming from a source such as a screen. On a color screen, brightness is the average of the red, green and blue pixels on the screen. Brightness is important to both color perception and battery life on mobile devices. Brightness of a screen can be adjusted.

Symbolism of color: in art and anthropology refers to the use of color as a symbol in various cultures. There is great diversity in the use of colors and their associations. Diversity in color symbolism occurs because color meanings and symbolism occur on an individual, cultural and universal basis. Color symbolism is also context-dependent and changes over time.

Monochromatic: ​means variations of a single hue such as a light blue and a dark blue or a greenish aqua blue and a lavender blue.

Achromatic ​color strategy: integrates variations of black, white, gray, and a full range of neutrals.

Full Spectrum Strategy​: represents the full circle of spectral colors by incorporating at least five of the base hues.

​Achromatic/Chromatic Mix​ strategy: Achromatic colors dominate the composition with a chromatic hue accent.

Warm/Cool:​ Contrasting ‘temperatures’ of warm & cool. Cool colors appear on the green/blue/violet side of the color wheel. The colors on the red/orange/yellow side of the color wheel are called warm. Emphasis is on the contrast between warm and cool achromatics: brown - gold (warm), grays - silver (cool)

Saturation Similarities/Saturation Contrast:

-Saturation Similarities​: Hues may vary in this strategy, but all colors must have the same or very similar saturations.

-Saturation Contrast​: Hues may vary but all colors must have significant contrast of saturation.

Value Similarities/Value Contrast:

Value Similarities: ​Hues may vary in this strategy, but all colors have the same or very close values.

Value Contrast​: Black (or dark desaturated hues) contrast with white (or very desaturated tints of hues). The Value Contrast strategy demonstrates strong distinction of value with the strongest example being between black and white.

Complementary Dyad​: creates a strong hue contrast. Complementary hues are located directly opposite each other on the color circle.

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Shape Analysis

Shape defines the external appearance of characters or things in media by giving recognizable forms. Especially distinctive outlines can be identified with less features- an example is the use of silhouettes, which applies only the outline of a figure in order to determine identity. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a great example of extensive use of shape; each character is very distinctly shapen, many taking the form of non-objective shapes. Most characters in the movie follow basic shapes that are simply squashed and stretched; for example, the Mayor of Halloween Town (highest placed character in second image, second right-most character in first image) follows the shape of a wide triangle, the clown (rightmost of second image) largely follows a squashed circular shape. The basic shapes that these characters follow are abstract shapes; they allow us to make assumptions about the characters based off inclinations surrounding those shapes. Non-objective shapes, though, are figures that follow no particular basic shape- the two characters left and rightmost of the first image are an example of this. Many variations of shapes are used to create the characters in The Nightmare Before Christmas, and each variation means something to either the character’s personality or the way the audience is supposed to perceive them. This movie is a good example in particular because the shapes of almost every character are so widely varied, and many assumptions about the characters can be made just based on the how the shapes are changed and placed.

Shape Terms

Shape: is the external form or appearance characteristic of someone or something; the outline of an area or figure. As a verb, to shape is to give a particular form. As artists, we shape our characters outward appearance by using shapes.

Abstract Shapes and Abstraction: (see Non-objective Shapes)  means no recognizable objects. Abstraction is a sliding scale from realism to completely non representational. Abstract shapes can be used in backgrounds and textures. The background pattern in this Minecraft image is abstract. The character is still recognizable as a human, but the doctor’s human form is abstracted in the game of Minecraft to conform to the blocks of the game world. 

Biomorphic: is a free-form pattern or design with a shape suggestive of a living organism, especially an amoeba or protozoan.

Curvilinear shapes: are s-curves. Curvilinear shapes inform Jessica Rabbit’s character design and can represent a winding river vanishing into the distance.

Distortion: is exaggeration, contortion, reform, slant, twist, or warp in ways that depart from reality. Look at the Minecraft Human body example. The figure of the Minecraft doctor is distorted by the shape of the blocks.

Idealism: asserts that the physical world is less important than the mind or the spirit which shapes and animates it. Idealists choose the soul, the mind, or the psyche over the body, the material, and the historical. When ideals (of appearance, or proportion for example) regulate the way an artist represents the world, her work can be described as Idealistic. The leading artists of the High Renaissance - Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo - are all associated with varying forms of Idealism, as were ancient Greek sculptors. How do you think idealism affects avatar customization?

Non-objective shapes: have no object as a reference and no recognizable subject matter. Non-objective shapes are often used to simplify design shapes. Geometric shapes such as a triangle, square, and circle are abstract until you put them together to represent a house or a smiley face. One Minecraft block, away from the game, is anon-objective shape.  Inside the game that same block, depending on it’s color and texture could represent a part of a landscape, sheep, or sword. The block as part of a character or environment inside the game would no longer be abstract.

Positive space: is the subject, focal point, or areas of high interest in any composition. Negative space is the area around the areas of interest. All compositions balance positive and negative space. Yes, stuff in the negative space can point to the focal point to make it most obvious. Positive and negative create a whole. Every composition is a combination of positive and negative space. Wield the positive and negative spaces with control and story-telling magic to become a design master.

Realism: or naturalism, attempts to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality or exotic or supernatural elements. In the visual arts, illusionistic realism strives for the accurate depiction of lifeforms, perspective, and the details of light and color.

Rectilinear: is a boxy shape made with straight lines. For example, the screen you are looking at is a rectilinear shape filled with little square pixels, and pixels are also rectilinear. A storyboard is a series of  drawings in a linear set of rectilinear frames.

Representational: means objects that players can name. The object represents something from the real world, or something that has the verisimilitude of realism. A cartoon bunny can represent a rabbit without being realistic. Representational is a sliding scale from realism to almost abstract. 2 dots and a curve can be arranged into an abstract pattern or they can be arranged into an emoji that represents a smiley face.

Silhouette: is a profile or shape that is easy to identify.

Squash and stretch: are shapes profiles that emphasize motion. The stretched position shows the form in an extended condition. When you do a sit up your belly squashes and your back stretches. 

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Lines Analysis

Lines are used to create the illusion of depth, perspective, suggest movement and give each work a unique, recognizable style if used in a memorable fashion. In Into the Spider-Verse, lines are used in many different ways that each help to give the movie a distinct style and suggest both the of familiarity of realism and the flow of a smooth animation. What the movie does specifically is use harsh and fading lost and found lines, which work to suggest the curve or shape of an object without explicitly outlining the entire shape. The movie uses many forms of lines to suggest a shape; the line weight also changes frequently on objects or figures in correlation to the shape’s movement, growing bolder or fading entirely to add another realistic element. Into the Spider-Verse incorporates the line of action quite heavily, especially seen in the picture above where the character Miles Morales is jumping on a web, which itself is another useful line that indicates where the character will move. It is implied that he is aimed toward the viewer, while his body is shifted back towards the web. The background also incorporates many uses of lines, but most especially, diagonal lines are used to outline the city, and point certain objects or areas, like the bridges or tops of buildings, to the vanishing point, giving the movie a much broader perspective that is larger than itself. The movie uses many different types of lines which help to create movement and balance between the realistic nature of 3D animation and flow of 2D animation. Each type of line in the movie help to give it a unique, recognizable style.

Line Terms

Lines: have both a direction and a length. Line means a mark, streak, stroke, slash, path, stripe, border, contour, striation, course, route, and track. Curved, bent, thick, wide, broken, vertical, horizontal, burred, or freehand, lines delineate shapes, forms, and spaces, volumes, edges, movement and patterns. Not only that -- lines create both2D and 3D objects and figures. Lines are awesome and powerful.

Contour Lines: indicate the edge around an object or the changes in volume within an object. Contour lines dramatize changes of plane within the form. The curve of a belt around the waist is a contour line.

Diagonal Lines: are useful to draw the eye into a composition such as toward the vanishing points.  Three common types of diagonals are 1) actual diagonal lines 2)objects placed diagonally in a scene 3) a diagonal line created by the viewpoint such as the Dutch tilt.

Dutch Tilt (known as a dutch angle, canted angle, or oblique angle) is a type of camera shot that has a noticeable tilt on the camera’s “x-axis.” The Dutch tilt camera technique was introduced by German Expressionists in the 1920s — so it’s not actually Dutch. Directors often use a Dutch angle to signal to the viewer that something is wrong, disorienting, or unsettling.

Explicit Lines are clear, direct, and obvious. If a drawing is easy to read it may be that the lines are explicit, clean, with efficient use of variety.

Gesture Lines capture motion, such as in an action pose when gesture drawings are used in storyboards. The figures at the head of the Rembrandt Elephant drawing show the quickly sketched human gestures responding to the elephant.

Implied Lines in 3-D scenes a line in a scene that is not physically there but is suggested by points in the art. Implied lines suggest the edges of an object or planes within an object. The line may be broken such as a dotted line, it may be defined by value, color, or texture, or it may not be visible at all. With implied lines, our brain interprets that a line exists.

Line as Value has a long history. Artists have used line drawings to create value, or shading, and to achieve the impression of volume.

Line of Action is an imaginary line that extends through the main action of the figure. When you draw an action figure you can capture the line of action on one layer then draw the figure drawing on another layer.

Line Quality is the expressive essence of lines. Varying the line quality makes objects appear more 3-dimensional and exciting. Range in line quality heightens descriptive and suggestive potential. A single line can change in darkness and width, can vanish all together to mentally reconnect later on an edge.

Line Weight refers to the thickness or thinness of a line.

Lost and Found Lines are when a line fades out and then restarts further along the edge. We don’t really need a strong contour line around every part of an object because our brain will fill in the blank where the edge disappears.

Psychic Lines are invisible. Psychic lines form between characters or between a gun and a target, or a hand pointing in a direction. There is no real line yet we feel a line. Eyes looking in a direction, especially characters looking at each other create a psychic line.