What Is Gradation In Art?
Gradation is a Principle Of Art that allows for gradual transition of color from dark to light, or light to dark. It can also be influenced by light, its color, and intensity.
At its root the primary focus is this gradual transition of color.
Methods Of Creating Gradation In Art
The most common methods many artists use to create gradation are those such as hatching, blending and shading. Blending and shading are easy concepts that many non artists will understand.
Hatching on the other hand is a term that fewer people come into contact with. This process takes place by drawing close parallel lines.
These lines can be spaced in such a way to create a shading effect within art. When lines intersect at angles this is called crosshatching.
A similar effect can be achieved within painting. A style of wet on wet painting within the Impressionist Era was quite common. The technique also allowed for natural blending of color to aid in its impact.
Why Is Gradation Important In Art?
Without gradation we would lose our ability to create contours within art. It is what allows for a two dimensional drawing to have three dimensional visual properties.
Gradation is a building block that can be used in conjunction with convergence in art. It is in fact essential to its principles.
It is easy to see this impact within Figurative Art where so much focus is placed on the human body. While it is common to consider gradation a transition of value from one color, it also holds true in a transition to other colors.
Aside from the ability to obtain a three dimensional appearance, gradation also allows the use of light and shadow. This gives greater depth and realism to the subject matter of the art.
Within a composition it allows greater harmony in art to be achieved. The harmony is perceived through the balance of the art no longer being purely two dimensional. Rather it allows depth to the scope and contrast.
How Gradation Works With Multiple Colors In Transition
As mentioned earlier, much can be learned from the Impressionist movement. The artists of this time would often use strokes of the brush to paint with lines.
These lines would be placed side by side with other colors while still wet. It is quite similar to the earlier stated concept of hatching.
Nevertheless when working with multiple colors, as colors combine or overlap there is a natural blending which takes place. This blend can create a boundary, or a color variation.
Points of this nature can be used to create focal points or other areas of interest by a color intersection.
If working with graphite it is easy to use manual blending to further create this shading effect. The transition is no longer about a primary color.
This gradation incorporates two colors, and can create a third variation within the art to the degree which the artist desires.
How Light Impacts Gradation In Art
Light will almost always impact gradation within art. Factors such as the position of the light source will create a need for shadow on contours.
Gradation here will be needed for the contour and the perceived environment of the subject matter. It is for this reason so many artists spend a good deal of time within light studies.
While the position of the light source is important, so is the perceived spectrum the artist wishes to portray.
Natural light will impact gradation differently than an artificial source such as candle light. Here the color of what our eyes are accustomed to seeing will play a role in the colors used for gradation.
As a light falls onto a subject the color will transition through gradation while still keeping the natural tones of that subject. This is about more than mere color value.
Using Gradation In Digital Art
When creating digital art the artist will be using software to aid in creating gradation instead of traditional manual means. This can definitely take some getting used to for a traditional artist.
Which software platforms work the best with an artist can vary based upon taste, finances to invest, and the kind of art the artist wishes to create.
Among the best is naturally the Adobe line. Clip Studio Paint is another popular option. In the free or lower cost variations you can find software like Krita and some use Gimp.
No matter which software you select to use, ultimately there is a learning curve to mastering the use of gradation in a digital format. Despite this it is possible to achieve very life like contours and precise lighting effects across the subject.
Digital gradation can be easier to achieve for more novice artists. While the software is itself a learning curve the artist can overcome a lack of natural skill or practice through its use.
Precise effects can be generated across the whole of the art in an instant, changed to a different effect, or undone if the artist does not like its impact.
This can be a great way to study light and gradation on three dimensional contours.
How Does Gradation Work Within Wood Art?
It may surprise many that gradation can be found within wood art. While it is not to the same degree as drawing or painting its impact is important.
Wood offers a very different and unique canvass when carving. The wood grain itself becomes a key component to this gradation process.
Depth of cut within the carving and the contour can be either perceived like in two dimensional art, or an actual carved 3d contour.
What creates the gradation in wood? It is achieved by the texture of the wood, its grain, and the stain colors used.
A hard wood with a smooth surface will stain lighter than a rougher textured surface. The texture of the wood can be altered by the wood carving process and sanding.
The stain colors can then be used to blend or accent as desired in order to create more or less depth. It allows for the art to stand out from the rest of the surface rather than blend into the background.
It is understandable that wood will never be able to achieve the same degree of gradation as found in traditional arts. While wood art possesses a very simplistic form of this process naturally, it is critical to the outcome.
Should Artists Use Gradation And Focus A Study On It?
If your artwork focuses on any form of Realism then you should study and use gradation. Non objective artists will often use its properties as well but its importance is less in focus here.
When an artist lacks an understanding and skill for using gradation their art will suffer from it. It is an important principle that cannot be ignored.
All art must transition at some point by color. If art is to appear as more than a two dimensional rendering it also must have some contour.
Contour will require some degree of gradation and use of light with shadow. Ultimately it is an unavoidable principle that artists will encounter.