Notes from 2nd half of 1st Huston lecture

Study notes to help me remember.

Important elements to use in beginning a picture --

Shape - Value - Silhouette

Different value = different plane

Same value = same plane

This applies to the planes of foreground, mid, and background as well as planes facing at different angles to the light source.

Values create structure - flattening values flattens structure.

Structure creates attention. More structure (more value changes) creates more attention - less structure (less value changes) creates less attention.

A figure can use a whole value system that's different from the whole value system of the background - can be a full value range figure against limited value bg, a high-keyed figure on a low-key bg, etc. 

Different value ranges can overlap a bit.

Organize or Order the picture with value plans.

3 levels of ordering through value - 

• Flat value plan
• Form
• Space

The first step is the flat value plan, just creating clarity through silhouette. Graphic Design.

Form means use value to depict lighting and give shape to forms, while space refers to layering foreground, midground and background by value changes.

As you begin to render it changes to Different value RANGE = different plane. Same value range = same plane.

After these stages use gradations and edges to refine before any rendering. Gradations give far more latitude than just different value range = different plane - same idea but with more subtlety. And then edges extend the same idea even farther. He talks about 7 different edges - hard, soft and lost with variations in between. He also includes various types of mark making as being similar to edges - a rough sloppy scribbly edge where you scrub strokes of background value right over the edge f the figure for instance creates a certain type of edge with a certain energy. Layering it semi-transparently over part of it creates a different energy and a different sense of edge. Etc etc.