History, development, and use of color in digital media - Research Paper Example

Number and Number History, Development, and the Use of Color in Digital MediaIntroduction After discussing the history and development of color in digital media, psychology of color and impact of color, light, and shadow on digital media will be tackled in details. Prior to conclusion, ways on how color can be applied differently to achieve different effects will be provided.History and Development of Color in Digital Media In the absence of digital technology, basic color such as red, green, blue, orange, yellow, and violet are commonly used in describing the different shades of color.

To guide photographers and multimedia users when choosing color, the basic colors that are commonly used each day are all presented in the color wheel chart (Golombisky and Hagen, p. 116). By combining two primary colors, it is possible for us to produce a secondary color. For instance: Mixing blue and yellow will create green whereas red and yellow will create orange. By mixing side-by-side colors that are presented in the color wheel, we create another color that is ‘in-between’ colors (Golombisky and Hagen, p.117). For example: Mixing red and orange will create reddish orange whereas blue and green will create bluish green.

Color presented on the screen is totally different from the color that may come out in prints when using multimedia. Reddish color in screen may turn pink in prints because the screen color adopts “additive process” whereas printers use “subtractive process” (Golombisky and Hagen, p. 121). To produce high quality commercial printing, cyan has to be combined with magenta, yellow and black (CYMK) (Golombisky and Hagen, p. 123). For colors viewed electronically, light has to be added in order to produce color on electronic screens to create more attractive color output.

(See Appendix I – Sample Image on page 4)Psychology of Color Based on Hering’s opponent-process theory of color vision, the human eyes have three types of color receptors including red, green, and blue-violet. Since each type of color receptors has opposing receptors like black and white, some people may be sensitive to color red and/or green whereas others may be sensitive to blue and/or yellow (Nevid, pp. 96 – 97). Therefore, balancing of color is needed to avoid eyes sensitivity to a particular color.

Impact of Color, Light, and Shadow on Digital MediaLight and color are two interrelated subjects in the sense that the presence of light is necessary to enable the human eyes see the different shades of color which is then perceived by the brain. In the absence of light, the human eyes will not be able to perceive any color but darkness. Among the different kinds of light includes: natural light, LED, fluorescent light, carbon arc light, and tungsten light (Musburger and Kindem, pp. 219 – 222).

Since each type of light sources creates different atmosphere that affects the emotional impression and state of mind of the audiences, carefully selecting the light sources and patterns of light used in multi-media should be observed. Normally, the presence of shadow creates a more relaxing mood. In the sample image presented in Appendix I, shadow was avoided by using black background. To allow the audiences to capture the face of Chucky’s bride, light was focused on the left side of the bride’s face.

In line with this, the presence of light brings out the color of the subjects. To create a different color effects, a black background should be avoided to create a softer image. By using softer light, the color of Chucky and his bride will not be as bright as presented in Appendix I.Conclusion In multimedia, light, color, and shadow are used in creating different atmosphere and moods on the part of the audiences. Therefore, multimedia artists should be knowledgeable on how they can effectively create a balance lighting to produce images based on what they prefer the objects to be perceived by the audiences.

*** End ***Appendix I – Sample Image Source: FanpopSelected media: image/tiffFormat: image file formatReferences"Fanpop." 2010. Bride of Chucky. 13 November 2010 .Golombisky, K and R Hagen. White Space Is Not Your Enemy: A Beginners Guide to Communicating Visually through Graphic, Web, and Multimedia Design. Elsevier Inc., 2010.Musburger, Robert B. and Gorham Kindem. Introduction to Media Production: The Path to Digital Media Production. Elsevier, Inc., 2009.Nevid, Jeffrey S. Psychology: Concepts and Applications.

3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008.