The Secret to Understanding Color Saturation

This video explores color saturation, explaining how intense and muted colors can work together effectively in fine art, illustration, film, character design, and more. Both muted and intense colors contribute important elements of color that are both equally important in an artwork. Discussion led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artist Jordan McCracken-Foster..

GOOGLE SLIDESHOW USED IN THIS VIDEO

THUMBNAIL ARTWORK, David Wiesner

ARTISTS MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO

🍎ART PROF SERVICES
• Portfolio critiques
• Artist calls
• Personal Art Curriculums
• Artist doc editing
• Lectures by Prof Lieu

🍊WORKSHOPS

❤️JOIN OUR PATREON GROUP
• Share your art in weekly voice sessions with staff
• Critiques & advice from Prof Lieu
• Find support in a small group of artists

🐟JOIN OUR DISCORD SERVER

🍏VISIT OUR WEBSITE
• Curriculums for self-taught artists
• Tracks: sequences of lessons & prompts
• Pro development
• Art supply lists
• Art school & critiques

🦀SOCIAL MEDIA

🌞EMAIL LIST

🍏YOUTUBE LIVE STREAM SCHEDULE

❤️SUPPORT US

🎞️SPONSOR A VIDEO

✔️SUBSCRIBE

✅ GET MERCH!

🖼️SHOP WITH OUR ORIGINAL ART

🍅ART PROF REFERENCE PHOTO COLLECTION
Download high resolution reference photos for free!

📌ART PROF PODCAST

🍊STAFF SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS

🫐STREAMYARD

Clara Lieu was an Adjunct Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design from 2007-2020. Her artwork has been exhibited at the International Print Center NY, the Currier Museum, Childs Gallery, the Davis Museum, and more. Lieu received an artist fellowship from the MA Cultural Council, has written for the NY Times, and lectured at Brown University, the NAEA conference, and in Vancouver & China. She has been profiled in Artsy, Hyperallergic, KPCC, & WBUR.

🍒PROF LIEU'S BIO VIDEO, PAGE, INSTAGRAM

☘️STREAMING EQUIPMENT

[TheKathept]

Wow! Color is so hard. This has been interesting. I feel I need to go mess with color right now to sort out the ideas you’ve been covering here. Thank you so much for another great video!

[yellowhatarts]

I'm so sorry I had to go during the stream, but omg thank you for your kind words, it's really nice that you noticed the little details on the photos that fact makes my hard work worth it 😭😭 thanks for the good wishes! Art Prof is such an inspiration to me!!

[anosmiciris]

Big thanks for both videos about value and saturation! this helped me finally understand the difference between the two! it's highly appreciated.

[anawieder]

I want to say that I'm the opposite of the person who said they don't use saturated color. For a while I really hated using muted color. It's taken me many years as a painter to value subtle color, especially against bright color. I also have come to really appreciate mid range colors like dirty magenta and blood orange and grayish turqouise . Those colors have really added a lot to my paintings.

[BestowingTheBrush]

I LOVED this video. So helpful and really, really, gets me thinking more about color and how to use it more dramatically and boldly. Thanks, guys!

[donnadrialo]

Alfred Hitchcock knew how to use color to create a mood. Check out the fog and Kim Novak's clothing in Vertigo.

[kennydreadfuls]

I was a clarinet major and I really fell in love with playing Clarinet II in orchestra because you have to be so responsive in your style and volume and reacting to what the principal needs.

[krzysztofmathews]

I have to give you guys a serious thanks for sharing the work of Eyvind Earle in this talk. Somehow, I don't believe I had ever seen his work before, and I absolutely love that aesthetic!

[apostalote]

Idk why but while I have always appreciated a nice chromatic colour, muted colours have always appealed more to me. I feel like they have more character, something about them seems more stable. And I absolutely love yellow ochre, like Ingres said it was “Gods gift to artists”. When I see it, I think peanut butter, which I love.

[anawieder]

I wish you had included more art historical artists, like Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse, Bonnard, Joan Mitchell, and Elizabeth Murray. But I really wish you had included more contemporary artists that are known for color like Dana Schutz, Nicole Eisenman, and Kathe Bradford. I feel like you're missing out on opportunities to introduce your audience to contemporary art while also educating about color theory and practice.

[theartgirl]

41:50

It’s definitely Brussels sprouts 😂

[anonofish]

I will never forget what yellow ochre looks like..

[Jennifer-wrsi]

I found using a small standard set of Posca markers got me comfortable using saturated colours. You're forced to really think about how to combine saturated colours.