colour- then and now

then:

pigments:
pigments are powders put in a binder with acrylic/oil which covers to a surface. ie: pencil, chalk, crayons etc... for drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics etc...

dyes:
dyes are pigments dissolved in fluid

'the last supper' was created using a fresco technique which requires paint applied to a damp plaster wall in order for pigments to fuse with the plaster as it dries. but leonardo's methods were slow and he could not keep pace with the speed of the drying process. pigment and plaster did not fuse well and over time the paint began to flake off and this is why the fresco technique has recently been restored with mixed results.

now:

4 colour process printing:
screens with black, process yellow, process magenta, process cyan are used and the eye mixes these dots to form hues and the density of the screen and size of dots determine the lightness (small dots) and darkness (big dots)


pantone matching systems:
9 colours and the system shows the % requred to make a colour like a recipe, this then allows the printer to mix inks.


with the development of electronics we are now in the computer age, therefore designers need to be aware of the effects of colour as sometimes the outcome in print is different to what is shown on screen.