My Color Theory class is lead by the brilliant instructor Cameron Wasson. It is, believe it or not, currently my favorite class. Such an intense class (read: lots of working in-class and lots of homework hours), but I have already gained so much knowledge that I can use forever (...or at least until I pay people to do this kind of stuff for me). Gouache paint costs way too much money, though, so that's a real downside. Plus, I also seem to be buying a bunch of things that I don't foresee myself ever using again in other classes. Still, can you put a price on knowledge? The Academy seems to think so. And it's pretty high. Also, Cameron is not only a great instructor/teacher, but she has THE BEST anecdotes! It's a real treat just to watch her formulate them on-the-fly. Most importantly, she clearly has a real love/passion for what she does, and I think I respect that more than anything else and can certainly get behind it.
At any rate, our first project is to be turned in this week and I thought I'd share my interpretation of it here. Using the Golden Rectangle, we had to create a 9-value design, then colorize it. Below are exploratory marker sketches, the B&W painting, and the color version, done in gouache paint.
On a related side-note, Mark Kennedy (awesome Disney story artist) has been doing his own color theorizing in his free time and posts a few great thoughts on color over at his Temple of the Seven Golden Camels blog. It's worth a read.