Sunday, January 15, 2017

The Old Switcheroo

Check out these two photos. Same blocks. Same layout. Different color placement. What do you notice?  What pops out, and what doesn't? What does your eye see? (Or rather, notice what contrast attracts your eye.)

 1. Blue Diamonds


2. Colored Diamonds


Here I've tried to place them side by side so you can compare the two. Neither is RIGHT or WRONG, they are DIFFERENT, and show you how color (and value placement) can change the whole thing. Which one you might use depends entirely on what you want to emphasize.





Since the design with the colored diamonds (2) remind me of Treasure Trove, I probably won't make that one. But I am not quite sure I want the blue diamonds in (1) to be so wimpy and disappear.

I think I'll try to make some other lighter triangle blocks and use them also, and just keep the darker colors for the triangles that complete the star pattern, because it would be a nice thing to have two ideas working together. Here the dark shapes that make the star tend to pop forward. That's fine with me, but it would be fun to get another set of lighter colors to sink backward (like the light blue) to make that "layer" more interesting than just being one color. It'll be a fine balancing act and until I actually put blocks on the design wall, I'm not sure it will "work" the way I want it too.

It's going to be fun to find out.

12 comments:

Nancy J said...

Purple and lime are the ones I notice first, and I agree, the blue blends in with the B&W, unless it was darker maybe. I like the yellow and red in there as well. Funny, as blue is one of my favourite colours.

Tine said...

I like the blue diamonds blending into the black and white. It would be nice to have the starpattern in a color that would blend in as well, to make the different designs appear depending on how you look at the quilt. Enjoy!

Sandi said...

In the first one the bright yellow and dark purple caught my eye. But in the second the mustard yellow and lime green helped balance the dark purple more with the blues.

The second exposure also has more of a yellow cast which may be the lightening at the time it was taken but I think I prefer the second more.

Jackie said...

I didn't notice the stars until you pointed them out. I like the blue points best.

The Selvage Fairy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Selvage Fairy said...

Maybe it's just me, but I think the light blue stands out in both layouts, especially the blue diamonds. I'd describe that as a blue and white quilt with some other accent colors. I like it.

Ann said...

What a good comparison. Thanks for sharing your insight.

Lynne Stucke said...

I like option #1, with the blue diamonds surrounded by stars. Lovely! (lynnstck[at]yahoo.com)

CathyQuilts said...

I see 6 pointed stars with a diamond inside

stitchinpenny said...

I love the blue, but i must see it as a stronger color than you. The stars highlight so nicely. If I were going to make more light blues, I would put darker black and whites around them since those pop more to me. Isn't it funny how different people see things so differently.

Kucki68 said...

On the blue diamond one I can see stars, which to me is always a good thing.

Amy said...

I like the visual play of shape and color. I keep expecting to see fish--there are some fish shapes--especially because of the blue.