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Study #3
3-Dimensional/Transparency
“Drawing is deception.” - M.C.Escher
Our study this month is “space” through the use of
shadow and transparency; tricking the eye into seeing
depth and dimension on a flat surface. Design
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Designers and artists use a combination of tricks to create
depth. There are several ways you can do this.
1. Forced Perspective is the use of objects or images that
are larger or smaller than they should be, to suggest
that they are nearer or farther away than they really
are. Traditional painting uses forced perspective.
Things in the background are smaller and darker while
objects in the foreground are larger and brighter.
2. Transparency - This visual trick relies on something
being transparent/translucent so you can see somewhat
through it. If you can see through it then logically there
must be some space between the objects and that
means depth.
3. Light and shadow - This trick takes place when you
can see light, medium, and dark used in a way as to
make you believe the light and dark are caused by a
light source.
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All three tricks involve knowing where your imagined light
source is because its light that creates depth.
As quilters odds are we’d use transparency and/or light
and shadow to create depth since they lend themselves to
flat shapes better; however don’t rule out forced
perspective. It’s a powerful design tool that most every
painting or illustration you see deploys
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Color:
Value/Contrast
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Value Contrast: Value is the lightness or darkness of a
color. Light colors are sometimes called tints, and dark
colors are called shades. Think of it as a black and white
picture; things in the picture have color in real life, but
are black and white in the photo.
Low contrast means the range (or value) of the darkest to
the lightest is small. The effect of this is the objects blend
visually together more.
High contrast, on the other hand, is a large range of light
to dark. Black next to white is the highest contrast there
is. High contrast separates elements versus low contrast
blending together. Low Contrast
For the illusion of dimension to happen, shadow and
highlight are everything. For the illusion of transparency
to happen, elements from the background and the
foreground need to mix in a believable way. Two dark
planes wouldn't cross and make a light overlap plane.
Monochromatic (light and darker values of the same color)
are a good solution for depth, but you can also get there
with color (as in the Quick Sew).
Assignment
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High Contrast
Design your own 3D piece. You can do a lot with halfsquare triangles (study #1) to make them 3D. It all comes
down to your use darks and lights.
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Quick
Sew
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We got a really good one this month. Don’t let it scare
you. I promise its easier than it looks.
Cutting List
2 triangles red
2 triangles of blue
2 triangles yellow
4 1.5”x6” strips red
4 1.5”x6” strips yellow
4 1.5”x6” strips blue
1 7”x 7” square blue
2 2.5”x7” strips gray
2 5”x11” strips block 1 7”x 7” square gray
Before we start you should know:
• We are building this block over-sized with lots of
trimming. That way, in the end you can be sure your
edges line with up with your block’s edges. (Save your
scraps for later studies.)
• The triangles here are equilateral (all sides equal). If you
have a triangle ruler; the triangles measure 3” from the
tip to center bottom; otherwise a template is provided
• This block is built on a 45 degree angle in strips.
• Consider chain piecing these steps so you don’t have to
deal with thread tails.
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Assembling the Triangles:
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1. Place the triangle on the top midpoint of one of the 7”
strips. Be sure its centered because we’ll be trimming
past the triangle. (Hint: place the triangle on top and
strip on bottom, otherwise your machine may chew up
the points of your triangle.)
2. Press open taking care not to stretch the bias edges.
Trim the strip even with the sides of the triangle.
3. Place this new triangle on top of the other strip of the
same color.
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4. Again press open and trim the sides. Once again, you
still have bias edges so handle carefully.
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5. One down, five more to go. Repeat the above steps
until you have all your triangles. No two triangles
should be alike. For each set of “bands” there should be
the other 2 colors.
Assembling the Block:
1. Layout your triangles and remaining pieces out as
shown to help you visualize you've got everything in
the correct order.
2. Piece your triangles together, then sew on the outer
strips. To piece triangles match one on top of the other,
right sides facing each other. Add your strips to the
outside of your triangle strip.
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3. Press your strip nice and flat. Trim the two long edges.
They should be parallel. 4. Now we’ll do the mirror of that for the other side. 5. Sew your two triangle strips together. Take care that all
the triangles hit in the center and at the triangle points.
Add your last strips here to the outer edges, making
sure you give yourself enough space for your final block
size (sew as shown). 4
6. Trim your block to 12.5” square paying close attention
that the center of your cube hits the center of your
block.
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3”
Triangle Template
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