Summary

This assignment continues the focus on the relationships between things and how that communicates depth. As we already went over, everything diminishes as the distance increases. What makes that effect even more powerful is when there is more than one kind of thing diminishing while maintaining a constant relationship. The more things that get smaller while maintaining their relationship the stronger the sense of space will be because the world is full of planes and objects and everything is made of something. Just like the change of tone matches the pace of the changing plane reflecting it, the density of the texture also corresponds to the angle of the plane in relation to the eye.

To create a texture gradient is a simple matter of reducing the size and spacing of the textural elements of the plane as they move back in space. Some researchers call it a density gradient because if you were to grid out the page you would see the texture getting denser with increasing distance. Adding other objects that change size in proportion to the texture gradient engages a perceptual principle called occlusion of detail. Occlude means block and the principle is that a same size object wherever it is in space will block the same amount of texture units of the plane it rests on.

With this assignment include atmospheric perspective, which is almost always present with big spaces outdoors. When the space is big enough the atmosphere intervenes and lightens areas as they become more distant. Because this is visualization, this is an opportunity to create a space using whatever imagery you like. This and the next three in-class assignments are an opportunity to use your imagination while practicing how to use the skills for emphasis and deeper expression.