Valentine's Day Dragon created in 50 shades of grey with a splash of red
Valentine’s Day Dragon created in 50 shades of grey with a splash of red

Creating in 50 Shades of Grey

It’s December and I’m writing about 50 Shades of Grey and showing you Valentine’s Day dragon. Weird, I know. Those of us who sell our work are always working a few seasons ahead 🙂 Normally I wouldn’t be posting about it this early, but I entered this piece in the Polymer Clay Artist’s Guild’s January Challenge “50 Shades of Grey-A Study in Value.”

While the PCAGOE “50 Shades of Grey-A Study in Value” has nothing to do with the infamous book series, it is all about “technique.” For this challenge we were asked to explore gray in all of its glorious shades between black and white. We could enter a technical study or a finished piece. Small pops of color were allowed, but we were asked to photograph the piece in black and white. Here you can see min in all of its colorful glory.

I found that photographing my works in progress in black and white is helping me improve the way I see color values. Usually when I’m disappointed in how colors come together in a finished piece, it comes down to the fact that their isn’t enough contrast in the values. Doing some test shots of color palettes along the way can help me make adjustments before it is too late.

Work in Progress: black and white test shot of shades of gray contrasted with red egg
Work in Progress: black and white test shot of shades of gray contrasted with red egg

Voting Opens Soon

The “50 Shades of Grey-A Study in Value” challenge is open for public voting January 1 through 7. Everyone who votes is entered in a prize drawing so head over to http://www.pcagoe.com and choose your favorite entries. There are some really clever takes on the theme. Many of the artists even let you see  the behind the scenes of their process on their blogs.