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#Post#: 17--------------------------------------------------
Orange-blue traditional complementary palettes in scenery
DIR By: Pam
Date: May 20, 2021, 9:40 am
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I've examined two of the three examples of traditional
'complementary palettes' in adventure game scenery so far, so
it's time to look at one of the most popular and useful
combinations, that being blue and orange. This might be the most
common example of using these traditional palettes, due to its
versatility in night scenery, but there's plenty of applications
that put interesting twists on the formula, and it's well worth
studying them.
HTML https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ItgCIdlKpHc/WIyPpOO1qKI/AAAAAAAAAtM/-K8eJaH59dA_8DLI73LehHIEisdw5WFRgCEw/s400/242610-king-s-quest-vi-heir-today-gone-tomorrow-dos-screenshot-face.png
This example from King's Quest 6 shows how the cool blue of the
main structure is warmed up by the firelight cast by the torch,
with the pile of skulls behind the figure a grimy orange, all of
which is framed by blue spines and ribs in the far distance. The
blue of the figure and his chair is sickly and cold, reminiscent
of death, most appropriately, and the warmth of that torchlight
makes the scene feel more dramatic - though the blue of the
backdrop could be the blue of a summer sky, torchlight wouldn't
have the same radiance in such conditions.
HTML https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kqQ45kg5v8I/WIyPxh_vwnI/AAAAAAAAAtM/KM96tf90yeEKhSJQEFtKXO_70x6IPgJkwCEw/s400/Untitled-2.png
This scene from Once Upon a Forest shows a much less warm orange
light - here it feels more natural, and sunny because of the
less saturated hues, that make it feel like sunlight lighting up
wooden material, rather than a direct orange light hitting a
surface. The blues work well to give the impression of a cool,
shadowed interior, and help the warmer sections to stand out
nicely.
HTML https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EB2K727n4Tg/WIyPvd6vNcI/AAAAAAAAAtM/aCsZ5dbX9wk0bhLwUWGN50_uNubd-AKMwCEw/s400/330599-indiana-jones-and-the-fate-of-atlantis-dos-screenshot-it-looks.png
Another sunny scene, here from Indiana Jones and the Fate of
Atlantis. Here the shadows go to black rather than blue, but the
sky is a lovely, airy blue that helps to offset the darkness of
the stone features. The sand also breaks up the dark rocks
nicely, allowing those darker segments to act as nice framing
and texturing devices among the lighter areas.
HTML https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ptWsCj8K0n4/WIyPsh6sgzI/AAAAAAAAAtM/R_Svt20tF9kPWFCrMWsDDQnVWLrHCw6EgCEw/s400/253682-full-throttle-dos-screenshot-in-front-of-the-kick-stand-bar.png
Again we see blue sky and orange ground, but this scene from
Full Throttle feels less airy and more dusty. The orange dirt
feels less like the sand of the previous scene, and more like
the barren soil of an American desert. The sky is a gloomier
shade, heavier and darker, and the stone features, where
coloured, are a sun-baked reddish orange that feels hot and dry.
HTML https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-08twpYqpvTQ/WIyPxiB3bFI/AAAAAAAAAtM/LsQpXtn2LUkzCvmjmDgKqkloOFaPfsypQCEw/s1600/ubKLs.png
Moving to an interior from Full Throttle, we see a cavern given
a dank, gloomy feel by means of those dark blues in the
distance, bringing to mind the cool shade of a cave. The
orange-brown foreground features stand out nicely, making the
scene clear to read, and reinforcing the red, desert rock of the
area (as opposed to the grey stones we saw earlier) without
being too warm so as to feel brightly lit. A very clear division
in hues like this makes the scene very easy to read.
HTML https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pgZvzQUIHlQ/WIyPrnANu-I/AAAAAAAAAtM/3MVMeX-1ivwYuTBLbiFIZQNvdFIqrTukACEw/s400/19396-the-dig-dos-screenshot-maggie-needs-some-help-here.gif
Another example of a cave with blue in the distance and orange
in the foreground is this scene from The Dig. The rich
ultramarine of the distance feels mysterious and otherworldly,
and the warm orange of the foreground feels dangerous and eerie
- the hidden lightsource coming from directly below is from the
opposite direction we expect sunlight, making it feel somewhat
'off'. Interestingly, Maggie's orange suit means she blends in
with the foreground hues, meaning the dark values behind her,
and the fact that she animates while in this web, are needed to
make her stand out clearly.
HTML https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uYXZ5wtIFSU/WIyPmwWFu4I/AAAAAAAAAtM/IXLJ7XnUrCopWHq3mmlvyWF2Thg05eBlQCEw/s400/13_062_zpsns6ahyhz.png
Dune's sietches, on the other hand, are almost wholly orange,
with no blue distant light to add a sense of depth - however,
unlike Maggie's orange suit, you can see here how the blue eyes
of the Fremen stand out, and catch our attention. This example
is particularly powerful because of the blue stillsuit - though
many Fremen have brown or green stillsuits, the blue eyes are a
constant, that jump out wonderfully against all the warm
colours.
HTML https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2KwWqzyI78Y/WIyPwLptY4I/AAAAAAAAAtM/2UcASwlQOLA9OfxTGqZUHqRmxIPOjBniACEw/s400/701827-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers-dos-screenshot-the-strange.png
From mostly warm hues, to mostly cool - here the shadowy,
mysterious blue of the voodoo museum is broken up in just a
couple of places by the warm glow of lighting. This is
particularly effective in the foreground, where the skull and
mask are made that much more eerie by the warm lights hitting
them from the side and below.
HTML https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-221qJGcNtiI/WIyPtGt43SI/AAAAAAAAAtM/5J686TPNA54ZYgvgm-5cAO3UaW7V8FHzgCEw/s400/258554-frederik-pohl-s-gateway-dos-screenshot-meeting-thom-in-the.png
Another great use of orange highlighting in a blue environment
is this scene from Gateway, in which the orange face and hands
of the figure really pop against the deep blue backdrop. The
high levels of saturation in both colours really give this a
neon drenched, science fiction feeling, particularly the way the
skin of the face is shaded to a very unusual colour for skin.
HTML https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TtfHwoif0lk/WIyPrbuMIYI/AAAAAAAAAtM/DoODDTVqFC43w0_KNVXbtB__iUQnyvQbwCEw/s400/245885-the-koshan-conspiracy-dos-screenshot-train-station-lobby-cd.png
This similarly futuristic scene from The Koshan Conspiracy is
much earthier in tone, but the slight blue tint to the lights
helps to make them look more unique than the white or warm
lights we're used to seeing in an interior. The use of blue here
is very minimal, but the rays of light travelling down are just
blue enough to make them really feel bright against the orange
tones of the backdrop.
HTML https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0OLB6gvrPew/WIyPuoyzOVI/AAAAAAAAAtM/YAk9uPKwVzEH00QaFtCTa9QUuVzKqCyFQCEw/s400/3169-the-secret-of-monkey-island-dos-screenshot-wanna-buy-a-map.gif
This scene from The Secret of Monkey Island shows the opposite -
very deep, saturated blues contrasted with warm yellow-orange
lighting. This warm lighting is reminiscent of lamp and candle
light, much more suitable for a game set in the era of pirates
that the blue lights of the previous two scenes, and it really
breaks up the deep blues nicely. The blue feels quite naturally
nocturnal, despite being much more saturated and bright than a
real world night scene would be.
HTML https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-88S_Tb9yMPE/WIyPyiptR3I/AAAAAAAAAtM/VwrjyWRJseI8V4fNx0CzQD_J0dGr_7R_ACEw/s400/wb_041-640x400.png
If the oranges are kept quite saturated, but the blues are
stripped of saturation, we get a much lighter feel, such as in
this shot from Willy Beamish. The pale blues help detail the
kitchen through the archway nicely, and also help it feel far
from us, as well as breaking up the oranges nicely throughout
the rest of the scene.
HTML https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pHqq6phUAvA/WIyPzhNcJUI/AAAAAAAAAtU/MhYPgG4jT0Y236Wlnr5pd9ukpcbyK_20QCEw/s400/wb_208-640x400.png
This example has the orange very saturated, and almost red in
places, and the blue warm enough to be teal in spots - it's
almost reaching the red and teal combination of the scene from
Conquests of the Longbow I looked at two posts ago. This shows
the great contrast setting deep oranges and reds above pale
blues gives, with wonderful readability in the forms as a
result. A really interesting use of the colours.
And with that, my examination of traditional complementary
palettes in adventure game scenery is complete. There's plenty
of other examples, of course, but I've tried to find a wide
variety of uses that show many different effects artists have
managed to achieve by using these palettes. It's a fascinating
and educational subject, and I hope you enjoyed studying these
scenes!
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