Light is the original optical illusion, affecting the way we see everything. Understanding how light affects color is crucial to creating quality artwork. Let’s take a quick refresher course.
The colors we see are actually reflections of the portions of the light spectrum that are not absorbed by the colored object. For example, we see an apple as red. In reality, the apple has absorbed all wavelengths of colors on the spectrum EXCEPT red and is reflecting the red light back to our eyes. Once you’ve wrapped your head around that, consider also that different lights can make objects appear to be different colors. For example, that apple will appear to be darker and lighter shades of red in the morning, mid-day, and evening.
A light cube is a great introduction to the concepts of light and color. Using a light cube and translucent and opaque paper, students can explore the use of light as negative space as well as the effects of light filtering through various colors and shades. And using a cube with various modes like strobe, flash, and fade, transforms student art into a psychedelic optical illusion. Our Light Cube Art lesson plan provides clear instructions for this color-cool project.
Download a complete lesson plan for this project, including images, step-by-step directions, and a materials list, today!
For Grades 3-12
