So, in last weeks post about contrast I mentioned sharpness and how it relates to contrast. Today I'm going to go a little bit deeper and explain some more about both.
Contrast sort of has what you could call "levels of intensity." These levels could be described as an area where contrast exists, but may be more or less exaggerated depending on how rapidly a shift in value occurs.
Sharpness is the word artists and designers use to express how rapidly a shift in value occurs. Take these examples below and then let me explain how they work.
In the very top section, there's a 100% black swatch, and a 0% black swatch (the white is represented as 0% black because, in the field of printing, ink is applied to paper at anywhere from
0% to show the color of the paper, or all the way up to 100% to show only the black ink). Because the swatches are butted right up against each other, the contrast is very intense, and it's easy to tell where the value of black changes to the value of white. The gradient above it shows a smooth transition from the value of black to the value of white. Since the gradient is so smooth, it's impossible to tell where the black value starts to become white, and vice versa where the white value starts to become black.
The next section has the same principals at work with the swatches and the gradient. The difference this time is the the value shift between the darkest value and the lightest value is very minimal, and this creates a very low contrast. It's important to notice that even when there is a low level of contrast the sharpness of the value shift between the swatches is very intense, and the sharpness of the value shift within the gradient is not very intense (almost to the point where it's impossible to see a shift at all).
The next two sections are composed of smooth gradients between the darkest values and the lightest values. One to show how sharpness works with a high contrast (left), and one to show how sharpness works with low contrast (right). Each gradient becomes less and less sharp as it moves down the image. The important thing to understand here is that as a shift in value becomes more rapid, the sharpness intensifies. Even when working with very low contrast, it's possible to create sharpness. This is how forms are created when being rendered, and our eyes also recognize shape and form this way when we see different values of light on the objects we see in real life. Sharp objects tend to have a rapid shift in value based on the light we see on them, and soft objects tend to have a smooth shift in value based on the light we see on them.
If you like my guides on contrast and sharpness be sure to also check out my earlier intros to value. Start with Intro to Value Part 1 by clicking here!
You can also start over the Intro to Contrast posts I made by clicking here!
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