Lecture on pointillism, color theory and artists that use these concepts. Focuses project on the technique of Roy Lichtenstein

1. COLOR THEORY
AND POINTILLISM
J E S S I C A W E S T E R G A R D

2. WHAT IS IT?
• *Pointillism: a technique of
neo-impressionist painting
using tiny dots of various pure
colors, which become blended
in the viewer's eye. It was
developed by Georges Seurat
with the aim of producing a
greater degree of luminosity
and brilliance of color.
• * Optical or color mixing is
created through our perception
of color. When one looks at two
small amounts of different
colors laid down side by side
the two appear to create a
different color. Our eyes blend
the two together for us.

3. WHO DID
IT FIRST?
* Georges Seurat used
optical mixing and
pointillism in his work “A
Sunday on La Grande
Jatte” in 1884.
* The huge 7 by 10 foot
oil painting is
COMPLETELY of tiny dots
of paint.
* MILLIONS of dots of

4. LA GRANDE JATTE
CLOSEUP

5. DOES THIS APPLY TO MODERN USAGE?
• Today’s technology uses the
same concept in printing and
images online.
• Pixels are tiny dots of color
closely clustered and layered
together to create different
colors and values in images.
• We use optical mixing everyday
without even knowing it’s even
happening.
• Why do you think nature
designed our eyes/brains to
optical mix things for us in
nature?

6. HTTPS://YOUTU.
BE/TRHI3H76Q4Q
A R E T H E R E OT H E R M E D I U M S W E C A N U S E ?

7. ROY
LICHTENSTEIN
• Lichtenstein took the concept of optical
mixing and modern printing styles to
create large scale art using oil paint.
• The Ben-Day Dots printing process,
named after illustrator and printer
Benjamin Day, is similar/synonymous to
Pointillism.
• Depending on the effect, color and optical
illusion needed, small colored dots are
closely-spaced, widely-spaced or
overlapping.

8. LICHTENSTEIN
STYLE PORTRAITS
• Lichtenstein used a
combination of benday
dots, lines, color, and high
contrast to create his highly
recognizable artwork.
• Most of his work was of
comic book frames with a
few Picasso-sequences
creations of his own.

9. OUR PROJECT
• * We are creating
Lichtenstein styled self
portraits using benday
dots and optical mixing.
• * You can portray
yourself in a super hero
fashion to go along with
the comic book style
theme.
• * Or have a word
bubble attached to send
a message to the

10. WHAT TO DO VS.
WHAT NOT TO DO
* You can use digital
media or paint and
canvas like
Lichtenstein did.
Designers choice.
• * Watercolor, acrylic,
and oil paint is
acceptable.
• * Not allowed to use
colored pencil or
crayons.

11. BENDAY DOT PHOTOSHOP TECHNIQUE
APPLICATION TUTORIAL
• https://youtu.be/AMeFDyphchs

12. BENDAY DOT INK AND PAINT
APPLICATION TUTORIAL
•https://youtu.be/iAsG9f0LZIo
•https://youtu.be/-3e71KNly8Y

13. DETAILS
• Project needs to be at least 12 x 8
inches but can be larger.
• Needs to have one inch border
around the 12 x 8 artwork. (So will
be larger then 12 x 8 after border is
included)
• Project needs to be on either:
canvas, board, or thick paper.
• Will not accept sketch pad paper or
lined paper.
• Have fun!