A great way to experiment with design and color

Before the computer, designs like those below would have been very time consuming to create with traditional painting mediums. Doing simple designs can be fun and a good way to familiarize yourself with a program like Photoshop Elements 2.0, which is what I used here.



You can easily create a black and white design on the computer by using the Line Tool and the Rectangular Marquee Tool. For this experiment, just about any simple design will suffice.



I add colors with the Paint Bucket Tool, if I don't like the result I can easily change the color. On the second version I create a white design by reversing the original. This is done by pressing Control and the letter i at the same time.



Another unique black and white design, these are fun to create, just let yourself go wild.



This is a very complex design that takes a bit longer to do, when you add color it's even more interesting. As a final touch I added the white rectangle in the center.



A fairly complex but pleasing design.



With the addition of color the whole design takes on a new character. Studies like these will help to develop your design and color skills. The image on the right is a negative of the first image.