Bead Color Intensities

I recently graphed a bead looming pattern of the classic subject, 'Piano Keys'. This is a good time to offer some of my thoughts about creating a pattern for bead looming. Here is the looming, still on my loom.

From the first look, you can see this is not a standard, straight on shot of a piano key board. I wanted to make it different then what is usually seen, but still recognizable. After deciding the angle, the piano keys on a chamfer, I had to think about the shading aspect.

Looming patterns have to consider not only the bead colors, but the bead finishes as well. The darkest finish in your bead pallet is the 'gloss' or 'opaque' line of finishes. Notice the blacks in this close up picture below.

The opaque black reflects a darker color then the matte black. This equation is the same for every color. Not only do the opaques show darker, but ironically the transparent line of bead colors also show darker. A crystal white shows up almost gray next to an opaque white.

Another aspect of loom pattern creating is the 'intensity' of the colors, next to each. I chose an 'ivory color Delica bead' for this looming of piano keys, to sit with the black. If I would have used a stark opaque white with the black, the gap of intensity would be overwhelming. I would have lost a dimension in my pattern. Therefore, remember that a dark and light color bead, looming within the same pattern, should have a closer gap of intensity. Here I used an 'ivory' instead of the 'white'. In my bead cup, the ivory looked too dark for the white of a piano key, but next to the black, it looks very white and you can notice a nice balance of intensity.

Practice looming some bead color intensities on your Mirrix. Get a feel for using darks and lights in a different manner then just to fill a color space. Remember how each bead plays a part, when loomed next to each. I'll continue offering some ideas about getting the most from your Mirrix Loom, but sharing some thoughts on bead colors can only enhance your enjoyment!