Colour filling and blending

Correct answer: A. It can create depth and softness through gradual change

Explanation: The governing concept is gradation, a controlled and gradual change in colour, lightness, darkness, or saturation. A smooth transition can prevent a background from looking flat and can suggest atmospheric distance, light, space, or softness. Option A is correct. A sudden ending is an abrupt change rather than gradation, while a hard boundary is the opposite of a smooth transition. Gradation therefore has a clear compositional effect.

Correct answer: A. When a sharp boundary or strong focus needs to be shown

Explanation: The governing concept is the contrast between abrupt and gradual colour transitions. A sudden change creates a clear difference in hue, value, or saturation, so it can separate areas, mark a boundary, or attract attention to a focal point. Option A is correct. A soft transition requires gradation, not an abrupt shift, and removing all contrast would weaken rather than strengthen the visual effect. Colour relationships are made more visible, not hidden.

Correct answer: A. Maintain sufficient colour contrast between text and background

Explanation: The governing concept is contrast in poster design. Text is easier to read when its colour differs sufficiently from the background in lightness, hue, or saturation. Strong but controlled contrast separates the letters from surrounding areas, so option A is correct. Using one colour everywhere or matching text to the background reduces separation, while making all colours muddy lowers clarity and visual impact. Colour choice should support communication, not merely decoration.

Correct answer: A. Light reflected by the paper shows through the colour

Explanation: A thin transparent paint layer allows some light to pass through it. The white paper beneath reflects a large amount of that light back through the layer, so the colour appears more luminous and bright. It does not make the paint black, absorb all the colour or necessarily change its hue. Therefore, option A correctly explains the effect of a white ground.

Correct answer: B. Add a darker colour in small amounts

Explanation: The governing concept is gradual value control. To make the shadow of a violet flower darker, a darker colour should be mixed in small increments, with the mixture checked after each addition. This preserves the violet character and prevents an abrupt, muddy result. Option B is correct. A large amount of black may overpower the hue, white makes the value lighter, and yellow shifts violet toward a less pure, warmer mixture rather than simply darkening it.

Correct answer: A. Some colour media change in value and saturation as they dry

Explanation: The governing concept is the difference between a wet appearance and a dry paint film. As water, solvent, or binder conditions change during drying, some media may alter the colour’s value, transparency, gloss, or saturation. The artist should therefore judge the final dry sample before selecting or matching a colour. Drying does not reverse every colour’s temperature, turn every colour grey, or brighten all colours equally. Thus, option A is correct.

Correct answer: A. Add an intermediate value

Explanation: The governing concept is smooth tonal transition. If two neighbouring values differ too sharply, mixing and placing an intermediate value between them reduces the size of the jump and connects the stages visually. Hence option A is correct. Adding more black makes the contrast harsher, erasing the whole area is unnecessary, and sand is not a normal solution for poster-colour gradation. Small, even ratio changes produce the smoothest result.

Correct answer: A. Control the edge first and then fill the inside evenly

Explanation: The governing concept is controlled colour filling: the boundary determines the accuracy of the shape, and the interior is then covered evenly with suitable brush strokes. Therefore option A is correct. Establishing the edge first prevents accidental overflow. Spreading paint outside the boundary damages the shape, placing colour only in the centre leaves it incomplete, and wetting the paper encourages uncontrolled bleeding rather than a clean poster-colour fill.

Correct answer: B. By gradually increasing a very small amount of black

Explanation: The governing concept is a shade scale: a base colour becomes progressively darker when very small, controlled amounts of black are added. The artist should mix gradually and compare each sample, because excess black can overpower the hue and make the result dull. Increasing white creates lighter tints, while adding more water changes consistency and may reduce coverage rather than reliably darken the colour. Equal complementary colour can neutralise or muddy the mixture, so option B is correct.

Correct answer: A. It develops practice in edge filling and brush control

Explanation: The governing learning concept is gradual skill development. Simple geometric shapes provide clear boundaries, so a learner can practise even filling, turning the brush at corners, controlling pressure, and keeping paint within an edge before attempting complex forms. Option A is correct. The paper does not colour itself, a brush is still needed, and colours do not mix automatically.

Correct answer: A. Keep an even consistency and move the brush in one direction

Explanation: The governing concept is uniform flat application. The paint should have a consistent thickness, and regular strokes in one direction should overlap slightly without repeatedly disturbing the wet layer. Option A is correct because it produces an even film with predictable coverage. Varying water, scrubbing wet paint with a dry brush, or changing colour on every stroke creates streaks and patchy results.

Correct answer: A. Clean blue and clean yellow

Explanation: The governing concept is subtractive colour mixing and pigment cleanliness. Blue and yellow are mixed to produce green, but unwanted red, orange, or other complementary influences absorb additional light and reduce saturation. Option A is correct because clean blue and clean yellow preserve the intended mixture. The contaminated pair tends to produce a dull result, while black changes value and violet-yellow are complementary opposites that usually neutralise rather than create a clean green.

Correct answer: C. Small ratio differences change the final colour

Explanation: The governing concept is proportional colour mixing. The final appearance depends on the relative amounts of each pigment and water, and even a small change in those amounts can alter hue, value, opacity, or saturation. Option C is correct. A colour name does not change merely with time, paper size does not determine the mixture itself, and a brush cannot create pigment automatically. Preparing enough paint at once or recording measured proportions improves consistency.

Correct answer: D. Add more grey

Explanation: The governing concept is saturation, or chroma, which describes the vividness and purity of a colour. If a light colour lacks vividness, adding more grey is incorrect because grey lowers saturation and makes the mixture duller. A small amount of clean paint of the same hue may restore strength, and checking contamination can identify unwanted neutralising pigments. Lightness and vividness are different properties, so option D is the incorrect action.

Correct answer: C. Create highlight, midtone and shadow areas

Explanation: The governing concept is modelling form through a gradual value structure. A round object appears three-dimensional when a consistent light direction creates a highlight, a middle value across the turning surface, and a darker shadow area. Option C supplies these related transitions and therefore suggests volume. One flat colour, a dark outline alone, or whitening the whole object removes the value changes needed to show curvature and makes the form look flat.

Correct answer: D. The light-shadow relationship will look incorrect

Explanation: The governing concept is consistency between the light source and the cast shadow. A shadow is formed where light is blocked, so it generally extends away from the stated light source. If it is painted toward that source, the direction contradicts the lighting logic and the object appears unrealistic. This mistake does not alter paper strength or paint opacity; therefore, option D correctly describes the result.

Correct answer: A. Gradual and even change of values

Explanation: The governing concept of gradation is a continuous transition between related values or colours. A smooth result requires each successive mixture to differ only slightly from the previous one, with intermediate values blended evenly so that no hard bands appear. Therefore, option A is correct. Unrelated colours, a sudden large addition of black, and unblended application create abrupt patches or stripes instead of a controlled transition.

Correct answer: B. Add intermediate values between the colours

Explanation: Visible bands indicate that adjacent values are too far apart or have not been blended sufficiently. The correct principle is to insert intermediate values between the existing light and dark areas, then blend neighbouring transitions carefully. Option B therefore repairs the abrupt steps. Adding more black strengthens only one end, removing all colour is unnecessary, and extra water may damage control without supplying the missing value steps.

Correct answer: A. Sufficient uniform mixture and controlled even strokes

Explanation: Even opacity requires the paint mixture to have a consistent pigment-to-water balance and the brush to carry a similar load throughout the area. Controlled, overlapping strokes then distribute the colour evenly. Option A is correct. Changing water, using a very dry brush, or repeatedly mixing at different times can produce visible differences in thickness, value, and coverage.

Correct answer: B. Paint consistency and brush load were uneven

Explanation: In a flat background, different values usually indicate that the paint was not applied with consistent strength. If the mixture is thicker in one batch, contains more water in another, or the brush carries unequal amounts of paint, some passages dry darker or lighter. Thus B is correct. An outline, title size, or palette size does not directly control the background value.

Correct answer: B. Layer thickness and surrounding colours differ

Explanation: The governing concept is colour perception in context. A thicker poster-colour layer can look darker or more opaque, while nearby colours can make the same green seem warmer, cooler, brighter, or duller through visual contrast. Thus option B gives two realistic causes. The names or geometric similarity of the leaves do not change the paint, and a clean brush would normally improve consistency rather than explain the difference.

Correct answer: A. Use tints, shades, and different proportions of the selected hues

Explanation: The governing design principle is unity with controlled variety. A limited palette remains harmonious when the selected hues are modified with lighter tints, darker shades, and different proportions or areas of emphasis. This creates changes in value and intensity without introducing unrelated colours. Therefore option A is correct. Adding random colours can weaken unity, using only black removes variety, and keeping every value identical makes the composition flat.

Correct answer: A. Mix them in small measured amounts and test each stage

Explanation: The governing concept is controlled complementary-colour mixing. Complementary pigments can neutralise one another, but the final balance depends on their proportions and strength. Small measured additions allow the artist to observe the shift and stop when the mixture becomes neutral. Therefore option A is correct. Large additions are difficult to correct, while black or white changes value rather than producing a carefully balanced neutral mixture.

Correct answer: A. Each value remains controlled and reusable

Explanation: The governing concept is a controlled value scale. Preparing separate mixtures lets the artist compare each lightness level, reproduce it later, and avoid accidentally making the whole mixture too pale or uneven through repeated additions. Option A is correct. White is still used, drying time does not become immediate, and separate mixtures do not remove the need to clean brushes.

Correct answer: B. Layer thickness and brushwork were uneven

Explanation: The governing painting concept is uniform application. Even with the same hue, different layer thicknesses, brush pressure, or overlapping strokes can change pigment density and the way light reflects after drying. Consequently, some areas appear vivid while others look dull, making option B correct. A change in paper size, colour name, or table colour does not explain uneven intensity within the painted area.