What shade of white is ANH TK armor?

[pandatrooper[TK]]

I know this must be a subjective question, but I've noticed that different types of armor are different shades of white.

 

AP to me looks "white". TM and others look very bright white in some pictures and almost "warm" off-white or "eggshell" in others. I've seen some that look almost cooler grey. I know a lot of people paint their armor depending on the material, but what color is a true ANH style armor?

 

In ANH, everything looks bright white (due to lighting?), but photos of the actual props after the shoot look almost a light tea with milk colored beige. I also notice a lot depends on lighting, where a photo was taken etc..

 

For "today's" armor, I usually look a TK's boots. If the boots are Caboots (which are glossy and almost pure neutral white) you can tell if the armor is warmer, cooler, more grey, etc..

 

So I guess my question is, should the armor be a warmer color to look like the actual movie prop, or plain white?

[Sgt Steve]

Most ANH armour is more a milky white, but if you, or can, look at all clip's or part's with ANH TK's (not TD'S) you can see "part's" like helmet's don't match other's full armour. But you have to look real close.

[Gypsyboy]

I think for the most part anything other than just "white" has probably more to do with lighting. Any tone the colour takes after the fact may have more to do with aging. Many paints and plastics will "yellow" over time.

[TK-4510[TK]]

Remember too, that you cannot use actual white in filming. It blows out the camera. Most "white" you see in film is actually off white. Example: The AT-AT walker helmets are a light gray in reality, but on film (in the movie) they look white. So I would think that the TK's would be an off white as well.

[darren1970[501st]]

Remember too, that you cannot use actual white in filming. It blows out the camera. Most "white" you see in film is actually off white. Example: The AT-AT walker helmets are a light gray in reality, but on film (in the movie) they look white. So I would think that the TK's would be an off white as well.

 

WOW I never knew that. Often wondered why I heard people talking about movie accurate gray AT-AT driver lids.

 

They do say you learn something new everyday.

[Dmian]

I think for the most part anything other than just "white" has probably more to do with lighting. Any tone the colour takes after the fact may have more to do with aging. Many paints and plastics will "yellow" over time.

Yep. Color temperature and aging affect what an armor looks like.

We tend to speak about color in absolute terms, but in truth color perception is subjective and affected by a number of factors like light. And it more interesting when you realize that there are people that can see more "colors" than others.

It's very difficult to establish the exact color of ANH armor. Specially because the DVD image suffered from some color treatment that changed a lot of the color balance of the film, so you can't take it as a reliable reference.

So, to answer the question, the color should be one that pleases you eye. It will only be important if you're trooping with people with different armor colors, but I guess most people won't notice after all.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Thanks guys for the feedback. Many interesting points.

 

Dmian, it's funny you mention that people can see more colors. I'm an artist / designer / art director by trade, so I always refer to colors in hues / values, etc.. I looked at my armor and thought "that doesn't look white at all!". but I guess it does match the hues of the movie armor. Pictures, film, post production and lighting can be very deceiving.

 

One of my first jobs out of college was working at a animation studio, and in post production it was my job to evaluate colors and catch "single frame mistakes" caused by the animators in Asia on the cartoon.

 

Nowadays, I use the same skills in my day job (video game design). It's good to see that others understand these principles too!

[Dmian]

Color perception, and the cognitive process involved in it, has always been part of my interest.

Emotional response to color, color perception by people with disabilities and accessibility (color contrast, legibility) are part of what I've always tried to learn about.

 

You probably like Ghibli movies then, because you may know how obsessive Mr. Miyazaki can be with color.

[oiftanker]

yeah what he said

[Sgt Steve]

Thanks guys for the feedback. Many interesting points.

 

Dmian, it's funny you mention that people can see more colors. I'm an artist / designer / art director by trade, so I always refer to colors in hues / values, etc.. I looked at my armor and thought "that doesn't look white at all!". but I guess it does match the hues of the movie armor. Pictures, film, post production and lighting can be very deceiving.

 

One of my first jobs out of college was working at a animation studio, and in post production it was my job to evaluate colors and catch "single frame mistakes" caused by the animators in Asia on the cartoon.

 

Nowadays, I use the same skills in my day job (video game design). It's good to see that others understand these principles too!

Hmmmmmmm, You Sound Like The Guy For Part Of My Possible, Evil, Cunning Plan! (But Please Tell Me You Don't Vote N.D.P, Or Our Budding Larger Squad May Suffer A Prematuer Death! ) And On A Different Note I Just Got An Email Stating That The Next Batch Of AP Kit's Are On The Way Out The Door. And I Guess I'm On The List!!!!!!!!

[Peregrinus]

It's one of the big questions in costuming that each person has to resolve for themselves -- accurate to the real item, or accurate to how it appeared on-screen. Star Trek costuming gives me fits because of that. I try to find a balance between the two, so it looks right(ish) in person, but also right(ish) in photographs.

 

I aim for white-white with my Imperial armour, though. A little more eggshell-y for Republic-era stuff, though -- and less shiny.

 

--Jonah