Composition
Composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art, as distinct from the subject of a work. Composition is how you put an artwork together to make it look good. You will need to create your own artwork using composition techniques.
Some guides and tips are listed below:
Some guides and tips are listed below:
Rule of Thirds
Subjects, or horizon lines often look better when they are placed on a third of the page. Try placing something either on the line or where the lines cross over.
Focal Point
The focal point is what you look at first. Where are the focal points for these paintings?
Leading Lines
These are lines that lead your eye through an artwork. They may lead to the focal point, emphasising it's importance. Or, they lay lead the eye from the focal point to different areas of the artwork. Pay attention to the lines in your artwork. Can you place some strategically to lead the eye? Or perhaps there are existing lines that lead the eye somewhere you don't want, for example off the page.
What lines can you see in the famous Australian painting 'The Shearing of the Rams?'
What lines can you see in the famous Australian painting 'The Shearing of the Rams?'
Space
The way you use space in an artwork is extremely important. Try not to simply fill up the space of an artwork with 'stuff.' Allow for some empty space in your artwork. Negative space is as important as positive space. In other words, the space that surrounds your subject is as important as the subject itself.
Have you considered the space in your own artwork? Think about the balance of the negative space. Try using acetate or paper to trace the basic shapes (don't need all the details) of the negative space in your artwork. Remove the artwork and look at the traced shapes. Do they look interesting?
Have you considered the space in your own artwork? Think about the balance of the negative space. Try using acetate or paper to trace the basic shapes (don't need all the details) of the negative space in your artwork. Remove the artwork and look at the traced shapes. Do they look interesting?
Balance
Balance in art refers to the sense of distribution of perceived visual weights that offset one another. We feel more comfortable and therefore find it more pleasing when the parts of an artwork seem to balance each other
Odd Numbers
Having odd numbers of items in an artwork can look more pleasing. This is a tip only, but if you feel like a composition is a bit off because it looks too even or symmetrical, try using an odd number of items.
Framing
You can create an interesting composition by framing or looking at a subject from an unique viewing point. This is when a subject has a literal 'frame' around it, helping the viewer to focus in on the subject. This works well for the photo of the cow above. However, the second photo of the window is different. Although the subject is framed, The subject is not the focal point because the frame is dominating the image through strong use of black space. Do you think it still creates an intriguing composition?
Key Terms:
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Your Task:
Lynnfield High School
- Complete a 4 step analysis of an artwork to help you understand compositional techniques. Min. 500 words.
- You will need to choose a subject of some complexity.
- Take a photo of your subject. Use a white, clean background. This will reduce work later on.
- Use photoshop to crop your image into interesting compositions. Make at least 9 cropped versions.
- Remove any background details to simplify your images. Use the eraser to the white brush tool. You want all the focus on the subject, kept it clean and simple.
- Open a new document and make it a square, 30x30cm.
- Paste your cropped images on to this page and experiment with different arrangements. (Each image will be on a separate layer, you can change this by highlighting all the layers, right clicking and select 'merge layers.')
- Take a screen shot at different points to put in your book as backup.
- Print your final composition on A3 paper.
- Print each individual composition separately and print your different arrangements of your compositions.
- Stick these pictures into your book and annotate underneath any compositional techniques you have used for each one. Evaluate and discuss how effective your compositions are. What have you done well? What could be improved?