{"id":13322,"date":"2016-09-16T03:17:08","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T03:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.vsb.bc.ca\/dkeller\/?page_id=13322"},"modified":"2016-09-16T03:17:08","modified_gmt":"2016-09-16T03:17:08","slug":"composition","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vsb.bc.ca\/dkeller\/composition\/","title":{"rendered":"Composition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0The term composition means \u2018putting together,\u2019 and can apply to any work of art, from music to writing, that is arranged or put together using conscious thought. In the visual arts, composition is often used interchangeably with various terms such as design, form, visual ordering, or formal structure, depending on the context.<\/p>\n

Principles and Elements of Design<\/strong> is what this page will focus on. What exactly does \u201cPrinciples and Elements of Design<\/strong>\u201d mean? Principles of design are the laws of designing anything! In other words, to have a good design, you should consider these principles for the best design possible. Elements of design on the other hand are things that are involved within making a design. The major difference between principles and elements is that principles are rules you have to follow and elements are things that will help you complete those rules for the best project outcome.<\/p>\n

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Principles of Design<\/strong>, as said before, are the laws of designing anything! When making a design the seven principles are contrast, emphasis, balance, unity, pattern, movement, and rhythm. Consider each of these carefully for any design and you\u2019ll be a guaranteed a great project!Contrast<\/strong> means showing differences in two different sections of the design or showing somehow that the design being created is very different from other designs because of its contrast. Contrast can also be used to show emphasis in any part of the design.<\/p>\n

Emphasis<\/strong> is given to an area within the design because that area is meant to be seen or is more important to be noticed when compared to other places of the design. For example, your design might be to have white parallel lines going up and down. In the center of this design, you could have a circle. This circle would be a part on the design that is emphasized.<\/p>\n

Balance<\/strong> means keeping your design like a pattern. A balanced pattern would be if you had a border on your pattern in black. Unbalanced would be if approximately one-third of the border was orange and the other two-thirds in pink. To keep your design balanced, make your measurements as accurate as possible. Keeping your design symmetric is a good technique for good balance, but not necessarily the best for all types of designs.<\/p>\n

Unity<\/strong> means keeping your design in a sort of harmony in which all sections of the pattern make other sections feel complete. Unity helps the design to be seen as one design instead of randomness all around your design.<\/p>\n

Pattern<\/strong> is simply keeping your design in a certain format. For example, you could plan to have wavey lines all around your design as a pattern, but then you must continue those wavey lines throughout the design for good patterns. It wouldn\u2019t look good if suddenly you stopped all the wavey lines and drew a picture of a dog.<\/p>\n

Movement<\/strong> is the suggestion or illusion of motion in a painting, sculpture, or design. For example, circles going diagonally up and down from right to left could show that the design moves up and to the right or down and to the left.<\/p>\n

Rhythm<\/strong> is the movement or variation characterized by the regular recurrence or alternation of different quantities or conditions. In simpler words, it\u2019s just like pattern and shows that the desing has a \u2018beat\u2019 or \u2018flow\u2019 going with it. A plain white box has almost no rhythm what so ever.<\/p>\n

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Elements of Design<\/strong>, as said before, are things that are involved within making a design. The seven elements of design are color, value, texture, shape, form, space, and line. Elements of design will help your design look a lot more unique from other designs, and can help make the design symbolize anything!Color<\/strong> is an easy one. Just make sure your design\u2019s color is right for the mood! Also make sure that each section\u2019s color matches another section\u2019s color. Colors is probably the biggest element to pay attention to.<\/p>\n

Value<\/strong> is the relative darkness or lightness of a color. Just as said in the paragraph above, make sure the colors you put on your design are dark or light enough for the proper mood. If you want to show a sad figure in your design, most people would give the design a darker value. On the other hand to show happy children playing around most people would recommend lighter colors.<\/p>\n

Texture<\/strong> helps your design to be distinctive or have identifying character and characteristics. With the proper texture, your design will look more fascinating than the average design.<\/p>\n

Shape<\/strong> is something distinguished from its surroundings by its outline within your design. You can make your whole work a certain shape besides the common square, and then have shapes within the design shape. This makes the design more complex.<\/p>\n

Form<\/strong> is similar to the idea of shape. Form is the structure of your design and how everything in the design looks like it\u2019s meant to go together. If the form is well planned and then carried out, it almost guarantees your design in black and white will be a success.<\/p>\n

Space<\/strong> has to be included in your design. Space means leaving some blank areas. Why would you wanna leave parts of the design blank? Sometimes a human\u2019s eye needs space to feel confortable, and space will let the human\u2019s eye distinguish the part that\u2019s meant to be noticed compared to just the background. Sometimes not including space in your design is ok, but make sure it doesn\u2019t make it look messy.<\/p>\n

Line<\/strong> defines the position and direction of the design. If you have lines or shapes that seem to be running horizontally, then the design would seem like it\u2019s running in a left and right line. Make sure your design identifies some sort of line so that the human eye can recognize which side is the top of the design or on which side the design is suppose to start with interest.<\/p>\n

A SIMPLE APPROACH TO GOOD DESIGN<\/strong>
\n1. The Ideal Size.<\/strong> The most natural and pleasing size ground upon which to draw or paint is a\u00a0Golden Rectangle<\/a>, or a rectangle whose dimensions are 1 unit by 1.62 units.<\/p>\n

2. Divide the rectangle into thirds.<\/strong> This will aid us in locating the \u201csweet spots\u201d in which to place the center of interest. Do not divide the picture into equal spaces. This is boring, and can lead to producing four pictures in one painting.<\/p>\n

3. Lead the viewer\u2019s eye<\/strong> around the composition by providing a path to follow, such as the one shown. The path you provide can vary from the one shown. It could be more oval, or another shape such as a pentagon. The path should connect with the top, bottom, and sides of the picture, and should provide an entrance to and an exit from the picture. The entrance is most often at the bottom of the painting. The exit you provide is an area that is progressively less important. A door, window or patch of sky can provide a place to \u201crest\u201d the viewers\u2019 eye, a subtle exit. The path should, of course, lead to the center of interest. If the path begins to point out of the picture, adjust it accordingly, using a bending twig, a shimmer in the glass, a cloud, or whatever trick you might come up with to lead the viewers\u2019 eye back to the path.<\/p>\n

4. Putting the concepts together.<\/strong> These concepts will help us remember how to quickly adjust our picture for a good design, and help locate the center of interest in a pleasing location. Lightly draw these grids on your paper to help place your center of interest, and develop your pathways around the composition. Remember, one of the \u201csweet spots\u201d must dominate, (Center of Interest).<\/p>\n

5. Draw a grid<\/strong>, (like rectangle #2) on a 4\u201d by 6.5\u201d sheet of clear plastic or an overhead transparency sheet with a suitable marking pen. Use it to help locate the center of interest and pathways on your thumbnail sketches. Or, hold it up and view a scene through it. It should help you analyze the compositional elements of the scene.<\/p>\n

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Percy Principles of Art and Composition<\/p>\n