Composition (visual arts) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Visual arts

The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...

– in particular painting

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

, graphic design

Graphic design

Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...

, photography

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

and sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

– composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art or a photograph, as distinct from the subject of a work. It can also be thought of as the organization of the elements of art

Elements of art

The Elements of Art are a commonly used group of aspects of a work of art used in teaching and analysis, in combination with the Principles of Art.-Space:...

according to the principles of art

Principles of art

The principles of visual art are the set of rules or guidelines of visual art that are to be considered when considering the impact of a Western piece of artwork. They are combined with the elements of art in the production of art...

.

The term composition means 'putting together,' and can apply to any work of art, from music to writing to photography, 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. In graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...

and desktop publishing
Desktop publishing
Desktop publishing is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer.The term has been used for publishing at all levels, from small-circulation documents such as local newsletters to books, magazines and newspapers...

, composition is commonly referred to as page layout
Page layout
Page layout is the part of graphic design that deals in the arrangement and style treatment of elements on a page.- History and development :...

.

Elements of design
The various visual elements, known as elements of design, formal elements, or elements of art, are the vocabulary with which the visual artist composes. These elements in the overall design usually relate to each other and to the whole art work.

"Elements of design are:

Line
Line
- Science and technology :* Line , a circuit or loop.** A power line for electric power transmission** line power or lines power, domestic mains electricity.** telephone line** RF transmission line...

- the visual path that enables the eye to move within the piece
Shape
Shape
The shape of an object located in some space is a geometrical description of the part of that space occupied by the object, as determined by its external boundary – abstracting from location and orientation in space, size, and other properties such as colour, content, and material...

- areas defined by edges within the piece, whether geometric or organic
Color
Color
Color or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors...

- hues with their various values and intensities
Texture
Texture (visual arts)
In the visual arts, texture is the perceived surface quality of a work of art. It is an element of two-dimensional and three-dimensional design and is distinguished by its perceived visual and physical properties...

- surface qualities which translate into tactile illusions
Form
FORM
FORM is the bimonthly membership magazine of the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles , and is published in Glendale, California by Balcony Media, Inc. The magazine was launched in 2007, and covers modern design and architecture...

- 3-D length, width, or depth
Value
Lightness (color)
Lightness is a property of a color, or a dimension of a color space, that is defined in a way to reflect the subjective brightness perception of a color for humans along a lightness–darkness axis. A color's lightness also corresponds to its amplitude.Various color models have an explicit term for...

- Shading used to emphasize form
Space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...

- the space taken up by (positive) or in between (negative) objects

Line and shape

Literal lines do not exist in nature, but are the optical phenomena created when objects curve away from the viewer. Nonetheless, line-like shapes are for all intents considered line elements by the artist; for example, telephone and power cables or rigging on boats. Any such elements can be of dramatic use in the composition of the image. Additionally, less obvious lines can be created, intentionally or not, which influence the direction of the viewer's gaze. These could be the borders of areas of differing color or contrast, or sequences of discrete elements, or the artist may exaggerate or create lines perhaps as part of his style, for this purpose. Many lines without a clear subject point suggest chaos in the image and may conflict with the mood the artist is trying to evoke.

Movement is also a source of line, and blur can also create a reaction. Subject lines by means of illusion contribute to both mood and linear perspective, giving the illusion of depth. Oblique lines convey a sense of movement and angular lines generally convey a sense of dynamism and possibly tension. Lines can also direct attention towards the main subject of picture, or contribute to organization by dividing it into compartments.

The brain often unconsciously reads near continuous lines between different elements and subjects at varying distances.

Straight lines

Straight lines are called linear when used in a piece of art work. Straight lines add affection and can make it look more detailed and challenging.
Horizontal, vertical, and angled lines often contribute to creating different moods of a picture. The angle and the relationship to the size of the frame both work to determine the influence the line has on the image. They are also strongly influenced by tone, color, and repetition in relation to the rest of the photograph. Horizontal lines, commonly found in landscape photography, can give the impression of calm, tranquility, and space. An image filled with strong vertical lines tends to have the impression of height, and grandeur. Tightly angled convergent lines give a dynamic, lively, and active effect to the image whereas strongly angled, almost diagonal

Diagonal

A diagonal is a line joining two nonconsecutive vertices of a polygon or polyhedron. Informally, any sloping line is called diagonal. The word "diagonal" derives from the Greek διαγώνιος , from dia- and gonia ; it was used by both Strabo and Euclid to refer to a line connecting two vertices of a...

lines generally produce tension in the image. Viewpoint is very important when dealing with lines particularly in photography, because every different perspective elicits a different response to the photograph. By changing the perspective only by some degrees or some centimeters lines in images can change tremendously and a totally different feeling can be transported.

Curved lines

Curved lines are generally used to create a sense of flow within an image. They are also generally more aesthetically pleasing, as we associate them with soft things. Compared to straight lines, curves provide a greater dynamic influence in a picture.

In photography, curved lines can give gradated shadows when paired with soft-directional lighting, which usually results in a very harmonious line structure within the image.

Color

Colour is characterized by attributes such as hue

Hue

Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...

, brightness

Lightness (color)

Lightness is a property of a color, or a dimension of a color space, that is defined in a way to reflect the subjective brightness perception of a color for humans along a lightness–darkness axis. A color's lightness also corresponds to its amplitude.Various color models have an explicit term for...

, and saturation.
Colours have been associated with different moods, dependent on the society of the time. For example, white has long been viewed as purity, whereas it can also take slightly different meanings such as peace, or innocence. However, in some places (like Japan) it signifies death.

Principles of organization

The artist determines what the center of interest (focus in photography

Photography

) of the art work will be, and composes the elements accordingly. The gaze of the viewer will then tend to linger over these points of interest. Elements are arranged with consideration of several factors (known variously as the principles of organization, principles of art, or principles of design) into a harmonious whole which works together to produce the desired statement – a phenomenon commonly referred to as unity. Such factors in composition should not be confused with the elements of art (or elements of design

Design

Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

) themselves. For example, shape is an element; the usage of shape is characterized by various principles.

Some principles of organization affecting the composition of a picture are:

Shape and proportion
Positioning/Orientation/Balance/Harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...

among the elements
The area within the field of view
Field of view
The field of view is the extent of the observable world that is seen at any given moment....

used for the picture ("cropping")
The path or direction followed by the viewer's eye when they observe the image.
Negative space
Color
Contrast: the value, or degree of lightness and darkness, used within the picture.
Geometry: for example, use of the golden mean
Lines
Rhythm
Illumination or lighting
Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...
Repetition (Sometimes building into pattern; rhythm also comes into play, as does geometry)
Perspective
Perspective (graphical)
Perspective in the graphic arts, such as drawing, is an approximate representation, on a flat surface , of an image as it is seen by the eye...
Breaking the rules can create tension or unease, yet can it add interest to the picture if used carefully

Viewpoint

The position of the viewer can strongly influence the aesthetics of an image, even if the subject is entirely imaginary and viewed "within the mind's eye". Not only does it influence the elements within the picture, but it also influences the viewer's interpretation of the subject.

For example, if a boy is photographed from above, perhaps from the eye level of an adult, he is diminished in stature. A photograph taken at the child's level would treat him as an equal, and one taken from below could result in an impression of dominance. Therefore, the photographer is choosing the viewer's positioning.

A subject can be rendered more dramatic when it fills the frame. There exists a tendency to perceive things as larger than they actually are, and filling the frame fulfills this psychological mechanism. This can be used to eliminate distractions from the background.

In photography, altering the position of the camera can change the image so that the subject has fewer or more distractions with which to compete. This may be achieved by getting closer, moving laterally, tilting, panning, or moving the camera vertically.

Compositional techniques

There are numerous approaches or "compositional techniques" to achieving a sense of unity within an artwork, depending on the goals of the artist. For example, a work of art is said to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye if the elements within the work are arranged in a balanced compositional way. However, there are artists such as Salvador Dali

Salvador Dalí

Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....

whose sole aim is to disrupt traditional composition and challenge the viewer to rethink balance and design elements within art works.

Conventional composition can be achieved by utilizing a number of techniques:

Rule of thirds

The rule of thirds

Rule of thirds

The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts such as painting, photography and design.The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important...

is a guideline commonly followed by visual artists. The objective is to stop the subject(s) and areas of interest (such as the horizon) from bisecting the image, by placing them near one of the lines that would divide the image into three equal columns and rows, ideally near the intersection of those lines.

The rule of thirds is thought by many to be a simplification of the golden mean

Golden mean

Golden mean may refer to:*Doctrine of the Golden Mean , a chapter in Li Ji, one of the Four Books of Confucianism*Golden mean , the felicitous middle between the extremes of excess and deficiency...

. The golden mean is a ratio that has been used by visual artists for centuries as an aid to composition. When two things are in the proportion of 1:1.618 (approximately 3/8 to 5/8), they are said to be in the golden mean.

Dividing the parts of an image according to this proportion helps to create a pleasing, balanced composition. The intersection points on a golden mean grid appear at 3/8 in and 3/8 down/up, rather than at 1/3 in and 1/3 down/up on the grid of thirds.

Rule of odds

The "rule of odds" states that by framing the object of interest in an artwork with an even number of surrounding objects, it becomes more comforting to the eye, thus creates a feeling of ease and pleasure. It is based on the assumption that humans tend to find visual images that reflect their own preferences/wishes in life more pleasing and attractive.

The "rule of odds" suggests that an odd number of subjects in an image is more interesting than an even number. Thus if you have more than one subject in your picture, the suggestion is to choose an arrangement with at least three subjects. An even number of subjects produces symmetries in the image, which can appear less natural for a naturalistic, informal composition.

An image of a person surrounded/framed by two other persons, for instance, where the person in the center is the object of interest in that image/artwork, is more likely to be perceived as friendly and comforting by the viewer, than an image of a single person with no significant surroundings.

Rule of space

The rule of space applies to artwork (photography, advertising, illustration) picturing object(s) to which the artist wants to apply the illusion of movement, or which is supposed to create a contextual bubble in the viewer's mind.

This can be achieved, for instance, by leaving white space

White space (visual arts)

In page layout, illustration and sculpture, white space is often referred to as negative space. It is that portion of a page left unmarked: the space between graphics, margins, gutters, space between columns, space between lines of type or figures and objects drawn or depicted...

in the direction the eyes of a portrayed person are looking, or, when picturing a runner, adding white space in front of him rather than behind him to indicate movement.

Simplification

Images with clutter can distract from the main elements within the picture and make it difficult to identify the subject. By decreasing the extraneous content, the viewer is more likely to focus on the primary objects. Clutter can also be reduced through the use of lighting, as the brighter areas of the image tend to draw the eye, as do lines, squares and colour. In painting, the artist may use less detailed and defined brushwork towards the edges of the picture.

Limiting focus

In photography, and also (via software simulation of real lens limitations) in 3D graphics, one approach to achieving simplification is to use a wide aperture when shooting to limit the depth of field

Depth of field

In optics, particularly as it relates to film and photography, depth of field is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image...

. When used properly in the right setting, this technique can place everything that is not the subject of the photograph out of focus.

A similar approach, given the right equipment, is to take advantage of the Scheimpflug principle

Scheimpflug principle

The Scheimpflug principle is a geometric rule that describes the orientation of the plane of focus of an optical system when the lens plane is not parallel to the image plane. It is commonly applied to the use of camera movements on a view camera...

to change the plane of focus.

Geometry and symmetry

Related to the rule of odds is the observation that triangles are an aesthetically pleasing implied shape within an image. In a canonically

Aesthetic canon

A canon in the sphere of visual arts and aesthetics, or an aesthetic canon, is a rule for proportions, so as to produce a harmoniously formed figure.-Evolution:...

attractive face, the mouth and eyes fall within the corners of the area of an equilateral triangle. Paul Cézanne

Paul Cézanne

Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...

successfully used triangles in his compositions of still life

Still life

A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...

Other techniques

There should be a center of interest or focus in the work, to prevent it becoming a pattern in itself;
The direction followed by the viewer's eye should lead the viewer's gaze around all elements in the work before leading out of the picture;
The subject should not be facing out of the image;
A moving subject should have space in front;
Exact bisections of the picture space should be avoided;
Small, high contrast, elements have as much impact as larger, duller elements;
The prominent subject should be off-centre, unless a symmetrical or formal composition is desired, and can be balanced by smaller satellite elements
the horizon line should not divide the art work in two equal parts but be positioned to emphasize either the sky or ground; showing more sky if painting is of clouds, sun rise/set, and more ground if a landscape

These principles can be means of a good composition yet they can not be applied separately but should act together to form a good composition.

External links

Composition in Photography what makes a good photographic structure
Rules of Composition in Photography
Percy Principles of Art and Composition, Goshen College
Goshen College
Goshen College, is a private Mennonite liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana, USA with an enrollment of around 1,000 students. The college is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities...

Art Department
Second Picture's photographic composition tutorials
Making Great Pictures: Composition - slideshow by Life magazine
Photography Composition
Basic Photography Composition
InfoRapid Knowledge Portal - Composition (Visual Art)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Elements of design

Line and shape

Straight lines

Curved lines

Color

Principles of organization

Viewpoint

Compositional techniques

Rule of thirds

Rule of odds

Rule of space

Simplification

Limiting focus

Geometry and symmetry

Other techniques

See also

External links