Composition

How to Make Pictures - Introduction 

What is composition? - Composition is the selection and arrangement of appropriate elements in the picture so that the artist's idea can be shown effectively. It is combing forms and space to produce a strong piece.

What can good composition achieve? - It gives the viewer a sense of order and beauty.

What are the four main elements of composition? - Picture area, depth, line and value.

What is the first thing to do when thinking about composition? - It is best to simplify into basic shapes and arrange them to make them compositionally strong. The elements can be rescaled and positioned.

What is the difference between sketching and making art work? - Sketching is part of the thinking process meaning it is a lot more broad than the final art work. Art work is composing the final together.

My thoughts on Composition:

As a practising illustrator I would like to work on focusing more on the compositional elements of my work as it's important for the viewer to be able to read the image. Also I believe it is an essential skill for an illustrator to have because it can take your work up to the next level. 

Practical Task - 3 Elements Painting Challenge

• Design 5 full bleed, compositional sketches of a figure, object and location
• Use an A7 frame size to create roughs in your sketchbook
• Landscape or portrait
• Choose the best rough composition and create an A3 painting using ink and a brush

Figure: royal guard 

Object: cup of tea

Location: casino

The thought of having to create this compositional piece is worrying me because I've never drawn these three things before meaning I will have to practise drawing the different elements in my sketchbook which will take up more time. 

I used my sketchbook to create different rough composition ideas which I found useful before creating the final design. Thinking about compositional elements throughout each rough allowed me to think of the best possible why to create the strongest piece. 

Before creating my final piece of artwork I practised using ink in my book which I struggled with at first when I tried to shade the piece because the ink kept running. I have decided to change the composition of the piece completely. The new idea I am going to use has more of a humorous effect as well as being better compositionally. Should I add more colour to the piece or keep it simply as black ink with shading?

I am happy with the outcome of the final piece because I believe it is compositionally strong which was my aim. The shading has been espeically effective for the piece as it has given more depth to the image. The eye of the viewer is lead from the foreground to the background of the image in a 'Z' form which then circles back on itself because of the positioning of the royal guards helmet.

Would I have been able to achieve this using more variation of colour?

If I were to repeat this brief as a whole I would create more of a frame around the drawing rather than taking the ink to the edge of the paper as framing of the image is another strong compositional element.