Composition
Composition is the placement, arrangement and organisation of the parts that make up a piece of work. A good composition arranges the shapes, forms and colours so that the art work makes an initial impact and then continues to hold the viewer’s interest. You should feel that the composition is not weighted in one direction or another but that everything is held in perfect balance.
Why/where use this element?
Composition is used in creating and developing drawings, paintings, photographs, graphic layouts and sculptures. The artist, photographer or designer determines what the focus of interest will be, and composes the elements accordingly. The gaze of the viewer will then tend to linger over these points of interest.
How to use this element
Composition is often reckoned to be the single most important element of any piece. No matter how well realised, if the composition is inadequate, it will not be successful. Composition can be altered using light and shade, tone and through the use of colour.
Look at the illustrations, above. The mark in the top right hand corner of the first rectangle leads your eyes to this point. If the composition is made more elaborate, with converging lines and small and large squares, new directional forces are brought into play as in the second drawing. The addition of dark areas and curved shapes, as in the third figure, shifts the emphasis yet again.
The most practical approach to composition is to work from direct observation and to rely on looking and making judgments by eye.
Basic practice
The Dynamics of the Rectangle
What you need for this Practice
• 1 A3 sheet of paper
• Media – pencil, ink
• Ruler
You will be exploring composition in a rectangle making five small studies on paper. Draw five rectangles on a sheet of A3 paper. Make the first one 15 cm x 8 cm, then some larger than this and some smaller. One should be a square. Use most of the sheet but don’t have the rectangles touching.
In rectangle one, make points which take your eyes to different places in the rectangle. The points can be dots, small squares or small circles.
In rectangle two, divide the rectangle with lines in any way you choose. Make all the lines run across from one side to another. When you have placed your first line, try to balance it without resorting to a symmetrical line at the other side of the rectangle. Continue adding lines and checking the visual balance. Do any of the combinations of lines create a three-dimensional effect?
In rectangle three, draw straight lines and combine these with curves, watching the effect and trying to produce exciting abstract shapes, well balanced in the rectangle.
In rectangle four, make another version of lines and curves and using black paint (or ink) paint in some shapes. Watch the effects you’re creating and try to balance them.
In rectangle five, draw a third version of lines and curves. As well as using black try texturing some shapes with dots and short lines made with the brush (see below).
Advanced practice
Below are four possible compositions unrelated to any particular subjects so that you can use your own immediate surroundings to provide the composition described.
- A composition where there are two or more horizontal or vertical lines cutting across the whole view.
- Something large and long (a wall, a rug, a corridor, a road or a pavement) running into the view so that a strong directional force is given to the composition.
- A composition with a large single ‘empty’ area contrasted with smaller complex areas. At least one third of the views surface should be a simple area like a table top, a large section of floor or a wall or a roof outside.
- A composition with a very large foreground object which runs off at least two sides of the view.
- Use these problems to practise different compositions. Try them individually or mix some together.
Further Reading
