How to Get Better at Composition

[Jon Sun]

Recently, I've realized the importance of composition. Before that, I had mostly focused on anatomy, form, and line. But, needless to say, composition is hugely important as well. Now that I see the importance of composition, I realize that I'm not very good at composing images.

Is there a way to practice composition, cause a lot of it seems like complicated theory that I don't understand. Is there a way to go about getting better at composition, or do I have to understand advanced theory to get better? I know Loomis talks about his method of "informal subdivision" as a technique to help. Does anyone know of any other similar methods or ways of practicing composition? And what lessons/experiences/tips have helped you improve most in composition?

[armando]

There are a lot of books with good bits of info in them, but some books are complete wank "Point and Line to Plane" is one of those. I'm currently reading Rudolph Arnheim's "The Power of the Center", and so far it's doing a pretty good job of defining picture gravity, and pushes and pulls derived from that sense of gravity. This thread also has good info, by Chris Bennet and Kev Ferrara: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=116934

[kev ferrara]

Bandaid boy, forget about stuff like "informal subdivisions" for now. And I wouldn't advise visiting the thread that Chris and I had, because its all ultra complex stuff and some of it is just confusing.

The main thing you have to know about composition is that each picture has one main idea to it, and everything in the picture is designed to make that one idea work really well. You have to concentrate on the one most important thing and make it kick ass, and also have it be very clear so that if you stand like ten feet away from you picture, you can still kinda see what's going on.

Also, it is really important to dream up your composition in your head before drawing it. Spend some time with your eyes closed and really try to imagine you are in the scene that you want to draw. Try to fly around the scene in your head/mind's eye. Train yourself to be able to do that. Try again and again to use that aspect of your imagination. By flying around the scene in your head, you will be able to stop where you think it looks the coolest. And then try to hold that image and memorize it, all with your eyes closed. This might take 5, 10, 20 minutes, even an hour. Whatever it takes to get a really strong clear image in your head.

Don't emphasize unimportant stuff, like a shoe. Emphasize and exaggerate what is most important in your picture.

Don't have stuff that points off the picture, like an arrow saying "go away." Have stuff in the picture sort of point you toward important stuff and from that important stuff you should be pointing toward the most important thing in the picture. A lot of composition is just about figuring out what is most important. There's other ways to get the viewer to look at the important stuff, besides using everything like a pointer. You can put something behind the main thing, so it acts like a frame for it... like a flag behind a head. You can make the main thing the most colorful, or the highest contrast thing. You can make the main thing the clearest silhouette that reads from the farthest distance away.

Good luck
kev

[Dizon]

I love you Kev....No, seriously.

[Uli]

Kevs advise says it very well, I think.

Another aspect would be the pure craft of composition. I agree that complicated theories just suck, because in the end every picture is unique and sometimes something will work despite everything that you know about the theory.
I assume that you know the "frame" trick, where you put different frames on different parts of the image to get different compositions. you could also use a set of elements (like: large dark ball, tiny intricate piece of pattern, white square medium size, long line etcpp.) and move them around on a piece of paper with different background shadings.

I think I got composition when I started to look at ikebana and japanese sumi-e (brush painting). They have a focus on composition and understanding the importance of the "empty" areas.

Try not to look at these pictures as "some flowers in a pot" but rather as geometrical formes that balance each other:

http://orangetintedglasses.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/08/15/ikebana_sm_2.jpg
http://www.theartscenter.org/exhibits/0107/chihuly_ikebana.jpg
http://www.pinfrog.com/Ikebana.htm
http://www.thearchipelago.net/catalog/Richard_Robertson_Ikebana_Blue_sm.jpg

[rattsang]

Try not to look at these pictures as "some flowers in a pot" but rather as geometrical formes that balance each other[/url]

i think balance is very important too. recently i read in a book (i can´t remember the name) that rather than trying to exactly balance a image you should only be striving for it to be not completely unbalanced or one sided, making the image more dynamic and active. the pictures you linked are clearly not balanced yet not overly unbalanced either.

[Kiera]

I always have the feeling that composition is rarely mentioned here at the forums.. fixing the broken hand won't make the picture more appealing, fixing the composition most likely will..

Composition is easier than you think, make tiny thumbnails and go from the big, abstract general shapes to the smaller shapes. For everything, if you do a scene, a landscape, a character floating on a white sheet, a sketchbook page or even how you present your pictures- you always have to be aware of the bigger shapes, the values and the flow in the compositions.

For a scene, sketch up at least 10 different versions of ONE scene and pick the best. Just doing one or two thumbnails is bullshit.
Don't repeat yourself and think about your use of elements. Don't just imagine your scene but really get your idea on paper so that you can later on compare it to your other ideas and make a good choice.
Either do those thumbnails very small (> 5 cm) and with pencil or with a brush, so that you can also keep an eye on where your values are (darkness has weight).
Don't forget to work from big general values to smaller ones.
If you have a wip picture, redline it for yourself and trace the outlines of your shapes to see where your flow and rythm is.
(composition is a big thing with many theories but most of them are really easy to understand, just read up a lot)

also this tutorial can never get enough attention
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=71673
this is how you can do thumbnails

John K is good at composition:
http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2008/06/bg-layout-tips-for-nate.html
http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2008/05/more-bg-layout-note-hierarchy-of-form.html
http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/search/label/hierarchy (when it works in the thumbnail, the picture is good)

There's a lot more to know thought..

[Uli]

rattsang-
the pictures you linked are clearly not balanced yet not overly unbalanced either.


they are balanced, look closer. The large flowerpots at the bottom are important.
The art lies in that they *look* unbalanced but actually are not. The Japanese believe that symmetry is for beginners. Its easy. Then you start shifting your elements into more and more extreme positions and still retain the balance. (Like in the robot examble which started out almost symetrical) It works about like this:
http://www.preisvergleich.org/pimages/Historisches-Balance-Spielzeug-Rennfahrer_208__452640_60.jpg

When you find that point of balance you can create a dynamic tension that is still focused. The image is not falling apart, like it would, if it weren't balanced. I believe that we feel it almost physically, when something is wrong with the composition.

[Noah Bradley]

I'm a big fan of How Pictures Work. (http://www.amazon.com/Picture-This-How-Pictures-Work/dp/1587170302/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233548570&sr=8-1)

Does a good job at simply explaining some complex principles.

[TASmith]

Another issue to address is distance. When you're drawing characters close enough, you can make them dominate through expression. The look on someone's face can draw you in - like Wesburt's sketches. Or, a face with a sideways glance can make you look off in that direction, etc.

But, when that character is too far away for detail, his body has to carry the expression. His stance, arms, leg, the twist of his neck, all have to give you an idea of what must be on his face.

[TASmith]

Oh, another compositional question - whether the figures are looking at/aware of the viewer. If they're unaware you're watching them, then you're a bit of a voyeur, watching a story safely in your home, etc. If they see you, then you get a sense you're in the story, and not so safe.

[Jon Sun]

Thanks a ton for all the advice everyone, it has helped a lot. I'm gonna work on applying this.

For those who are interested, I'm taking a painting course in abstraction... I know many of you probably don't appreciate abstract art, and neither do I. Taking this class was a huge leap for me, and for what little we've done so far, it has already pushed me and stretched me in ways that are beneficial, even to my personal art. For example, it is teaching me the importance of composition. Because in abstract art, composition becomes of even greater importance. I feel like in a lot of representational art, people can get away with bad composition by covering it up with skillful representation of anatomy, perspective, color, etc. But, when you do something abstract, you can't get away with it, and it's actually really hard to make an abstract painting that looks good.

Initially, I was really angry about taking this class, cause I thought abstraction would have no significance to what I really wanna do, and it was just a waste of time. I still think it's a bunch of hogwash, but I definitely appreciate it a little bit more and can see how learning about it could help me improve my pursuit of representational art. I would encourage you guys to also be more open-minded too, cause I know there was a thread about "I don't get art" talking about abstract art.

Anyway, cheers... and thanks for all the advice again.

Oh, and one last thing. I know I said I wasn't looking for theory, but does anyone know some quick basics to composition theory? For example, the rule of thirds? I've found that things like that are easily applicable and extremely helpful. Also, anything like kev mentioned about "don't have stuff pointing out of the picture" is helpful too.

[TASmith]

You know, that's one rule I think is okay to break. It depends. I saw a great drawing in a book about "leading the eye", where two people are falling over backwards while pointing guns to the left and shooting. There arms, guns firing, and expressions all make you want to know what's to the left, off the page. It seems something really dangerous and really evil, but you don't know what it is. I'll try and find it someday, when I get all my artbooks here in Europe.... And then when I get a scanner....