Help on learning composition.

[Jaku]

Hello

It´s been ages since my last post on those forums and once again i post in search of some help.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/Jaku/negro.jpg
I´ve been studying this image, as well as others, for some time trying to learn something about how is it composed, but i´ve obtained no clue.
What i´ve done here is to subdivide the image with a grid and start drawing lines here and there tryin to find out something. The white doted line is the one wich i think correspond with the "eye direction", the other colored ones are (without more knowledge) coincident with some lines in the picture but they don´t tell me anything (maybe because i don´t understand their languaje....)

I don´t know where or how to start studying this kind of stuff. If anyone can help me pointing in some correct direction to do this, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance! (and sorry for my never correct english)

[bRyaN]

it is using a pyramid composition...could be wrong...

[Dizon]

ahh those lines are confusing me!

Just like what Bryan said, I think it's a pyramidal composition. It's also why Gerome added the object in the lower right corner to complete the pyramid. And the fact that the head is placed right at the center makes it a focal point. This kind of composition is really simple, and can be found in other paintings as well. Especially in portraits.

[skribly]

There is definately more here than just a triangle composition. I tried a few things out and this is what I came up with. Don't forget curves! composition isn't always about straight lines. Notice how the line that is tangent to both circles completes an S curve through the entire piece beginning at the bottom center. This is cut over top by the arm which leads you into the picture, but it is not lost, folds under the arm reenforce it. Notice also how the folds of the hat radiat out from the center of the circle. Also notice the harmonious size relationship between the two circles. Another interesting little thing is that if you raise the lower circle straight up to the ear, the same curve defines the face.

http://www.geocities.com/skribly/images/negrocomp.jpg

I've been studying composition quite a bit, the refferences I've found most helpful are
1) Lectures on Art, by Alphonse Mucha, A compilation of lectures given to art school students by Alphonse Mucha, the book might be very difficult to find however, it's been out of print for a long time. It is about 80 pages and focuses mostly on composition. His approach is based on circles and their relationships between each other and the edge of the page, all in ratios of 2:3.
2) Dynamic Symmetry, a topic mentioned in many books, such as Andrew Loomis's Creative Illustration, but it is difficult to find a lot of information on. Another very old book, The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry, by Jay Hambidge, gives a very mathematical approach, but if you can stand to read it I highly reccomend it. Dynamic Symmetry focuses on the length and width ratios of rectangles and the reciprical rectangles found within them.

See what you can find on these.
Good luck, and never underestimate the power of the S curve!

[Jaku]

Thanks all for throwing a bit of light. I was completely lost.

[Boogieman]

Thanks skribly that was awesome. Gonna look for those books.

[DavePalumbo]

That's a sweet painting by the way, who's work is it?

Recently I got really into Frazetta compositions, some of which are really terrific. Great balances of conflicting motion and movement. Can't show any examples, I'm not at home right now.

[Dizon]

That's a sweet painting by the way, who's work is it?

Recently I got really into Frazetta compositions, some of which are really terrific. Great balances of conflicting motion and movement. Can't show any examples, I'm not at home right now.

Jean Leon Gerome

[Idiot Apathy]

I keep pimping him out every now and then; man was a genius.
http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/art.asp?aid=9

Anyways, do people really think about this sort of stuff? Isn't a lot of it simple (well, simple for some) intuition?

Those books sound interesting, especially the mucha one.

[Torgovix]

The examination of the painting is interesting but it seems like you could find shapes like those in nearly any painting if you look for them.

[DavePalumbo]

Isn't a lot of it simple (well, simple for some) intuition?

intuition is still founded on the years of observation and subconscious examination of other artists comps in drawings, paintings, and movies. I used to think this basic philosophy, mostly as reaction to people I knew who swore on a stack of Golden Sections when they talked about composing a drawing or painting. In my opinion though, it's some of each. Intuition will take you far if you have good intuition, but some formal knowledge can always help take you further. But if you've studied the subject well, it's going to feel like intuition anyhow.