Today I want to share a homemade art composition reference guide I made recently.
It was created from exercises in an art textbook I read last month. Although this textbook was published more than 100 years ago, it contains relevant information about how to create better compositions. As a "self-taught artist" I find books like these quite helpful for building and refining skills.
The book is Composition, by Arthur Dow, and it is available free via The Project Gutenberg. Dow details the elements of a masterful composition and shows the student how to bring them together to form a complete work of balance, harmony and beauty. The exercises I'm sharing in this post are related to, what the book calls, Five Principles of Composition(pp 22 - 32). Below are my examples of the exercises, along with a brief explanation of what the principles mean.
1. Opposition
Opposition is when two lines meet to form an angle, like when a tree breaks the horizon line or two edges of a door meet to form what we see as a corner (p 22).
2. Transition
Transition is Opposition, with a third line added to "soften" the angle. In the words of the author, This combination typifies beauty itself which has been defined as consisting of elements of difference harmonized by elements of unity (p 22).
3. Subordination
Subordination is a central theme and its individual components harmonized together as a whole. The book gives three ways to create subordination in a line composition: grouping around an axis, radiation from a central point, and by size grouping (p 23).
4. Repetition
Repetition is the opposite of Subordination. It is a visual representation of rhythm and concept central to life itself (pp 24-27).
5. Symmetry Symmetry is as straightforward as it sounds, think circle or square. Symmetry has been viewed by some art cultures as predictable and boring, while others have seen it as a symbol of perfection (p 28).
Side Notes:
When Composition was first published in 1899, line-drawing instruments like marker pens, and modern ballpoint pens hadn't yet been invented. That being the case, Dow advises, "Japanese brushes, ink and paper are to be preferred for exercises in line drawing, tracing, notan massing and washes in grays" (p 14).
I turned the Chapter III - Ways of Creating Harmony exercises into a "5 Principles of Composition Reference Guide" (pp 20-32) using a normal water brush and inexpensive black watercolor on copy paper. Completing the exercises that way helped me conserve the supplies that will likely become difficult to source in the coming months. Admittedly, using the water brush has a learning curve. It's predictably unpredictable 🙃.
I made holes on the edge of each paper and used string to bind the pages together once I was finished. The bound pages are easier to flip through and more durable than the ol' staple in the corner.
Looking Ahead...
I plan on integrating these principles into the sketching sesh routine, working more at improving skills vs. experimenting for play, and eventually (this year), I want to make the switch from paper to digital art so I can GO BIG and get myself out there 'more better'.
My next steps are to find a hardware and software combination that's durable, portable and comfortable to use, then relegate the physical art supplies to rarer, special-meaning type pieces 🖼. It's important to consider the impact of our decisions, and my decision to use traditional supplies has its ripples. I want to help solve problems of Earth, rather than compound them.
This concludes the section about Composition. Below is a 'welcome mat' to a post about the current life of our friends, Serbian-based artists, @theartofrez and his fiancee, @bloomerang.
For those who aren't familiar with Rez's work, he usually dishes out big servings of fan art in many classic flavors, like Spawn, Mortal Kombat and TMNT. In this post, however, Rez gives us a look at how he and his better half are using art, food and shennanigans to keep their sanity and stay the course through this pandemic.
Like so many folks, both Rez and Mrs. Rez have been forced to change career paths in light of recent events, and they're pouring a lot of heart and effort into their art to get them through. Consider checking out @theartofrez's blog. He's super friendly dude, and if you want to say hi, he would probably appreciate your kindness 😁.
In addition to being engaged to Rez, @bloomerang is an artist who made a post about neat tattoo with a back story last October. In her more recent posts, she has been getting outside her comfort zone by using a tablet to create digital art. 💪
@theartofrez and his fiancee, 
@bloomerang.
