HOME | DD

Description
Sometimes the details of our illustration look great, but then when we step back and look at the composition... it's a little boring or muddy or crowded or our eyes wander away from the parts that looked so good up close... Where are our focal points? Why doesn't this illustration grab my attention and hold it? Composition can make or break a piece. Here are some links that show examples of good and bad compositions and describe why certain layouts are more successful than others. Various tips and rules are described and illustrated. I hope you'll enjoy these as much as I do.

Composition in art as described by wikipedia (this link is a little boring): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composit… you can skip to the good links below and come back to this one later if you want.

23 pages of paintings and composition tips: www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/13…
portrait composition and rhythm: theportraitplace.co.uk/arttech…
photographic composition tips with images: photo.tutsplus.com/tutorials/c…
balancing values and temperatures in your composition: muddycolors.blogspot.ca/2012/1… muddycolors.blogspot.com/2012/…
the secret to composition: lulie.deviantart.com/art/The-S…

What are "tangents" and how to avoid them: schweizercomics.tumblr.com/pos… emptyeasel.com/2008/11/18/avoi… I find the tangent articles very interesting.

Here's a composition comment from a DA member:
Composition is "One the most important things you should be regularly considering if you plan on becoming a good artist. You use composition and its elements to create mood and lead the eye around the piece. A style is a set of compositional consistencies which vary from life.

Composition can be divided into
-Angles -Proportions -Values -Colour -Level of Detail -Perspective

All of these are crucial to developing good observational skills also."
~StormAndy

I'll add more links as I find them.
-FH