Hello! It is Medusa again. Welcome to the Illustration
class page seven: composition. Here we'll learn how to
position elements in a drawing.
hosted by Tang Ho (Co-hosted by Medusa,with the assistance of lovable little Lisa)
Hello! It is Medusa again. Welcome to the Illustration
class page seven: composition. Here we'll learn how to
position elements in a drawing.
In case you wonder why I host two classes in a row, the *reason is simple: I am so cute and adorable, you guys just can't get enough of me. Therefore, it's only fitting that I should be the host of the most important class!
What is composition? It is how you arrange all the elements in an illustration, including characters, objects, background and all.
When you're drawing a single character, the composition is simple: Just put the character on paper and leave at least an inch of margin around the edge. The following are some basic pointers on composition. You can use them singly or combine different styles to create the effect you want.
The basic kinds of composition.
1. Profile: Introducting a subject
It is better to place the subject (character or object) at the center since it is the most important element and no interaction takes place between characters. If you place the main character to a corner, you 'll have to fill the empty space anyway.
full body
Place the character any where within the frame is ok! Remember, don't place
the subject too close to the edge. You can add background objects and background
characters as you wish. (*characters or objects that are not important and
do not interact with your main character are considered as part of the background.
I will explain this in a later chapter)
Too close to the edge will create an unbalance (bottom heavy in this example)
and direct the viewer's attention out of the picture (dropping out).
Portrait: Emphasis
on the facial and upper torso.
Basically an ID photo style. Very little can be done with this composition.
You have to work on emphases like action, focus, dark and light contrast,
cause and effect. etc
2. Equal: Two elements balance each other in weight
When you have two equally important elements interact with
each other, and you want to balance them to avoid of one character over
shadow the other. If one is more important than the other, I call the less
important element a "re-director" The
stone monkey on the prince's left hand side is an example of one. (Oh! that
is a circular composition if you're wondering.)
In this example, Lisa is shorter but she is on higher ground, and the
monk is facing the viewer thus making both of them equal in weight.
3. Tripod: Three
elements directing the flow of vision in a triangular way. The effect is
similar to "Equal"
In this scene Lisa is the one commanding the sword (the
one with action will always be the main subject). The sword itself is at
the center and the blind swordsman is reacting to Lisa's action. To balance
his disadvantage, I added a lighting effect behind him, thus making him
a main character as well.
However, if I put Lisa closer to the center, she will totally dominate the scene.
3.Circular: More
than three elements directing the flow of vision in a circular way(not everything
is important, but all have to be interesting).
In this picture, the teacher directs your vision to the kid
at the center (he is the main character because he is at the center and
he is unique in appearance) then the girl on the right side of the drawing
and all the cats on the floor bring you back to the teacher. And the process
starts all over again.
The styles above are just the basics. You can combine any styles to create a new composition
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