A Man Paints with His Brain and Not with His Hands

"A man paints with his brain and not with his hands."
Michelangelo

THE ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

The Elements of Design are the things that artists and designers work with to create a design, or composition. The Elements are: line, shape, space, value, color, and texture.

Line … The Graphic Unifier. Curved, Straight, Directional Thrust: Horizontal, Vertical, and Diagonal
A curved line is dynamic, ever changing, and more natural, than the straight line, which is more static in character. Direction, while often listed as a separate element, is technically a part of the element "line". The diagonal line is more dynamic and is quicker to draw the eye. It can be used to create movement and depth. Horizontal lines are more static and tranquil therefore calmer, more passive. Vertical lines evoke strength, power, but less dynamic than diagonals.
Shape … Natural, Geometric. Positive and Negative. (The Golden Mean)
Geometric shapes are more passive, decorative, and static than organic shapes. Repeated shapes can be used to create movement. Repeating geometric shapes increases the decorative effect. Look beyond the obvious shapes of heads, bodies, buildings, etc., and view your subject as abstract shapes. Change many of the obvious shapes and create new more interesting shapes. Try to find interlocking shapes. Keep the background shapes in the background, but look for places to connect the foreground and background.

Space / Size … Large, Medium, Small. Proportion or Scale. (The Golden Mean)
The comparative relation between things. Employ large, medium, small concept. Size can be used to make things appear nearer and of greater importance. Size relationships can be used to create depth (Perspective).

Value … Light, Dark. (Value Patterns)
Value can be used to create mood, i.e. dark and mysterious, light and airy, gray and dull. High contrast in value moves things forward; low contrast makes them recede. (Arial Perspective)

Color … Hue, Chorma, and Value.
Hue is the specific name of a color, red, yellow, blue (primary colors). (The Color Wheel)
Chroma, also called saturation, often called intensity, refers to a colors strength or weakness, bright or grayed.
Color Value refers to the lightness or darkness of the color, not to its intensity or to a specific hue.

Texture … Rough, Smooth, Soft, Hard.
Texture shows at the edges and in the play of light and shadow on the surface.

A COMPOSITION is an arrangement of all the elements, which achieves a unified whole. But alas, it is merely a tool to create form and content. Content relates to human emotion and the intellect and is the end result of the reasons for painting. Design is a means to that end.
See: Types of Compositions and A Simple Approach to Good Design.

ATTRIBUTES are defined as the qualities that the art or design conveys to the observer.
Emotional … Active, Passive
Esthetic … Realistic, Impressionistic, Abstract, Decorative
Spatial … Depth, Flat

Use these composition tips to create stronger paintings.

Strong composition can be very intangible. If the composition in a painting is done well you don't notice it initially, you just know that the painting has something about it that's particularly appealing. And when a painting's composition is done badly (such as when the subject is slap bang in the center, or squeezed into a corner) the painting just feels awkward. Initially you'll have to deliberately work at implementing these painting composition tips in a painting, but with practice it'll become instinctive.

Painting Composition Tip 1: Where's the Focal Point?
The focal point should draw the viewer's eye to it. Place the focal point (the thing that's the main subject of the painting) on one of the 'intersection spots' from the Rule of Thirds, then check the other elements in the painting, which should lead they eye towards this point.

Painting Composition Tip 2: Did You Use a Viewfinder?
Isolate the key elements in a scene and check their placement by using a viewfinder. See Composition Class: Using a Viewfinder and Composition Class: How to Make a Viewfinder.

Painting Composition Tip 3: Are the Values Varied?
Do a thumbnail sketch of your painting's composition in just three values: white (light), black (dark), and grey (mid-tone). Now check how much of each value its got. For a strong composition, you want them to be in quite different amounts, not similar. Try this rule to start: "two thirds, one third, and a little bit." For example, two thirds dark in tone, one third light in tone, and a small area or object that's mid-tone.

Painting Composition Tip 4: How Many Elements are There?
Have an odd number of elements in the painting rather than even. For the reasons why, see Composition Class: Choosing the Number of Elements.

Painting Composition Tip 5: How Are the Elements Spaced?
It's rare to find neat and orderly arrangements of elements in nature. Just think of the difference between a natural forest, where the trees grow any which way, and a plantation, where the trees are planted in evenly spaced rows. Varying the space between the elements in your composition, the angles they lie at, and their sizes makes a painting more interesting.

Painting Composition Tip 6: Are Any Elements Kissing?
Kissing, in this context, means just touching. Elements must either be definitely apart or definitely overlapped. No kissing please, as this creates a weak, connected shape which will distact the viewer's eye, causing a momentary pause as they puzzle it out.

Painting Composition Tip 7: Do Warm or Cool Colors Dominate?
It doesn't matter whether the overall feeling of the color in a painting is warm or cool, it just shouldn't try to be both.

Painting Composition Tip 8: Is There Unity?
Do the elements in the painting's composition feel they belong together, or are they separate bits that just happen to be in the same painting? Help create unity by glazing over the whole painting with a single colour; you can always touch up the highlights again if necessary.

Painting Composition Tip 9: Is the Underlying Composition Obvious?
The painting isn't finished yet if the first thoughts of someone seeing your painting is going to be analytical: "There's the focal point, with a spot of yellow to highlight it, that line there leads my eye in, that object was placed there for balance, etc".

Painting Composition Tip 10: Is There Varity?
Don't get stuck in a rut and use the same composition all the time, no matter how successful it is. Vary where you put the horizon line, where you put the focal point, swap between portrait (vertical) and landscape (horizontal) shaped canvases.

Painting Composition Class: Rule of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds is a basic composition rule popular among photographers, but equally applicable to the composition of paintings. Applying the rule of thirds to a painting means you'll never have a painting that's split in half, either vertically or horizontally, nor one with the main focus right in the centre like a bull's-eye.

What is the Rule of Thirds?
Quite simply, divide a canvas in thirds both horizontally and vertically, and place the focus of the painting either one third across or one third up or down the picture, or where the lines intersect (the red circles on the diagram).

What Difference Does the Rule of Thirds Make?
Take a look at these two photos of a lion. On the one on the left, your eye is drawn straight into the centre of the image and you tend to ignore the rest of the picture. On the one on the right, where the lion's face is on one of the Rule of Thirds 'hotspots', your eye is drawn the the lion's face, then around the painting following the curve of the body.

How Do I Use the Rule of Thirds in a Painting?
Until you're confident mentally visualising the lines, draw them in lightly on your canvas or piece of paper with a pencil so you can easily check that the placement of the elements in your painting adheres to the Rule of Thirds. If you do thumbnail sketches first, draw the thirds grid on top to check the composition.

Rule of Thirds in Photography
When you're taking reference photos, remember the Rule of Thirds also applies to photography. See these examples of the Rule of Thirds in Photography from About.com's Photography Guide.

Rule of Thirds in Design
The Rule of Thirds also works well for creating balance in a design. See these examples of the Rule of Thirds in Design from About.com's Desk Top Publishing Guide.

Painting Composition Class: Placing of Elements

If you're working on a painting which just doesn't want to go right, one of the things you should consider is whether the elements (objects) in the painting are in the correct positions. One easy way to test this is to cut out the shapes from either paper or card and then try them out in various locations on the painting. It's certainly a lot easier and faster than painting something in and then scrubbing it out again if it's not.

You can also use cutouts to test the postion of all the elements in a painting. Think of it as an initial step like sketching out a composition. You could do something similar on a computer too, in a drawing program, where you can sketch out the elements and move them around endlessly until you've got a composition that pleases you.

/ In the example shown here, the sky of the painting was too empty and your attention stayed anchored at the bottom of the painting with the trees and ground. There simply wasn't enough interest in the blue to get your eye to move up into it. I found a reference photo I had taken of a vulture flying, then printed and cut it out.
/ Then I tried it out in various positions to see where it would work best. I stuck it temporarily to the painting with some poster putty so I could step back and view the new composition from a distance. Putting the vulture on the right did bring your eye up into the top of the painting, but the right-hand side dominated too much also have two trees on that side.
/ Putting the vulture towards the left created a better balance, but in it needed to be higher up, rather than lower. Once I'd decided where I wanted to put the vulture, I marked it lightly in pencil, removed the cutout and painted it in.

Painting Composition Class: Choosing the Number of Elements

Why having an odd number of elements in a painting makes for a more dynamic composition than an even number.

One of the first things to decide in a composition is how many elements or items there will be in it. And one of the simplest ways to make a composition more dynamic is to have an odd number in the composition, say three, five, or seven, rather than an even number, say two, four, or six.

This way your eye and brain can't pair them up or group them easily. There's some how always one left over which keeps your eyes moving across the composition.

/ With an even number of elements, such as in this basic composition, your eye instictively pairs up the trees, whether it's two left and two right or two top and two bottom.
/ Whereas the next two compositions, each with an odd number of elements, are more dynamic in terms of composition, because your brain can't pair up the elements.
/ Why do we pair things up naturally? Perhaps it's because our body is designed in pairs: two eyes, two ears, two arms, two hands, and so on. (Okay, we've only one nose, but it's got two nostrils!)

Does It Make a Difference What I'm Painting?
No, whether it's bottles, apples, trees, or people, the same composition rule applies. Of course, the number of elements is not the only thing to consider in a composition, but it's essential and quite a good starting point for developing a painting.

THE ELEMENTS OF DESIGN AND PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

The Elements of Design are the things that artists and designers work with to create a design, or composition. The Elements are: line, shape, space, value, color and texture.

Line … The Graphic Unifier, Curved, Straight. Directional Thrust: Horizontal, Vertical, and Diagonal.
Shape … Naturalistic, Geometric. (The Golden Mean)

Space / Size … Large, Medium, Small. Proportion or Scale. (The Golden Mean)(Perspective)

Value … Light, Dark. (Value Patterns)(Arial Perspective)

Color … Hue, Chroma, and Value. (The Color Wheel)

Texture … Rough, Smooth, Soft, Hard.

The Principles of Design are achieved through the use of the Elements of Design. Each principle applies to each element and to the composition as a whole. The Principles are: unity, harmony, balance, rhythm, contrast, dominance, and gradation.

Unity … Echoes of all elements relating.

Harmony … Within each element and as a whole.

Balance … With the "weights" of the segments of each element.

Rhythm … Variety and Repetition.

Contrast … Alternation.

Dominance … Within each element. (Center of Interest, Focal Point)

Gradation … Modeling, (3-D effect), Transitions.

A COMPOSITION is an arrangement of all the elements, which achieves a unified whole. But alas, it is merely a tool to create form and content. Content relates to human emotion and the intellect and is the end result of the reasons for painting. Design is a means to that end.
See: Types of Compositions and A Simple Approach to Good Design.

THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

The Principles of Design are achieved through the use of the Elements of Design. Each principle applies to each element and to the composition as a whole. The principles are unity, harmony, balance, rhythm, contrast, dominance, and gradation.

Unity … Echoes of all elements relating.
All things are connected and belong to the whole. The distinguishable units and elements seem to belong to each other so that each contributes to the functioning of the whole. The work is complete when no element can be changed without detracting from the whole.

Harmony … Within each element and as a whole.
Harmony can affect the emotional response to the composition.

Balance … With the "weights" of the segments of each element.
An equilibrium of similar, opposing, or contrasting elements that together create a unified whole. Forms of balance: Asymmetrical Balance and Symmetrical Balance.

Rhythm … Variety and Repetition.
Variety within the design of all the elements and principles, along with, the regular repetition of particular elements or stresses, also, the suggestion of motion by recurrent form.

Contrast … Alternation.
Provide contrast within each element i.e. light, dark; soft, hard; warm, cool, etc.

Dominance … Within each element. (Center of Interest and Focal Point)
Dominance provides emphasis. The center of interest is the area within the work to which the eye is drawn. The Focal Point is the point within the center of interest that catches the eye. It is this area and point that the artist emphasizes through the use of the elements.

Gradation … Modeling, (the 3-D effect), Transitions.
Used in modeling or producing a three dimensional effect and in transitional effects. Gradation of detail from foreground to background. (Ariel Perspective)

VALUE PATTERNS

Good compositions are generally an arrangement of three or four large masses (shapes). Remember to incorporate the principle of dominance. In order for a picture to have a design it must have value differences or simply light and dark masses that produce a "value pattern". Using only three values, the following basic value patterns are among the possibilities.

A dark shape against midtones.

A light shape against midtones.

A large dark and a small light against midtones.

A large light and a small dark against midtones.

A graded value pattern.

A checkerboard pattern.

Splitting the midtone value into light and dark-midtone increases the possibilities, but try to limit the basic masses to four values. That is not to say that there won't be other values, such as dark "accents" or light "highlights", but other than those try to place the existing halftones into one or another of the larger value shapes.
Viewing your subject through colored sheets of acetate can help show value relationships and patterns. Try red, yellow and blue.
Sometimes it is easier to spot problems when the work is seen in reverse. A mirror can be used to see in reverse and can help you judge your value pattern, proportions and composition. It can be placed to view both your composition and model in the mirror at the same time. A black mirror can help in judging value relationships and value patterns.

VALUE SCALE