Composition

            Composition is essentially the position of elements within an artwork. It involves all elements of painting, including:  tonal Forms, line, perspective, lighting etc. It is a complex and deep subject, that’s basics can be taught in minutes, but can take a lifetime to master.

            The first thought for composition, is the rotation and dimensions of the canvas, whether it be portrait, landscape or the aspect ratio, whether it be 4:3, 19:9 etc. The basic idea is that the subject should fit, and be the clear focus of the image. So taller things such as portraits go in portrait, and wide such as landscapes things go in landscape, hence their names, but it must be remembered that there can always be exceptions to the rules. The rotation and aspect ratio aren’t just subject to whether the subject is entirely in the image, they can also give many feelings to an image, weather it be to emphasize something, in the case of photographing a tall building, which would be an obvious candidate for a portrait layout, but for a sense of scale, landscape is used to compare it to surrounding smaller buildings or sometimes an intentionally odd rotation or aspect ratio to give the piece a sense of uneasiness. There are conventions in aspect ratios, these can now be frequently seen as aspect ratios of video, with the main of which are 4:3, being the old tv standard, 16:9 being widescreen and now standard, and 1:2.35 being letterbox or cinemascope. Then there are more conventional ratios for artwork, one of which now is 1:square root of 2, which is used in standard paper or the “A series”, then this is when we come across the “golden ratio” for the first time, which is approximately 1:1.61803398874989, it can trace it roots to ancient Greece, where it was first recorded and studied. It can be simply explained as when the ratio a+b is equal to the ratio of a/b it is the Golden ratio. In game art we have a relatively easy job in this respect, as everything pub character deigns, which are often portrait, all artwork is created in a 16:9 landscape formula, as this is after all, the artwork will be displayed in the game.

            The next decision is where the focus of the image should be placed. Symmetry has a comfortable look when placing the focal point, especially in landscape. So the focal point should not be cantered, but then not too far to one side, the usual “rule of thirds” works beautifully most of the time, so placing the focal point a third way from the top, bottom, or side, to give it a nice balance. Also the golden ratio can be used in placement for a slightly more central arrangement, allowing for surrounding details to create focus for the image.

            The next stage of thought should be on how the focal point of the image can be emphasized, by having the viewer’s eye draw to it. One of the easiest methods of doing this is basically drawing what are essentially lines, sometimes subtly, or blatantly into a piece, to not so much guide, but force the viewer’s eye to the focal point. Weather these be created by areas of light, tone or details, they are the most basic, but if used poorly can make an image feel to deliberate and formulaic.  Although you do want the views eye to be drawn to the focal point, if it is too direct, the rest of the painting can be ignored as it is just used as a means of emphasizing another part. To more subtly direct the viewer’s eye, and allowing them to read the image as a whole, less linier methods can be used, the main of which is by incorporating a Fibonacci curve around the focal point. As with most things in composition this should still be done subtly, to not make the image look to formulaic, but it can be achieved by the same methods as I spoke about before, by creating “lines”, weather there be lines of tonal contrast or colour etc.

            The final stage of composition to be discussed is balance, but like all of these stages, they must be considered from the beginning when creating an artwork, as it should be fundamental to the arrangement of as painting. Essentially, a sense of vague symmetry should be adopted for large block forms within the image, (excluding the focal point), usually at the extremities. This helps frame a image, making it feel contained, but not awkwardly cropped. At its most basic you want the viewer to feel that everything interesting happening in and around the subject, is within the image.

            Composition, after subject, is the most important part of a painting in terms of content, but artistically it is so fundamental to the success of a painting it could be argued that it is the most important. This is why many artists drastically alter the reality they are depicting to make a better painting. This is the skill which unquestionably separates the armatures from the masters. This is clearly evident in a painting that has been voted Britain’s favourite many times, and which is probably mine too, in J.M.W. Turner’s the “Fighting Temeraire”: Where turner has altered many aspects of reality to improve the image. First off, he would only have been a child when the event depicted occurred so artistic licence is undoubtedly used, like re-adding the removed masts, to make the ship look grander etc. But some changes are much more significant: has stretched the reflection in the water of the steam tugboat, to angle the reflected bowsprit, (the protruding front part of the ship) directly in line with the Focal point; drastically moving the buildings on the river’s edge at the right hand side of the image, below the water line of the ships, which in reality is physically impossible, but which creates a directional shape, leading the eye yet again upwards to the focal point; but most notably for me, he refrained from adding excessive detail and tone to the focal point, the Temeraire, to give it a ghostly ethereal appearance, as if it is the last of the magical all sail powered ships, before the seas are filled with the dirty and noisy ships of the steam age. 

http://www.j-m-w-turner.co.uk/images/The_fighting_Temeraire.jpg