Composition

When I read the next section of my book I was surprised that composition is very important in an artwork. Composition is how elements in an artwork are arranged. Composition includes symmetry, the number of elements placed in the scene, and how scene is formed (86).

The first aspect of composition is symmetry. Symmetrical composition is a balanced scene, "the horizontal line splits the scene exactly in half" (87). Asymmetrical composition is the opposite of symmetrical composition. This type of arrangement is more appealing and realistic.

The second aspect of composition is number of elements in the scene. Even number of elements may seem uninteresting and viewer's eye has nowhere to go (88). While odd number of elements is usually more interesting. For example, as you see 3 fish in the second picture, it seems more interesting and finished.

The last aspect of composition is cropping. Cropping and formatting is taking out unneeded visual information and including only the most important part of the scene. Willenbrink suggests to use a viewfinder, it is type of method where you use "a piece of cardboard with a cutout like a window frame" (89). This is most helpful when working outdoors, "when the subject may seem overwhelming and you don't know where to focus your attention" (88). Another method to form a scene is forming a rectangle with your fingers, for this you don't need any equipment.

What are your most favorite scenes that you like to draw?