Try The Seesaw Test

Try The Seesaw Test

Imagine your rendering poised - compositionally speaking - on the tip of a triangle, with your hands steadying it. Ask yourself : if you took your hands away, which direction would it fall? What needs to be added, subtracted, lightened or darkened, or made more interesting to provide the needed balance?

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Wayne Gretzsky

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
— Wayne Gretzsky

Determining the Viewpoint

Determining the Viewpoint

The viewpoint - the level and  angle of the viewer's eye in relation to your subject. How high or low the horizon line is placed determines whether the viewer is looking down, straight ahead or up at the subject.

Your viewpoint indeed makes a difference. A portrait with the face placed high on the picture plane projects force and dignity; one placed lower is approachable and less intimidating.. In an exterior architectural rendering, a low horizon line suggests that the viewer is looking down from above, surveying a scene that is expansive and open, Looking up at the horizon line suggests a more intimate, perhaps introspective scene.

When placing the horizon line, remember that unequal division of space are generally considered the most interesting. Avoid centering the horizon line and the renderings focal point.

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House in the Woods

House in the Woods

In this 3-D architectural rendering, I tried to highlight a majestic open-air space by showing the home in its surroundings, with its towering trees.

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15 Components of Great Composition

15 Components of Great Composition

By studying the masters you admire with the design elements and principles in mind, you can discover much that will be helpful. Refer to this list of design components commonly found in great compositions. Popular myths to the contrary, a great rendering is seldom all spontaneous, mysterious, and free-flow. It just looks that way. Successful artists know what they are doing, and they know how to repeat it. If they know it, you can learn it.

As you review art in books or exhibits, practice identifying these components. Then consciously incorporate them into your own work.

  1. A strong value pattern. This means the work has connected light and shadow shapes that unify and give power to the rendering. One rule of thumb is that 80 percent of the dark values (shadow shapes) should be connected to each other.
  2. A compositional scheme. A good rendering is usually not without its surprises , but it should have an overall organizational plan.
  3. A dominant focal point or center of interest. There should be no question where to look first.
  4. An overall mood. The scene may be upbeat or solemn, peaceful or haunting, joyful or angst-ridden. However subtle or strong, you should feel something about what you re seeing.
  5. Balanced shapes. Compositions can be symmetrical or asymmetrical. Bright color, high contrast, detail and direction of line all effect the balance of shapes.
  6. Balanced temperature. We generally don't want to be cold. Therefore, a painting that is overwhelmingly warm still draws the eye, but one that is predominantly cold often repels it. Find ways to introduce warmth into cold subjects.
  7. A sense of freshness. The rendering should breath as though fresh off the vine - not appearing overworked.
  8. Interesting intervals. This commonly refers to the spacing of similar objects. Intervals should be irregular, not perfectly repetitious.

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15 Pointers for Better Composition

There's an exception for every rule. But it is worth knowing what the rules are - and adhering to most of them most of the time. - that allows artists to break selected rules successfully, and thereby to make the stunning, memorable exceptions! Here is a laundry list of pointers to keep in mind. Note how many of them apply to the planning phase.

  1. Render only what you love or what intrigues you. if you are bored, your viewers will pick up on it - and they may share you opinion
  2. Thumbnail sketches are worth the trouble. Thumbnails quickly give you a sense of the compositional possibilities. Do several.
  3. Think three-dimensionally in your design. Consider all planes; foreground, middle ground and background.
  4. Work on modelling skills. Well-developed modelling skills give you the freedom to rearrange, to manipulate shapes, lines and color, and to be loose without losing believability.
  5. Simplify. If you can get along without an object or detail, eliminate it.
  6. Include quite places for the eye to rest. Contrast between open and busy spaces adds interest.
  7. Mood is best made, not happened onto. Decide what feeling you're after, and support it early on
  8. Consider color early on. Color scheme can develop along with the rendering, but it's best to give yours some thought beforehand.
  9. Either warm or cold colors should dominate. Keep in mind that the human eye is more attracted to warm colors
  10. Watch format proportions.
  11. Start with big, simple shapes. Don't hamstring yourself with detail early in your rendering's development
  12. Leave something to the imagination. Omitting detail requires much greater discipline and skill than putting it all in. This also keeps the viewers mind engaged.
  13. Remember the finishing touches. Highlights, dark accents and bright jewels of color bring your rendering to life.
  14. Step away from your monitor after a couple hours. Rendering is a two-step process; application alternated with evaluation
  15. When you think you are through, give it time to cool. Turn your monitor off and revisit it later - once, twice, or several times more.

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Does Orientation Matter?

The orientation and proportions of a rendering's format should be whatever is required to support your composition and the form you plan to present.

If you settle on a horizontal format, the issue is not just how wide, but how tall in proportion to the width. Likewise with vertical. What mood or experience are you trying to convey to the viewer? Different formats inspire different feelings. A horizontal rendering is usually calming, expansive and restful; a vertical may be more dramatic or inspiring. Though some artists regard square format as static, I consider them simply neutral.

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Cityscape Chicago: A Timelapse of Chicago in 30,000 Photographs by Eric Hines

Cityscape Chicago: A Timelapse of Chicago in 30,000 Photographs by Eric Hines

Filmmaker Eric Hines does a phenomenal job of making us look good here in the windy city with his most recent timelapse, Cityscape Chicago. The clip consists of over 30,000 still photographs taken between July and October of this year primarily around the bustling downtown areas including the financial district, Navy pier, Wacker drive and the lakefront.

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Pay Your Dues and be Patient

Pay your dues and be patient. Very rarely does one come right out of art school and land their dream job. And I find that a lot of young creatives want that right away. If you stay true to your passion, eventually you’ll get to where you want to be.”
— Mark Weaver

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Contrast and Emphasis

Contrast is emphasis. The sharpest contrast should be where you want the eye to go first. Contrast comes in many forms, including value, color, detail and line.

Value Contrast

The most important element is the value; the most influential of the principles is contrast. Put them together and you have a kind of contrast that packs the most punch.

Color Contrast

This usually refers to contrast in hue or temperature, but intensity also can play a role. A power struggle ensues when hues are equally intense. One must dominate, or the eye won't know where to look. 

Contrast in Complexity

Just as brightness is enhanced by neutrality, detail, texture and pattern are more exciting next to areas of simplicity. 

Contrast in Line

A rendering with entirely horizontal lines is effectively no rendering at all. When even a minimum of diagonal and vertical lines is added, the improvement is dramatic.

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