Exceptions Can Sometimes Be The Rule

You'll rarely go wrong in choosing a renderings composition that follow the rules. However, for stepping up the creativity at times, don't get locked into the Rule of Thirds as a hard-and-fast policy. At times, it can be restrictive for those 3D scenes that just don't fit onto a Thirds settings. While the perfect spot fir the subject may be somewhere off-center, for example, it might not necessarily be in one of the power points.

In fact, there are times when a dead-center composition is dead-on. This can be a subject with strong symmetry, such as a wheel, in which the hub is in the middle while the spokes spread out in all directions. When rendering close up, work, too, as does symmetry in most of my architectural renderings. Likewise, some renderings don't even have a specific subject; rather, the entire rendering is the subject, such as a pattern or repetition scenes.

WOODEN WAGON WHEEL.jpg

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I've completed the Twitter for Business course on lynda.com

Join author Anne-Marie Concepción as she shows you how to leverage the power of tweeting for business promotion and customer engagement. This course reviews the basics of tweeting for business and shares smart ways to set up an account that reflects your brand. It explains how to tweet strategically in order to engage customers and attract followers. Anne-Marie also offers suggestions for creating a richer Twitter experience, managing your feed and activity using third-party apps and utilities, and integrating Twitter with other marketing endeavors.

Topics include:

  • Understanding the role of social media marketing vs. traditional marketing
  • Specifying business goals for Twitter
  • Choosing a strong username and creating a strong profile
  • Creating a Twitter landing page
  • Following the people who matter most
  • Using mentions, replies, and conversations
  • Finding potential clients
  • Providing support to customers and prospects
  • Using hashtags for events and promotions
  • Sharing photos and video with Flickr and YouTube
  • Automating and archiving tweets
  • Integrating Twitter with your blog, Facebook, and LinkedIn

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Facing The Right (or Left) Way

Here's another way to expand your portfolio of successful renderings: When a person, animal, or vehicle is positioned fairly small in your rendering, make sure the subject moves into - not out of - the composition. This keeps the viewers attention directed to the main center area, rather than having the eye wander distractedly to the edge of the render and out of the picture.

Of course, as with any rule, there can be artfully stylish exceptions, and when a subject occupies a big part of the render, this guideline may not even apply. But, in general, when a subject moved or faces in one direction, leave room to breathe in front of the subject. Viewers will find this visually pleasing, as opposed to a more unsettling placement of a subject near a rendering border and facing toward that close edge of your rendering.

Your subject doesn't even need to be moving. Plus, this concept applies not only to human subjects but also to animals, cars, boats, and even statues. Other objects may have a front that "points" in a particular direction, such as when rendering a house or vehicle from the side. Likewise, a tree that leans, for instance, should tilt toward the middle of the scene.

Yes, this strategy is yet another thing to worry about when compositing a rendering. But, trust me. You'll soon get the hang of this concept of directing the movement toward the center of your rendering.

[2008-12-24] New Zealand__MG_6872.jpg

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Splitting Your Composition in Half

Occasionally, splitting your composition in half is better. This typically involves water reflection, when the rendering above is just as strong as the reflection below. Giving equal weight to both halves helps capitalize on the eye-catching combination of balance and serenity.

Other times, you may want to leave out the sky entirely. Often, this is on an overcast day rendering since the overexposed brightness can overwhelm everything else in the rendering. In other situations, you may just want the visual competition of the blue sky, concentrating on a non-sky landscape or cityscape rendering or a more intimate view.

And at times, you may not need a sky at all. A bright/white sky can detract from the rest of the rendering. Or, on a sunny day, the contrasting blue could draw the eye away from the other colors in your rendering. In those situations, no sky at all may be the best strategy.

Splitting Your Composition in Half
Splitting Your Composition in Half

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The Sky: How much or How Little

I often see newbies split exterior architectural renderings into equal halves, with the horizontal line or maybe a distant shoreline extending right across the middle of the render. The viewer, then, is left to decide which half of the architectural renderings is most beneficial, But that's for you - the architectural illustrator - to decide when composing your rendering! Keep this in mind as you compose, instead of cutting the composition in half. This will force you to decide: Which is more important, the land or the sky? Or the water?

An architectural rendering's visual weight (the most appealing things in the rendering) should determine where you place the horizon. With the Rule of Thirds, you can place the horizon line on the lower third diving line or the upper third. And you can adapt the Thirds principle as necessary. If things are exceptionally dull overhead or down below, even a third of the frame devoted to that space could be too much. So you can be more extreme and place the line extremely low or high - say, a thin trip of the sky or landscape.

Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds

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The Fine Art of Tilting the Camera

This shooting style - tilting the camera to turn a vertical or horizontal line into a powerful diagonal - has been around for awhile. One term used for it is the "Dutch angle", which is a longtime cinematography; to create visual tension. Still, when I tell clients that it's perfectly acceptable, if not totally desirable, to occasionally slant the camera, they express surprise. After all, your're supposed to keep the camera level at all times, correct? Well, there are exceptions! Used at the right artistic time, a nice tip of the camera can pump up the visual tension by creating exceptional angles and diagonals. Rendering with your camera askew (so as to change naturally appearing vertical or horizontal lines into diagonals) can be done for a variety of small scenes or ambitious views. Like other creative techniques, you won't want to use this method all the time, but when the subject calls for it, angling the camera is one worthy artist weapon.

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The WOW Factor: Point Of View

Too many architectural illustrators are locked into a standard view: pointing the virtual camera straight ahead from a standing height. An eye-level perspective is so easy to fall back on. Sure, the eye-level perspective ultimately may be the best viewpoint, but you honestly won't know unless you explore the scene for other, potentially better, viewpoints. Playing with point of view is a surefire way to put pizzazz in your architectural rendering. Go ahead. You have my permission to unleash your creative side. Whenever and wherever you can, seek out this attention grabbing camera views that most architectural illustrators fail to see. Architectural illustrations are about discovering the best camera angle to capture your building or space. It's about choosing a lower or higher viewpoint - a perspective that most architectural illustrators just don't see.

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How to Become a Professional Artist – Advice from the Pros

Ever Wondered How to Become a Professional Artist?

Pencil Kings recently spoke with Art Directors, Animation Supervisors, Layout Designers, etc. from the most notable studios in the world. Pixar, Walt Disney, Sony Imageworks and Blue Sky Studios were all represented and some of their top artists provide insight and share their story on what it took to reach the top of their profession.

This is a “must watch” video for anyone who wishes to someday reach the top of their craft. These artists generously share tips from their own personal experience about how to become a professional artist that you will not find anywhere else.

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