Pencil portraits pastel portrait artist
 Pencil portraits
 Family
 Children
 Babies
 Homes
 Figures
 Pencil portraits Dogs
 Cats
 Horses
 Sketch by Email
 Pastel portraits
 Family
 Children
 Babies
 Homes
 Figures
 Pastel portraits Dogs
 Cats
 Horses
 Charcoal portraits
 Celebrities
 Wildlife
 Other drawings
 Home
 

 Composing a picture and carrying in our tutorial in composing a picture

 
Composing a picture is quite difficult so you have to concentrate on shapes, in the picture below we have contrasting horizontals, verticals, rectangles and oval shapes. Sit back and relax and look at the composition and feel intuitively where your next shape, line or mark should go. Say to yourself, do my shapes look balanced and aesthetically related to each other and to the whole rectangular shape of the paper or canvas, try to feel your shapes intuitively. Feel where the shapes should go rather than consciously putting them in your picture.
 
 
<< Back
Light & shade >>
Colour theory >>
Line in portraiture >>
Texture in art >>
<< Home
Video excerpt  Compostition in art 5 mins
 Composing a picture
Click for larger view.
Is there a variety of shapes in my picture, does one shape need to be a bit further away from the other or does it need an entirely different shape altogether, a rectangle, an oval or triangle etc. You need to end up with a composition which has a balance and one which has aesthetically related shapes that are all related to each other and are pleasing to the eye. When you are drawing a landscape always think that you are drawing or painting in shapes, relating a vertical tree to a rectangular house in a pleasing way and always keeping in mind to relate the shapes you are putting down. In the constable example on the left you can see that the two rectangles on the right of the picture are a little too large for the two rectangles on the left, this is because the photograph has been cropped, but in the original painting these shapes are aesthetically related to each other and to the whole in a pleasing and satisfying way.

 You can see that the vertical tree trunk comes down into the reflection of the water and with the horizontal line or horizon line going across the picture both these shapes create rectangular shapes. The blustery curvy shapes in the sky area on the right echo the right edges of the large tree. There are lots of shapes in this landscape which make it an harmonious composition. So to sum up always think of the shapes you are putting down onto your paper or canvas, they must relate in a pleasing and aesthetic way. These are the basics of good composition in art and there are other things to consider of course but if you can learn these basics you will grow in your art and your composition will grow with you.

DVD
Composing
a picture
Composing a picture
 

You might like to purchase a 40 minute DVD (Approx) showing the artist painting a garden scene with Shape, Colour, Light & Shade, Line and Texture. Only - £12.95 - $22.00 Paypal will automatically convert to your currency. See more DVDs/CDs  >>>

<<Back
Light & shade>>>

<<Home

Email us even if its just for a chat
We reply to you today.
Email Roger

 

 

Pencil portraits

Pastel portraits

Portrait artistHome

Copyright Picturedrawİ 2008 All Rights Reserved Composing a picture

 To Order & Prices
Read about Roger
The Portrait artist

Your questions
What customers say
Portrait artist
About your photos
Portrait quality close up
How to send photo email
Artists studio
Your privacy
 How to order/Prices
Email roger
 He replies to you in 1 hour
 Tel.  01924 522545
 For Artists
Composition and more
How to draw portraits
Pencil demonstrations
Pastel demonstrations
Charcoal demonstrations
 Drawing/Painting DVDs
 Buy two and get one free
 Portrait competition
Drawing tips and tricks
Portrait history
Famous portraits
The Impressionists
Artist's self portraits
Famous eyes match
Art picture quiz
Free Art Screensaver
Art wallpaper paintings
Old drawings/paintings
Submit portrait website
Links
to websites
Sitemap of Picturedraw
Home