Understanding Principles of Composition in Art

What is composition in art and why is it important? Generally when we talk about composition we refer to the way elements of an artwork are arranged on the canvas and combine with each other. In is not only the sum of its components, such as lines and shapes, colours, forms, textures etc., but also the overall visual effect that the artwork produces.

Well-balanced composition gives an artwork art the feeling of completeness and effectively conveys the idea that the artist was trying to bring across to the viewer. To help you achieve good balance in your artwork there are several guiding principles (you will sometimes find sources that merge some of these together).

1. Balance

Balance refers to how stable an arrangement of elements in the artwork appears to the human eye. A state of balance is often achieved through symmetry, but also elements with little to no correspondence in size, appearance or relative position can create a stable look, as long as they have similar visual weight. For example, you can balance an artwork by combining large and small shapes or using different proportions of lighter and darker colours.

2. Proportion

Proportion is a term that describes the share of something in comparison to a whole. Using elements that are different in visual weight can help to create a sense of scale. For example, to add depth to your artwork you can indicate the perspective by using larger elements in the foreground, and smaller elements in the background. Parts of your drawings that are out of scale relative to those around them will look unnatural and turn attention - an effect that one can use on purpose to create a focal point in an art piece.

3. Emphasis

An emphasis, or a focal point is the part of your artwork that turns viewer's eye to it. Without an emphasis a piece of art creates tension, providing no place for our eyes to rest. There are may ways to create an emphasis, for example, through contrast and arrangement. Our eye is more likely to focus on darker elements first, follow arrows or other indicators of motion, wander towards the centre of circles and stop on the intersection of lines. An artist can use this knowledge to highlight the key character or object of a drawing.

4. Rhythm

Rhythm is closely associated with repetition and pattern. As same or similar elements are reused and arranged at repeating intervals, as sense of rhythm is being created in the artwork. The spacing between items doesn't necessarily need to be even, as rhythms can be both steady and irregular.

5. Movement

Rhythm brings us closer to the concept of motion in art. There are many ways an artist can create an illusion of motion, guiding our eye through the artwork. For example, one can position elements in diagonals to depict motion forward, or a spiral, where elements seem to be falling towards the centre of the canvas. Whenever characters are depicted, our eye tends to follow the direction of their gaze or obviously depicted motion, such as pointing.

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6. Contrast

When we talk about contrast we usually talk about opposites. Dark elements stand out more against lighter background, and an irregular shape in a pattern will immediately catch our eye. Contrast can be applied to pretty much any component of an artwork and is often used to emphasise a certain area or element.

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7. Harmony

While contrast is all about opposites, harmony appears when complementary shapes are being combined. In order to create harmony, similar, related objects are used. For example, when an object within a boundary mirrors the shape of the boundary, the result is harmonious (such as a circle inside of a circle).

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8. Variety and unity

Variety, as the name suggests, refers to the use of different elements in the artwork. Different colours, stroke weights, shape sizes and textures is what makes a piece interesting. At the same time, it is important that all elements visually fit together - a principle that is referred to as unity. It is a similar concept to harmony, however, unity is created when each element fits into the bigger picture, viewing the artwork as a whole. While harmony contributes to unity, also high contrast objects can look well together.

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