Transcript Compositio_2_-_Visual_Elements

Composition 2
The Visual Elements
The visual elements (also sometimes called
design elements) are the ‘things’ which make up
an image - line, tone, shape, colour and so on.
1
List of Visual Elements
the ‘things’ that make up an image
Line – actual or implied lines within the composition
Shape – areas defined by their edges within the piece.
Form – the three dimensional quality of an object or shape – its
length, width and depth.
Tone – describes the darkness or lightness of a particular area in
an image. Shading from light to dark tone is often used to
emphasize the form (an object’s three dimensional quality).
Colour - hues with their various values, intensity, and saturation
Space - the space taken up by objects or the space in-between
objects (sometimes called negative space).
Texture - surface qualities of the artwork.
2
This abstract painting by the Russian artist
Kandinsky is composed of lines, geometric
shapes, and solid colours.
Kandinsky, In the Black Square, 1923
Kasimir Malevich, The Black Square, 1915
The Black Square is a painting which, as the name suggest is just a black painted
square. The image is therefore composed of the visual elements colour, tone,
space and shape. However, when we study the painting more closely we discover
that the surface of the painting has texture, we see that the brush marks have left
lines, and even the black colour seems to reflect other colours from the room.
3
Line
Line is a really useful visual
element when constructing
images.
Lines are formed by the
edges of things when there
is an apparent contrast
between light and dark
areas or between different
colours or textures.
Lines can also be
suggested or implied by
patterns or repetition.
Henri Cartier Bresson
In this image where are the
implied lines and where do
these lines draw the
viewer’s eye?
4
Line
Line is a really useful visual
element when constructing
images.
Lines are formed by the
edges of things when there
is an apparent contrast
between light and dark
areas or between different
colours or textures.
Lines can also be
suggested or implied by
patterns or repetition.
Henri Cartier Bresson
In this image where are the
implied lines and where do
these lines draw the
viewer’s eye?
5
Horizontal And Vertical Lines
Chris Monaghan
Horizontal lines can suggest
a feeling of stability,
calmness or tranquillity.
Vertical lines can suggest
power and strength.
6
Horizontal And Vertical Lines
Chris Monaghan
Horizontal lines can suggest
a feeling of stability,
calmness or tranquillity.
Vertical lines can suggest
power and strength.
7
Paul Strand
Study this urban landscape by Paul Strand. Discuss what Strand might
have been saying about the society … would you like to live there?
How do the strong vertical lines and dark shadow areas affect your
interpretation of the image?
8
Diagonal Lines
Chris Monaghan
www.hjk.co.uk
Diagonal lines tend to be visually dynamic – suggesting
movement, a ‘visual tension’ and/or excitement.
9
The model was
lying on a bed.
How does the
photographer
make the image
more visually
‘dynamic’?
Chris Monaghan
10
David Bailey
11
Curved Lines
Curved lines often suggest organic (living, breathing) things.
12
Mario Testino
Spot the curves in this portrait of an actress.
13
Colour
White light is actually made up from just the right
mixture of every other colour of light.
14
Primary Colours:
Red, Green, Blue.
(RGB)
Complimentary
colours:
Cyan, Yellow,
Magenta.
15
Colours on opposite sides of the
colour wheel are called
complimentary colours and can
create a feeling of tension or drama.
Colours which are next to one another
on the colour wheel are called
analogous colours* and can create a
sense of peace, restfulness or
harmony
* Analogous means to correspond or be similar in some way.
16
Van Gogh
Constable
Which of these images uses
complimentary, and which
uses analogous colours?
How does this colour choice
help or affect the meaning of
each image?
Philip Lorca Do Corcia
17
Form
(The three-dimensionality of the artwork)
Masolino, St. Peter Healing a Cripple and the Raising of Tabitha, 1425
The added black lines show the use of a ‘vanishing point’ to create a
realistic impression of three dimensional space – commonly referred to as
18
‘realistic perspective’.
Film still from The Manchurian Candidate
How does the photographer suggest three-dimensional space (i.e. depth)?
19
1. Man’s head is larger than woman’s so our brains interpret this as suggesting that he is
nearer to the camera than the woman.
2. Background is out of focus suggesting depth
3. The lighting creates shading suggesting three dimensional form
20
What visual
element(s) help
give this
photograph ‘depth’
and a threedimensional
character?
Fay
Godwin
21
What visual
element(s) help
give this
photograph ‘depth’
and a threedimensional
character?
Answer: the
converging lines
formed by the
tracks and ceiling
supports.
Fay
Godwin
22
Some artists completely
rejected the idea that a
work of art had always
to imitate the threedimensional character
of the world (form), as
in this collage by Henri
Matisse entitled The
Snail.
Matisse
23
Tone
Shadow
Mid-tone
Highlight
Tone describes the darkness or
lightness of a particular area in
an image. Very light areas are
sometimes called highlights
and very dark areas are called
shadow areas.
Shading (where the tone
changes gradually from
highlight to shadow) is often
used to emphasize the form and
three dimensionality of an
object.
Angus McBean
24
Texture
An image can create a visual
experience which suggests a
particular tactile sensation.
For example, this
photograph of dry rotting
wood creates an impression
or feeling of dry dustiness,
while the porcupine conjures
up the feeling of sharp
points … Ouch!
Whilst photographs normally only create
an impression of texture, other artworks
such as painting and sculpture can
include actual textures.
How could you make a photograph
include actual texture?
25
Space
Space can be filled or left empty (negative space).
Study these two images of urban life …
26
Space
Space can be filled or left empty (negative space).
The images are by Joel Meyerowitz and Andre Kertesz and use space
to suggest very different meanings about life in the city.
One image suggests vibrancy, action and the ‘buzz’ of city-life while
the other uses space to suggest a more melancholic, alienated and
lonely feel.
27
Balancing The Visual Elements
The positioning of visual elements
(lines, shapes, colours and so on) in
an image can sometimes create a
feeling of visual balance.
Visual balane can create a feeling of
the image just being ‘right’
Images with a centrally located subject
are sometimes called ‘formal’
compositions. Having the subject in
the middle might create a sense of
visual ‘balance’ but can also appear
rather boring to the modern eye.
Note: Not all images are ‘balanced’.
Gainsborough
28
Norman Parkinson
How does the photographer create a feeling of ‘balance’ this image?
29
At first glance this
image might not
appear balanced,
but look more
closely ….
How does Shomei
achieve balance in
this unsymmetrical
image?
Tomatsu Shomei
30
Is this image
balanced?
Chris Monaghan
31
Juxtaposition
Juxtoposition is the placing of things close to one another in order
to emphasise their difference.
What is the major difference being emphasised here?
32
Framing & Cropping
When you take (or make) a photograph you determine the
composition by choosing the camera viewpoint and what
to include (and what not to include) within the frame.
Togetherness
Chris Monaghan
33
Framing & Cropping
Loneliness
This is the same photograph as the previous image but
with a different crop, produced in post-production.
34
John Hilliard,
cause of
death, 1974.
Hilliard cleverly
took 4
photographs of
the same scene,
but changed the
camera
viewpoint and
cropping so that
each image has
a different
meaning.
35
Aspect Ratio
(the ‘shape’ of an image)
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of image length to width.
Example: 6:4 for 6 inch by 4 inch prints (which also equals 3:2)
Chris Monaghan
36
Richard Billingham
Richard Billingham produced a series of photographs about
his parents. He used the amateur 6:4 aspect ratio shape for
his images (just like amateur 6 inch x 4 inch prints).
Why might he have chosen this aspect ratio?
37
The Gaze
Titian, Venus D’Urbino,
1538
When we look hard at someone else
our gaze can sometimes be
interpreted as if we are saying “I am
the powerful one here”. Manet’s
Olympia caused a scandal because
he painted a woman in a
contemporary setting who seemed by
her gaze to be the one with all the
power - in 1863 women were meant to
do as they were told by men!
Manet, Olympia, 1863
38
Richard Avedon
August Sander
Images in which the subject looks directly at the viewer can have a
powerful or disconcerting effect.
39
Composition Summary
Visual elements:
Line, Shape, Form, Tone, Colour, Space, Texture
Some ‘Rules’ of composition
Juxtaposition
Symmetry
Repetition
Rule of thirds
Rule of odd and even
Rule of space
Simplification
Balance
40