SYMMETRY
VIDEO TUTORIAL Using construction paper for compositions
Tips.
Breaking out of the box - The picture plane is a window.
Work on scale HUGE to TINY
Overlapping = Depth
Have some open space. The eye likes to rest.
Focal points work well when they are small and placed in the rule of thirds intersection.
Keep things out of corners.
Presentation is paramount.
IMPORTANT
The compositions have to be abstract, non-representational. No people, flowers, hearts, cities, guns, trees, etc .
Use large pieces of construction paper to create a “stage” or background for the design.
Photograph these perfectly. No shadows, tints, edges showing.
Symmetry. Utilized the rule of thirds for layout as an academic exercise. The top horizontal line is used for placement of the focal point. Edits were made to reduce complexity. Considerations were made regarding referencing the picture plane as a window and not a box having shapes go outside of the field of view. Scale was also considered in terms of the punctuation mark on that focal point. Contrast with the darks, used sparingly against the mid tones and some of the lighter elements. A certain amount of texture was achieved through the torn edges and depth was achieved through the cast shadow. A certain amount of contrast between organic and more geometric hardedge shapes.
Asymmetry. This took a bit of time for some reason -usually asymmetry comes to me rather intuitively, but I fussed with a number of different versions. This composition can be rotated in different orientations for a different kind of experience. I had to stop finally and regroup and take a different approach and look at some visual inspirations, including iPhone wallpaper. The thing that pulled it together was the one circular element as the focal point and the rule of third was again used since this is an intro foundations course and we're really stressing the understanding of that- there's a lot of confusion for some reason regarding the rule of thirds. So the more you use it the better and then you can decide. Here we have a range of contrast lights, and darks and again some shadow, adding depth and some subtle textures in the paper. There's also a contrast between the hard edge and torn edges which adds visual interest. There's scale contrast, some of the larger pieces and that smaller focal point located on that rule of thirds intersection.
Below: Student Examples
