#mygtsprep – Mini Assignment 4: Kick Ass Composition

As the 2015 Global Talent Search approaches I want to share some really important insight with you through today’s mini. It’s all about how you compose your artwork.

Mini assignment 4: Kick ass composition

How your artwork is composed is so important! I’ve seen really great icons or products on a page passed on by art directors because the overall layout is not as strong as it could be. Don’t let that happen to you!

Perhaps you’ve taken my Home Décor course and you want to present your product ideas in a striking page. Maybe you’re making fabric patterns or a magazine illustration and you want the items that you’ve drawn to make a totally fabulous page. For the Global Talent Search, you’ll want to be prepared with some great ideas for how you like to layout your art on a page, so it stands out from hundreds of other entries.

There are a million ways to compose a page. Some of you like making a calm and quiet piece of art and some of you love a massively full page. What is your busy-ness quotient? Today, you’ll explore this, and look at six compositional layouts, before making a composition using random stuff you find.

Years and years of doing magazine illustrations taught me ways to design a page, and now I’ll share them with you. I’ve gathered some flora from my mother-in-law’s bucolic country garden in Western Massachusetts to show you some of my own favorite composition layouts.

Composition Style #1: Big/Little Layout

Vary scale. Show one really, really big thing and then a few little things.

Let’s look at a terrific compositional layout I call Big/Little. Here’s a really big grape leaf and then bits of other things that are much smaller. The little bits can be lined up vertically on an invisible grid, like so:

Notice how everything fills the rectangle nicely. Even the stem of the big grape leaf plays a role.

Very often, I notice that artists are afraid to draw something really big on the page. Everything is the same size, and sometimes that makes the artwork less dynamic than it could be. So think about showing a BIG thing. It adds instant drama.

Let’s do Big/Little yet another way.

Again, we’ve got a really big item—the orange day lily—and then smaller items that are placed on the right, lined up vertically.

Here’s another Big/Little:

This time I haven’t lined up the small items vertically on the right. They aren’t round and small like the ones above; they are verticals. The big white hydrangea bloom is a strong horizontal which balances out all the verticals. Isn’t composition amazing? It’s such a puzzle to solve.

Composition Style #2: Lush with Borders Layout

In this example, I’ve used the composition I showed you first, with that grape leaf, and then filled the page to the brim. I’ve then used long stems, vines, and branches to make an informal border.

Do you love a really full, busy page? Is too much never enough? Is lush your middle name?

Composition Style #3: Big and Thin Layout

Here’s a variation on the Big/Little composition format. I call it Big and Thin. I’ve tipped the big False Solomon Seal at an angle.

Here’s another example of Big and Thin going in another direction. It’s very much about lining the items up on an invisible grid. You graphic designers out there know what I’m talking about. This should be an easy game for you.

Composition Style #4: Symmetry

A classic favorite is Symmetry. It’s easy and fun to do. You can make such beauty on a page with a calming, structured, and balanced symmetrical design.

I like the little nuts at the bottom. A bit of wit.

Composition Style #5: Triangle Symmetry

Now, let’s do a semi-symmetrical variation. Here, I’ve made a pyramid for you. There’s a very tall item in the middle, and then the items get shorter as they go outward to the sides. It’s a kind of symmetry—not identical on each side, but still.

Here’s another Triangle Symmetry:

In case you’re interested, (from left to right) that’s False Solomon Seal, bee balm, grapes, I don’t know, and a tiny rose petal.

Composition Style #6: Mosaic

Those of you that have taken my class know that I refer to an all-over design as a mosaic. It’s got spaces in between and stuff is every-which-way. It’s not easy to do well. Do remember to vary the sizes and shapes of your items. Try for verticals, horizontals, and diagonals; not just round stuff.

For more inspiration take a look at the work of @5ftinf on Instagram, who works wonders with nature and objects on her iconic wooden table.

So now it’s your turn. You can dump out your bag, pocket, diaper bag, junk drawer, shell collection, or whatever. Then, make a well-balanced composition and share it with us. Do you like serene and minimal, or are you a maximalist? What pleases you in the laying out of objects? As always, there are no rules, so have fun.

Then, share what you find or draw on social media, including the hashtags #mygtsprep #composition. To make sure I see it, please include the following:

• If sharing on Twitter #mygtsprep #composition @artthatsells
• If sharing on Facebook #mygtsprep #composition @makeartthatsells
• If sharing on Instagram #mygtsprep #composition @lillarogers

Doing this exercise is great preparation for the Global Talent Search, because the piece you submit will be powerfully composed. You’ll be able to get right down to business because you’ll have an idea for how to lay out your page. You’ll see the importance of this when you get the first assignment. For now, dive in and get crackin’! It’s almost time for the 2015 Global Talent Searcj to begin!

Lilla

xo

Ps. I’ve never really found anywhere that teaches composition in a way that shows you so concretely. I hope you’ve found this helpful, and adds ammo to your tool kit. These are my made-up terms, by the way!

This mini is to help you get ready for the 2015 Global Talent Search which kicks off shortly, and offers the chance to win two years’ representation from Lilla Rogers Studio, a host of licensing deals and other fabulous prizes. If you have not yet registered, book your place here but hurry, registration closes at 3:59pm PDT / 6:59pm EDT / 11:59pm BST (UK) on August 12. Someone has to win and it might just be you!