Ask Vicki: How do I composition? (Patreon)

Hope your Fridays are going smoothly thus far! We've made it to the weekend woohoo! Today I'll be sharing a tutorial on how I figure out composition and balance in my artwork. I'll be using the Beyonce piece I recently completed as my example. Do you have trouble deciding where to place figures in your artwork? Or maybe you have a lot of characters in one piece and are a bit unsure of how to fit them all in? I address these points in this tutorial so without further ado, let's just get right on into it! >:D

So, this is the loose sketch I first drew just to get an idea of where I generally wanted to place the different elements. From this point I've already started working out the composition. I knew that I wanted Beyonce on the right side of the canvas and that the other women shouldn't detract from her presence. To do this I made sure that the right side wasn't overcrowded with too many people. I also made her frame larger so that it took up more space and felt more concrete and grounded as opposed to the floating women on the left side.  

I've put the rest of the women on the left side of the canvas. While there are more characters on the left compared to the right (4:1) it maintains a sense of balance. Why is this? Here's a simplified illustration I made to break it down:

In A all the circles are the same size. It's clear that the 4 circles on the left outweight the one circle on the right and create an imbalance in the piece. The left side feels heavier than the right and it seems like the canvas will just tilt over to the left.

However, in B the 4 circles on the left are the same size as they are in A, but the one circle on the right is much larger. The difference in size helps the piece feel more balanced. While the circles on the left outnumber the one circle the added weight and size helps compensate for the numerical imbalance. 

This is the strategy I used when deciding the composition for the Beyonce piece. By making her larger and more commanding I could get away with just having her on one side and having multiple figures on the other side of the canvas. This creates balance, which the human eye is naturally drawn to and finds aesthetically pleasing (eg: rule of thirds). 

As for the positioning of the other women I wanted their faces to be close together and all pointing toward the focus of the piece, Beyonce. Basically this entire piece revolves around Beyonce haha. By having them look at her, I reroute attention from their faces and figures to Beyonce's. It's a subtle way of redirecting the viewer's gaze and helps tell a story, always leading the eye back to the center of the piece. 

I hope this tutorial was helpful and if you have any requests for future tutorials comment down below! :D Hope you all have a lovely day and I'll see you soon with new art! >:3

Love,

Vicki