Tutorial 74 - The Fulcrum Principle (Patreon)

Balance is one of the principles of design which serves as a guide to painters, draftsmen and designers. 

Imagine balancing two weights either side of a pivot (the fulcrum is the pivot). We can balance any two objects of varying mass as long as we get the distances approximately correct.

The fulcrum principle is a rule of thumb we can apply when concerned with asymmetry, a type of balance*, which can be very difficult to achieve in an image.

However, there's much room for play and creativity, and indeed we should try to bend these rules when we sense it, as the result will often be a more interesting image. 

In this sketch of a lioness and her cub, the lioness is clearly the object with greatest mass, so I've placed her near (actually crossing) the center line of the image, which is where our imaginary fulcrum sits. 

The ball and cub, being much lighter, need to be placed further away from the center line to achieve balance. Without this consideration the image would feel uneasy to the viewer.

*Types of balance: Symmetry, asymmetry, radial and overall.