This exercise is about exploring visual space in illustration.
By experimenting with the composition of the elements - their position and scale, the relationship between them and the space they occupy within the frame - it is possible to manipulate the mood of the illustration.
In image 1 the building is large taking up most of the frame, the tree is just showing behind and only a small amount of sky visible - it gives an urban feel to the composition. The child is small, at the front, as if running from the building or along the street.
This is a very ordered composition, the horizontals and verticals should give a sense of calm and strength - but it doesn't seem like that to me. I feel uneasy about it. The child looks vulnerable - I imagine he's running towards a busy street.
In image 2 the building is large and the tree is small, as if in the distance. The child is small and is running towards the building. An angled line drawn from the building towards the bottom of the image indicates some kind of kerb. About half the image is open space. It looks like an urban park - the child doesn't appear to be in danger - it seems calm and ordered - except for the lack of a horizon line! The image floats uncomfortably in space rather than securely anchored in place.
In images 3 and 4 the building is small with the tree and the child much larger. The horizon is an angled line to suggest a hill - it has a rural feel.
In image 3 there is no sense of composition - the elements have just been plonked into position.
In image 4 the tree is larger so that it now fills more than half the frame and the child is in the foreground. It looks balanced, calm and ordered.
Images 5 and 6 are experiments to see if setting the building and the tree at an angle produces an effect of disorder and vulnerability. In both images the building and the tree are large and are angled inwards above the child.
In image 5 the child is in the foreground, but very small, giving a suggestion that the observer is some distance away. There is a line across the image to define the space.
To me the child does look vulnerable - as if they are being watched.
In image 6 the child is large and at the front of the composition, and therefore close to the observer - running away from some kind of threat? - or playing? The message isn't clear.
Images 7 and 8 are similar to each other - the building and tree virtually filling the frame, with the child large and at the front of the composition.
In image 7 the verticals and horizontals are straight - there appears to be no sense of danger - just a child playing.
In image 8 the angle of the building has been increased so that it becomes a diagonal across the frame creating a sense of disaster from which the child is trying to escape.
The sketch book image is just me having a play with the elements and introducing some colour, plus additional lines and elements.
Evaluation
I don't feel that I did this exercise justice - I was too tentative, too safe - I wasn't imaginative or experimental enough.
But even so, it was a good exercise - I explored new compositional ideas and learned from them.
It was interesting to discover that the mood evoked by some of the compositions wasn't necessarily what I was expecting - it just shows how important it is to experiment.
I now need to explore these methods further and to use them as part of the design process.
By experimenting with the composition of the elements - their position and scale, the relationship between them and the space they occupy within the frame - it is possible to manipulate the mood of the illustration.
 |
| images 1 and 2 |
This is a very ordered composition, the horizontals and verticals should give a sense of calm and strength - but it doesn't seem like that to me. I feel uneasy about it. The child looks vulnerable - I imagine he's running towards a busy street.
In image 2 the building is large and the tree is small, as if in the distance. The child is small and is running towards the building. An angled line drawn from the building towards the bottom of the image indicates some kind of kerb. About half the image is open space. It looks like an urban park - the child doesn't appear to be in danger - it seems calm and ordered - except for the lack of a horizon line! The image floats uncomfortably in space rather than securely anchored in place.
 |
| images 3 and 4 |
In image 3 there is no sense of composition - the elements have just been plonked into position.
 |
| images 5 and 6 |
In image 5 the child is in the foreground, but very small, giving a suggestion that the observer is some distance away. There is a line across the image to define the space.
To me the child does look vulnerable - as if they are being watched.
 | ||
| images 7 and 8 |
Images 7 and 8 are similar to each other - the building and tree virtually filling the frame, with the child large and at the front of the composition.
In image 7 the verticals and horizontals are straight - there appears to be no sense of danger - just a child playing.
In image 8 the angle of the building has been increased so that it becomes a diagonal across the frame creating a sense of disaster from which the child is trying to escape.
 |
| image 9 |
Evaluation
I don't feel that I did this exercise justice - I was too tentative, too safe - I wasn't imaginative or experimental enough.
But even so, it was a good exercise - I explored new compositional ideas and learned from them.
It was interesting to discover that the mood evoked by some of the compositions wasn't necessarily what I was expecting - it just shows how important it is to experiment.
I now need to explore these methods further and to use them as part of the design process.
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