How to learn composition : Rythem

September 12, 2024

Watch the video version here.

Our instincts tend to favor balance and order.

When we first start drawing, or when children draw, there’s a tendency to create orderly shapes.

Flower petals are often evenly arranged.

Clouds are spaced evenly in the sky.

Of course, we quickly notice that some artists create incredibly dynamic images, and we start wanting to arrange objects in more interesting ways.

This is part of developing a new instinct as an artist.

We intentionally break away from balanced arrangements.

For example, adding shadows can make a composition much more appealing. This is due to the rhythm created by contrasts between light and shadow, and the division of shapes.

In this Letter, we will discuss why does rhythm occur?

We'll look at common methods for creating rhythm.

And how to express the desired visual effect.

Why does rhythm occur?

Because of differences.

When one person stands apart from a group, we notice her more easily.

If we want to convey that this person is lonely, placing him within the crowd won't achieve that effect.

The rhythm is created because of the difference.

How we express this difference depends on what we want to convey in the image.

Differences create contrast, and the stronger the contrast, the more it draws the viewer's attention.

This square stands out clearly against a white background.

But if you place these squares next to it, the original square becomes less noticeable.

When designing a composition, we're essentially playing a game of arranging visual forces.

In this painting, the contrast is quite weak.

The color tones are too uniform. The eyes are blue, and even though the contrast isn't strong, they still become a focal point.

Then there's the skirt, which, due to the brushstrokes, creates a textural contrast and becomes an interesting detail.

The fabric in the background is too even. If I use shadows to break it up, it would be more engaging.

We see similar concepts in many design books or courses, but the diagrams they use for explanation often look like this.

But in reality, it's like this:

Sometimes even in different colors.

This kind of "noise" makes the composition more lively.

Let’s clarify the common types of contrast.

• shape segmentation

• Spatial Contrast

• Quantity Contrast

• Hue

• Value Contrast

Shape segmentation

Here’s a practice piece I worked on earlier—you’ll notice that this part doesn’t look quite right.

That’s because there’s no contrast here, just one large dark area.

Once I break up this dark area, it looks much better.

The segmented shapes also have a contrast of large, medium, and small.

This example might not be very clear.

Let’s look at character design instead.

In games, the coolest or rarest characters often have more shape segmentation compared to regular characters.

We rarely see sleeves without any added elements (compare normal characters to SSR characters).

For example, in this design, if there were no segmentation, it would look like this.

If the segmentation were right in the middle, it would also be dull.

Placing the segmentation in rhythm makes it more interesting.

Spatial Contrast

When arranging stones like this, even if we establish a primary and secondary focus, it still feels like something is missing.

If I increase the distance between them,

And make the objects in the foreground larger while making the background objects smaller,

This creates a sense of depth. But it can also feel very rigid because the size change is too obvious.

At this point, we can add some noise by introducing small objects with varying sizes.

This not only creates size contrast but also enhances the sense of space.

Here, we don't need to strictly follow the "closer is larger, farther is smaller" rule. These objects serve as visual noise.

Then, by dividing the composition with simple lines, it starts to look good.

Quantity Contrast

When doing sketches or painting from reality, we might encounter this situation.

Repeating elements can look too monotonous.

We all know that painting isn’t about copying reality. In such cases, do we need to replicate exactly, or can we make it better?

The solution is simple: you can change the positioning or even remove a tree altogether.

These outstanding photography works have a very interesting rhythm.

However, even doesn’t always mean bad.

We instantly focus on his face

Because the people below and the head are very evenly arranged, with minimal differences.

There’s also a contrast between dense and sparse areas.

When designing a composition, we should first determine what we want to express.

These techniques are tools to help convey your message.

This is even more evident in contrast with value and hue.

Hue

Comparing these two paintings of mine, it’s clear that the right one has much more vibrant colors.

I placed the highest-contrast orange on the lollipop to make the face the visual focal point.

Honestly, adding a bit of orange to the eyes would be better.

I also added orange to the surrounding areas, but it’s less intense than the lollipop, creating a sense of harmony and making the composition more lively.

Value Contrast

For example, in traditional drawing exercises, we draw an object and then add a background.

There's a common technique used to highlight the object.

Darken the background near the light side of the object.

And lighten the background near the dark side of the object.

Take these two photographs, for example, from the same photographer, but with different treatments of the same scene.

The central block is very dark, and so is the figure.

To make the figure stand out, these bright areas are essential.

Without these bright areas, it would look like this.

Let’s look at another image.

The man’s bright clothes contrast with the dark background, while the woman contrasts with the bright wall.

So, How to use them?

These are basic visual principles.

My preference is for an animated style, and this type of painting is very similar to graphic design.

The difference is that the animated style tends to have a bit more visual noise than graphic design.

This painting of mine is currently the most effective using a graphic design approach.

There isn’t a real background, just a collection of various elements placed together.

This type of painting doesn’t require much consideration; we just need to arrange the elements in an appealing way.

Most of the time, the arrangement of shapes follows basic logic.

As long as the visual focus is on the face, it will look pretty good.

One advantage of this method is that we don’t need to have exceptional fundamental skills to create something decent.

Chainsaw Man is a great example. During its serialization, likely due to the tight schedule, the drawings were particularly rough, but still very lively.

Let's summarize some commonly used techniques:

Quantity Contrast and Value Contrast

The quantity contrast between the main character and the group of people.

The value contrast between the background and the characters.

These are very effective and easy-to-implement approaches.

Lastly, I'd like to share my process for creating artwork with a focus on graphic design.

Step one

Define the Theme

High school daydream.

The theme is the most important part. Once we’ve defined the theme, we know what elements to include in the illustration.

Step two

Find Element References

Step three.

Decide the structure

Define the main structure and trend lines.

Step Four

Draw Poses that Fit the Impression

Then, during the process of adding elements, find ways to create contrast and introduce points of interest.

For example, here’s the hue contrast:

I first painted the characters and background using cool tones, then added orange for contrast.

The arrangement of elements includes quantity contrast and spatial contrast.

I'm not a naturally gifted artist.

I rely on both intuition and theory to analyze and create.

Through this process, I’m building a new way of thinking.

Hope this is helpful.