Principles of Design Series

Explore the hidden art of composition. To tell interesting stories and entertain your

viewers, you’ll need to be very intentional with the layout of your images. The “Principles

of Design” are guidelines to help improve your composition skills, and examine your own

work. No matter how fantastic your painting technique, the foundation of every great

painting is a strong composition.

Once you’ve watched these videos I recommend learning about giving and receiving

critique. It’s a subject often ignored by beginners, though it’s necessary for artists of all

skill levels. See the Ctrl+Paint video on the subject here.

Principles of Design: Balance

This entry in the Principles of Design series explores the idea of a visually balanced

image. Though hard to quantify, most people are able to tell when an image is

unbalanced. Generally they don’t know how to explain it, but the image seems ‘wrong’

somehow. As an artist, it’s important to create balanced images!

If you want to try out the techniques in the video with some orcs, make sure to download

them here! I will warn you — the file is a relatively large .PSD, so don’t be surprised if

the download takes a few seconds.

Also, it’s important to know that I did not invent these principles! They are extremely old

and well documented, so make sure to find other resources to explain with more

depth. Photography books seem to be especially good at some of these concepts, as

well as “Framed Ink” (my current favorite book on composition). And make sure to check

out the rest of the “Principles of Design” series!

Principles of Design: Emphasis

As an illustrator one of your jobs is directing the viewer’s attention. If you don’t give them

clear instructions on where to look, they’ll manage to do it wrong. The principle

of emphasis involves using contrast to make your focal point pop off the canvas. If done

correctly, your viewer won’t know their being lead around your image.

If you want to practice yourself, here are the orcs to download. And make sure to check

out the other entries in the “Principles of Design” series

Principles of Design: Scale and

Proportion

This video introduces the concepts of scale and proportion: two spatial relationships that

will help organize your composition. Scale deals with the measurable size of an

object. Proportion, on the other hand, deals with the size of an object relative to those

things around it. Proportion can also be used to compare parts of a whole, for example:

my thumb is wider than my middle finger. As you’ll see in the video, scale and proportion

can help anchor the image in reality and express a sense of depth to the viewer.

Principles of Design: Movement

This episode of the Principles of Design is all about dynamic compositions. The path your

viewers’ eyes follow though a painting is no accident, so make sure you’re using it to your

advantage! In truth, each Principle of Design is intended to help guide the viewer’s eye,

but “motion” is especially effective at this goal. Additionally, if you’ve been following the

series I’m sad to report that the orcs are sitting this one out.

Principles of Design: Rhythm and

Repetition

This video explains two principles which are often inter-related. Rhythm, and repetition,

when used intentionally can help guide your viewer through your image. Like the other

principles, this can be added into your set of compositional tools to help tell visual

stories!

Principles of Design: Unity

This final entry in the Principles of Design series is all about “Unity”, which is the state of

balance in your image. Think of your illustration as a sauce — you don’t want any

individual ingredient to stand out too strongly. Likewise, no single principle of design

should stand out above another, they should all combine into a plesant mixture. This is

called “unity”. If you missed any of the previous entries in this series, make sure to check

out the Principles of Design Series!