Composition in Art: 7 Powerful Tips to Improve Your Illustrations

Composition is a fundamental element of art creation that vexes and confuses many artists. What makes a composition attractive, and how do you achieve it? Often, we rely on the comfort of a character or two in the middle of an empty void. It doesn't have to be that way!

In this tutorial, we're going over 7 tips for strong compositions, including:

• Using references to generate ideas.
• Using shapes, including diagonals and triangles, to arrange forms.
• Using layering and visual hierarchy to establish depth and importance.
• Using focal points and rule of thirds to guide the viewer's eye and evenly distribute forms.

When you're finished, you'll be well-equipped to create well-composed illustrations and designs.

Plus, to make it easy to learn more about the products used in this tutorial we've made an Art Composition Tools collection where you can view every brush, texture and font used in the tutorial!

So, let's get into it!

Watch Our tutorial Video

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In this tutorial we'll be using the following products to make our character.

• Standard Pens
• DupliTone Halftone Brushes
• Risograph Brush & Texture Kit

You'll be able to follow along even if you don't have these brush packs. You can even use a paper and pencil or whatever is on hand.

01. Study the masters

Study the composition of artists you like to see what they did and what might work for you.

Even as you become more established in your compositional skills, referencing other artists will be an excellent method for generating ideas. In our video, we're referencing Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World. You can choose classic or contemporary work, fine art paintings or even a cereal box at the grocery store—whatever catches your eye and inspires you.

You can copy a work's composition without copying the work itself. Look at what draws your eye and how it travels from one part of the picture to the other. As you read through the rest of the tutorial, you'll learn aspects of composition that will make analysis easier. You'll be able to identify ways to make your work stronger intuitively and when referencing the works of others.

02. Create Focal Points

Focal points are intentionally designed areas of interest.

A focal point is the part of the picture where you want your viewer's eye to go first or to have the most attention. This is usually a central figure, such as a person, but not always.

Establishing your focal point early is crucial to make all other elements support or point toward it. This is established using leading lines and visual hierarchy, which we'll discuss later in the tutorial. Establishing your focal point early is crucial so you can make all other elements support or point toward it. This is established using leading lines and visual hierarchy, which we'll discuss later in the tutorial.

Focal points can be established using many different techniques, such as color, value, white space, and size. Because we're talking composition, here are some tips for establishing a focal point.

• Place the focal point in an area of prominence such as the middle or toward the top.
• Don't obscure your focal point or cut it off. Remember the objective is to get people to see it.
• Frame the focal point or have other elements within your design point toward it.

Using a focal point will help make the rest of the composition easier to write, as your main focus will be out of the way, and everything else will just need to support it.

03. Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds allows you to frame your composition easily.

As the name suggests, the Rule of Thirds is a method of splitting up your canvas into thirds to help in composition. This is a common practice among photographers, illustrators, and designers to compose images in a pleasing way.

Split your artwork into three columns and three rows. You'll be left with four cross-sections, which you can use to put areas of interest. For example, you can place your focal point in the top-right intersection and let the other design elements fill in around it.

The Rule of Thirds is also helpful in determining where to put your horizon line (the part of the image distinguishing the ground from the sky). Instead of putting your horizon line in the middle of the image, pick the bottom or top rows. This will create a more visually interesting composition.

04. Layer Your scenes

Add elements in the foreground, middle ground, and background to build depth.

Adding depth to your work creates visual interest and prevents your composition from looking flat and dull. It also gives you more wiggle room to add elements to your design. When placing things on an even plane, you'll eventually run out of space. Adding depth, however, gives you an almost endless room, letting you layer elements within your design.

You can create depth in your work through the following:

• Foreground: The most forward-facing elements. This could include your focal point, but not necessarily. You can use supplementary elements that frame the focal point or help complement the theme, mood, or setting. Foreground objects are typically placed lower in the picture plane.
• Middle ground: Most elements within your scene will go here. If you're placing your focal point here, ensure that the other elements sharing space with it are directing attention toward it and not taking up too much space.
• Background: The elements generally of the least importance are placed furthest back on the picture plane. In rare cases, you might set the focal point in the background (maybe a light shining in a faraway castle), but you should do this intentionally and thoughtfully.

Follow this structure to give life to your scene and let your characters feel like they exist in a real environment.

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05. Use Diagonals and Triangles

Diagonal lines and triangular shapes lead the viewer's eye where you want it to go.

As we mentioned, your focal point is your main character; everything else in the composition should direct your viewer's eye to it. How do you do this? Through subtle manipulation! Okay, maybe it's not that intense, but it does seem that way when done successfully.

You don't have to have anything literally pointing toward the focal point to achieve movement. Instead, use leading lines to move your viewer's eye subtly.

Leading lines are invisible lines that guide your viewer from one element to the next. You can create leading lines in many different ways, but an easy one to get familiar with is diagonal lines and shapes that use diagonal angles like triangles.

💡Top Tip: Want to learn more art fundamentals? Check out our color theory tutorial!

06. Build a Visual Hierarchy

Make your most important objects the most prominent.

Another thing we mentioned earlier is visual hierarchy. This is the method of placing the most important things in a prominent position. This can be done by making distinctions in size, color, shape, place on the picture plane and more.

Here are a few ways to establish visual hierarchy:

• Size: Make the most important element(s) the largest or make it stand out by making your focal point small, framed by large, out-of-frame objects.
• Placement: Many people read right to left top to bottom so you can follow that movement to help place objects of importance. Objects placed toward the top tend to be seen as most important, but you can use leading lines and other elements to support your focal point regardless of where it is.
• Color: Bright, warm colors tend to stand out the most and catch people's eye, while dark or low-saturated colors recede. You can also make your supporting objects greyscale and give your focal point color to establish hierarchy.
• Contrast: Creating high degrees of contrast between your focal point and the surrounding objects will help establish hierarchy. Let the other elements have less contrast so that they are not conflicting.

Again, it's helpful to establish these things early on so that you're not questioning what to place there. Your focal point should be the most important part of the picture, and everything else should complement it. For example, don't make a random trash can as big and bold as your main character.

07. Start with Shapes, Not Details

Using the construction and design guidelines we established earlier you can apply them to your character.

Before adding all the little things and details, ensure you have your big shapes squared away. You will save time in the long run building out the structure of your composition. You will see the image as a whole from the beginning rather than adding one element at a time. Building from shapes, therefore, ensures your composition is strong and sturdy.

Here are some other benefits of starting with shapes:

• Flow: see how your eye flows from one shape to another.
• Balance: easily know whether the composition is balanced or if one part of the image is domineering another.
• Mood: identify whether the structure of your composition complements your mood. Does your moody piece about the loneliness of space look too cluttered? Does your battle scene look like a walk in the park?

Sketching out your design using simple shapes lets you see the whole picture ahead of time, saving you a lot of effort with a big payoff.

Final Thoughts

Strong composition isn't just about making your work attractive; it impacts your work. You can also use it to support your established mood, guide the eye, and strengthen the overall design.

To recap, we guided you through creating attractive compositions, including:

• Using references to generate ideas.
• Using shapes, including diagonals and triangles, to arrange forms.
• Using layering and visual hierarchy to establish depth and importance.
• Using focal points and rule of thirds to guide the viewer's eye and evenly distribute forms.

Incorporating these tips will give you the tools you need to create strongly composed work.

Try out our 7 tips for strong composition to practice what you learned. Then, share what you make by tagging us on Instagram. We might even post what you create!

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