I once did a still life painting and well...lets just say it was for my technical skills rather than my portraying skills. Well, I did a search on Google, the famous search engine, and found an article on the rule of 3rds on Wikipidia. If you center an image it seems to be stuck in the frame and cant really "breathe" as I like to say. Or it could not lead the viewers eye around the picture and there will be no mystery! Sometimes you can break the rule, and have a solid picture, but that is not what I would like to do. I want the viewer to have a good look and try to figure out what I am thinking or trying to convey.
So! I have done two sketches to start the ball rolling!
In the center
I know it is not much to look at, a pencil sharpener, BUT it is right in the middle!...I do not like it! The glimpse of the glasses does help with the interest level but I am over it...moving on...
Not in the Center
Well? What do you think? Better? I think so! I do wonder, however, what is going on in the rest of the frame but that is something I need to work on. I think I have learned my lesson on Rule of 3rds!
Wikipida does have some more information about lines and the usage in of them in an image. Next week is the line! Get excited!!
So I need help! I need help trying to figure out what I would like to paint! If you have any suggestions I would love any help I can get!
Wikipida does have some more information about lines and the usage in of them in an image. Next week is the line! Get excited!!
So I need help! I need help trying to figure out what I would like to paint! If you have any suggestions I would love any help I can get!
I think this is a very good rule to keep in mind for all kinds of visual composition. Another example is in film; if someone is recording an interview, the person being filmed is almost always placed off center in the shot. Can you imagine how boring it would be to see a bunch of talking heads that were right in the middle of the frame every time? :P
ReplyDeleteI will readily admit that it's useful and has wide applications, but I gotta say I'm just not a fan of the rule of thirds. It's overused, and can actually reverse good composition habits at times (by far this is most noticeable in beginner work). I think what would be more useful, at least from an educator's standpoint, would be to point out shape and movement above all, and let the student take their own interpretation of that. Chances are that if they ever really became skilled with composition they would discover this rule on their own (as it's not actually wrong), but without the over-emphasis that it seems to receive.
ReplyDeleteAs I say, though, you're not wrong. It's a good first step, so long as it doesn't get mistaken for the ONLY step one needs to take for good composition. I think you have avoided that particular mistake, given the close of this post. I look forward to reading more! ^_^