In composition theory, a more pleasing composition is a composition
that contains contrast. Now by contrast I don't mean only the contrast
control in photoshop, although that can be used to give us the
kind of contrast we're discussing.
I'm talking about the original definition of the word: "Contrast: The
state of being strikingly different from something else,
typically something in juxtaposition or close association."
So contrast is two opposing things. Like black and white is a contrast.
Big and small is a contrast. Soft and hard is a contrast. Loud and
quiet is a contrast. Thick and thin is a contrast. Textured and smooth
is a contrast.
You have two choices with this lesson, watch me discuss the issue in
the video below, or read the full text.
Contrast in a composition is used generally for 2 reasons...
to create Visual Interest:
to help move the eye around the painting by keeping it from becoming
bored
to create A Point Of Emphasis or a Focal Point: To create one or two
areas on the image that the eye is drawn to first, this is usually the
object that is the most important thing in the image, like the hero of
the story.
So lets start off with creating Visual Interest, and see the different
ways we can use
contrast to make the image more aesthetically pleasing.
Part 1: Contrast To Create
Visual Interest Contrast In
Value
So lets start with the following image.
It might be fine as a wallpaper pattern, but it certainly doesn't get
your attention. After all, wallpaper isn't about getting attention,
it's
about blending into the background. So lets start with our first
contrast, Contrast of Value. We have dark grey and black, lets change
the dark grey to white.
Already much better. This is the sort of contrast that we think of when
we think of the contrast control in photoshop, it makes the blacks
blacker and the whites whiter. Value contrast is perhaps the strongest
contrast you can use, as a large chunk of our vision system is reserved
specifically for interpreting value. That's why black and white movies
still work today, our eyes are hardwired to respond to value is a very
strong way.
But while this is a contrasty image,
it's missing another sort of value contrast. There's only two values in
this
image. So while the white is contrasting with the black, the black
elements do not contrast with the other black elements. So lets vary
the value of the elements.
So even though this image is less "contrasty" in a way, in another way
it has
more contrast because individual elements are now different from each
other. Which makes the eye happier.
Contrast In Size
The next contrast is size. Each element is the same size, which is too
regular and machine like.
So lets randomly scale and elements.
This is a big improvement. Note that which sizes you pick can be as
important as making sure the objects have a different size. For
example, look at these 5 elements...
They have contrast in size, since they're all different sizes. However,
the contrast itself is pretty regular, each "I" is 75% the size of the
previous one. Check this image out...
So here not only is each element a different size, but there's no
obvious pattern to those sizes. This generally provides a more organic
and
visually pleasing result.
Contrast In Position
So while each element is a different size, they're all evenly spaced.
So lets add contrast to their location.
So each element is a different distance from its neighbor, but if you
look at the image overall, it still feels kind of evenly spaced. Lets
increase the randomness.
This draws the eye through the image more successfully, jumping from
island to island of detail.
This Contrast in Position also shows off another principal, which is
that of clumping and grouping, since the elements in the image sort of
clump together. For more information on Clumping, visit my lesson in Clumping or Grouping.
Contrast In Detail
Contrast in detail is sort of a combination of Contrast In Position and
Contrast In Size. Have some large areas with very little detail, and
some small areas with tons of tiny details. This creates areas of
detail and areas of visual rest. To learn more
about this principal, visit my lesson in Areas Of
Visual Detail, Areas Of Visual Rest.
Contrast In Hue/Saturation
You can also use Hue and Saturation to create
contrast. Hue is the actual color, like red, blue, green etc.
Saturation is how "pure" the color is, in paint terms, a color that's
mixed with white or black is less saturated.
This image...
doesn't have as much contrast as this image...
Even though from a value perspective, the blue color is identical to
the yellow color.
And this image...
doesn't have as much contrast as this image...
Contrast In Shape
In this example, all of the elements are the same base shape (although
there is contrast in position and size).
Changing the shapes to be more random can create a nice contrast.
Or make some shapes rounded while other shapes are hard edged.
Contrast In Edge Quality
This is basically blurry vs hard edges, you can give a little visual
variety by making some of your objects softer and some harder.
Part 2: Contrast To Create Emphasis Or A Focal
Point Contrast In
Value
So you can help create emphasis, or a focal point,
with contrast.
Like if you give the hero a bright red cape, and the other colors
around them are desaturated brown, you have just used "Contrast In
Hue/Saturation"
to create a focal point, and lead the viewers eye to the hero. Larger
objects are frequently the focal point.
And areas of high value contrast are frequently the focal point.
Lets start with Contrast In Value. The black dot has a lot of contrast
with the white background and the light grey dots, whereas the light
grey dots have less contrast between themselves and the white
background. So, your eye will tend to look first at your black dot,
making it the focal point.
This is the same thing we did with Contrast Of Value to create visual
interest, it's just this time we're using the same technique for a
slightly different goal, instead of using it to move the eye all
around,
we're using it to direct the eye to one specific spot.
As other similar example, you can use light in your painting, like for
example say a lantern in a dark room, to draw the eye to the lantern
(contrast in Value), and then place the focal point right near the
lantern. In this case, the focal point itself isn't the area of most
contrast, but the area of most contrast brings the eye very close to
the focal point, and then the eye jumps to the focal point because the
focal point has another interesting thing about it that draws the eye.
That's a way to use two contrasts together to draw the eye to the same
spot.
Contrast In Size
Making something big among smaller nearby elements can create a focal
point.
But the same can be done by making something small in a world of large
objects.
Sometimes people will say make something big in order to make it a
focal point, but it's not really necessary for your object to be big,
it just has to be strikingly different in size than the elements around
it to draw
attention to itself.
Contrast In Position
Putting something off on its own from the group can
also create emphasis...
This is sometimes called "Emphasis Through Isolation".
Contrast In Detail
Using the lesson on Areas Of
Visual Detail, Areas Of Visual Rest,
you can also place an area of visual rest right next to the focal point
(the focal point would have tons of small details), and that area of
rest would lead the eye to the focal point due to Contrast In Detail.
In a similar fashion, having tons of small detail at the focal point,
and less detail elsewhere, will direct the eye to the focal point.
People use this all the time in paintings, the character will have lots
of small intricate detail, but the background will be painted loose and
abstract, so the eye ignores the background and focuses on the
character.
Contrast In Hue/Saturation
Like value, different colors can create contrast. Some colors stand out
a lot more than others, and some colors next to other colors stand out,
so you can use this is emphasize certain
elements.
If you give an
element (or nearby set of elements) the color red where all the other
elements are green, then the eye will tend to move towards the red
element. Also note, the red objects, even though they are 6 separate
I's, get grouped together visually into a single large red object using
the Grouping / Clumping phenomenon I discussed earlier.
If you have a super saturated color in an image that's
otherwise very unsaturated, this also draws the eye.
In general, bright saturated colors tend to be more eye catching. Dark
desaturated colors tend to be less eye catching. Warm colors (red,
yellow, etc) tend to jump forward to the eye, and cool colors (blue,
purple, etc) tend to recede. That's why if you want to make a small
room seem larger, paint it a darker cooler color. The walls will tend
to recede making the room seem bigger. Painting it saturated, bright
red will make the walls seem to leap out at you, and so the room will
see smaller. And finally, a common way to get contrast in Hue is to
have the focal point one color, and then the background be the
complementary of that color. Like an orange human against a blue
background.
Contrast In Shape
If you have a lot of one type of shape, just changing
the type of shape on a single object can really emphasize it.
Or here we use one shape that's made of all equal sized lines. The
second shape uses a combination of thick and thin lines. The one with
contrasting thick and thin lines probably draws your eye first.
Contrast In Edge Quality
This is basically blurry vs hard edges, the eye is drawn to hard edges
first, so one technique is to make your background soft and have the
edges of your focal point hard to draw the eye.
Practical Examples
In this starship hull image, I have used contrasts in shape, value,
size, position, and detail to create visual interest and nice areas of
detail and
rest. But the image doesn't necessarily have a strong focal point.
Whereas this image uses the same techniques to not only create visual
interest, but also to create a focal point, which would be the circular
vent in the upper left of the image.
For our Focal Point, I use "Contrast Of Shape" (something circular in
the middle of lots of
straight pipes), "Contrast Of Value" (the circle is brighter than
surrounding things) and "Contrast Of Size and Position and Detail"
(there's lots
of tiny
detail near the focal point, but the focal point itself is rather
simple in shape and detail). I also use other techniques to make it the
focal point, such as lines pointing towards it from every direction,
but we'll get into that topic later with a tutorial specific to
creating focal points.
One extra note: The placement of the
circle actually fights a little with the eye in terms of being the
focal point. Frequently focal points should be near the center of your
image, or in other predefined places (like along one of the lines if
using the "Rule of Thirds"). So if I wanted to improve my focal point,
I might consider moving the placement of the focal point slightly.
Conclusion
So please remember the rules of contrast next time you make an
image. It may help you take a boring pattern and give it more life, or
help direct the eye to the point of the piece. Or, if you want to hide
an
object that's supposed to be less important, reduce its contrast with
its neighbors to have it melt into the background.
Oh,
and while there's lots of literature out there on these rules, I'd
especially like to thank Sharon Calahan for her
section on composition
in the Advanced
Renderman Companion, she gives an excellent talk on this subject.
