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knowing how to arrange elements on a page be it in graphic design photography or art is essential to creating harmonious and striking visuals hi my name is Laura kyung from envato types plus and I have been a graphic designer for over 15 years in this course you will learn all the techniques and principles to create great compositions and that you can apply to any kind of visual work you will also learn how to use Photoshop and InDesign to set up grids and use some of these composition
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techniques so before we begin make sure to check out envato elements with one subscription you will have unlimited access to assets such as graphics and logos millions of creative digital assets with simple commercial licensing and you can cancel anytime subscribe now with a link in the description And subscribe to envato textPlus for more videos like this let's get started [Music] so what is a composition composition is the way in which we arrange elements be
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on a page or a canvas in order to create a design or an image about 65 of humans or visual Learners and it takes about 30 milliseconds for us to identify images on a page a well-composed design tells a story and sets the tone a strong composition will make the viewer linger a little bit more on the page and it works the same way in photography and art while some of these terms aren't exactly the same between graphic design photography and art the basic idea is
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the same so the goal with composition is to place elements within a design frame or canvas in a way that you can tell a story look striking and appeal to the viewer so now let's take a look at some key principles of composition [Music] there are quite a few key principles that you can use in order to create striking images so let's take a look at some of these Concepts to create focus in graphic design photography and art first up is focal point and focal point
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is the main subject or main element we want the viewer to look at first in a design photograph or artwork one important question you can ask yourself when composing a visual work is where do I want my audience to look at first on these poppy photograph the focal point is the flower the blurry background and the position of the flower right in the center really enhance it as the focal point even more this concept is also brought in through the use of color and the red it is a
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very contrasting with the washed out grain in the background and then we have this other image of the birth of Venus by Botticelli so Venus here is the focal point because she's standing on a giant scallop right in the center of the artwork and this element emulates an altar for the main subject and also the other figures around her are looking at her so this is also a great example of imaginary leading lines so looking at the focal point next up is scale scale in design is
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referred to the size of an element compared to another element and scale is responsible for creating hierarchy so the viewer is going to look at the bigger object or element first in a design rather than the small one or this famous G cell poster by Armin Hoffman the battery nice place on the right side of the page and while the two other typography boxes are very different sizes the one with Giselle is considerably larger so in comparison the scale of this word is much larger than
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the details on the top text box and almost matches the body of the ballerina so we can assume that there is an equal importance here between the title of the poster and the main subject scale can also be used for orientation or disorientation and the latter is the case for Renee Mac reads personal values artwork we can see a room with Furniture of normal proportions while there are other personal items that have being rendered in a bigger scale so they create a very interesting visual
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confrontation next up is contrast contrast is a method that we can use to distinguish certain elements to create a focal point or emphasis contrast can be shown through different sizes different colors and even different volumes so let's take a look here at this painting by rothko and contrast is shown through the different color values of the painting specifically the blue compared to the red and the orange and moreover the blue stripe is significantly narrower than
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the two other big orange and red elements and we also have thin very thin yellow lines dividing some of these colors so contrast here is done through color and brush Strokes in this other photograph contrast is shown through color but also through disruptions we can see that the vertical lines on this Photograph um on the background are cut in by the subject who's wearing a very bright yellow raincoat next up we have leading lines and these lines can help the
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viewer direct their attention and divert their focus to what is most important on the page as an example we have this last reveal poster and the leading lines are very apparent here so the lines mimic Street power lines in this case this element is directors to the house on the very left hand side of the poster another type of leading lines is converging lines and this is a group of lines that point towards a very specific focal point but these lines come from
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all directions and that's the example we have here in this photo the perspective from down below makes the trees converge at the top and point to the leaves and the branches the canopy next we have hierarchy and hierarchy means arranging elements on a page from most important to least important so the most important element would be the focal point in photography or the focus in design the rest of the elements sort of come secondary or are supporting this the main subject or main element for
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design we can use this poster by Paula share for the public theater and here we can see that there are multiple sizes of type content but the element of most importance here is the name of the theater the public theater the rest of the information is in a different size and these are different theater shows and their respective details so these are set in smaller type size this is just extra information in art hierarchy can be achieved through the use of lines and value the intensity
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in which the light hits the subject in this case the QRS grow technique in art is a perfect example of how to apply hierarchy through value in the painting of the holy family of Francis by Raphael Jesus and Mary are brightly lit compared to the other subjects and the further back you go the darker the image gets so the line is on the main subjects automatically directing our eyes to the center of the painting next up we have depth and depth in photography and art
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means perspective so it is the perceived distance between the foreground middle background and background in this Pro Geno artwork the depth of field is extensive so we can see that the foreground has a lot of people and then the middle ground has the buildings and other people and then the background has the mountains so that is a very extreme depth of field this also helps tell a bigger story and helps set the mood of the artwork in this Photograph depth of field is
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achieved by photographing the subject slightly off center and also taking advantage of the location in the hallway so in photography the smaller the aperture the greater the depth of field that can be achieved meaning that the background will be even blurrier next up we have balance every human eye creates balance to calm the visual chaos and tension so there are a couple of ways to go about this there is symmetrical balance and asymmetrical balance let's take a look at symmetrical
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first so symmetry involves arranging elements in a frame equally divided into two identical halves so such is the case for this poster by Jacqueline Casey if we're to draw a line right through the center of the poster we can see that there is an equal amount of elements from the left to the right side so this would be a symmetrical balance asymmetrical balance is a little bit trickier to achieve because it involves visual weight and visual weight can be different depending on colors volume in
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all the different elements in Van Gogh's starry night the black element is counterbalanced by the big bright yellow element on the very top right and if we draw an imaginary horizon line through the middle of the artwork the right side contains this little dark Hill and that also helps balance the dark shape on the left if that Hill wasn't there you would almost feel like the artwork was falling or shifting to the left side next up we have space when forms or shapes are
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arranged on a page they occupy space this space is called negative space and the form is called called positive space the famous designer sawbas was well known for liking to play with positive and negative space in this Anatomy of a Murder poster there is a lot of negative space surrounding the body additionally the cutout of the movie title on the body at additional layer of play with positive and negative space renema Grid's surrealist work is also known for being playful and in this
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specific artwork we see a man standing next to his own silhouette and looking into the distance so the negative space in this artwork would be the sky and the beach in the background the last key principle that we have is repetition and pattern and this concept is visually pleasing because it provides of continuity a great example is this Maryland diptek by Andy Warhol the still screen painting is composed of 50 images and while they're they aren't all the same they're very similar in this
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specific artwork repetition hasn't even deeper meaning and is very specific so it is the difference in abundant meanings of Marilyn Monroe's Legacy when we interrupt uh repetition or a pattern we can create a focus on what is disrupting this continuation another example is this Photograph it has repetition and pattern on the wall and is acting as a background in this case for the four main subjects and the background is very geometric and the pattern is broken by four humans
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creating a very interesting juxtaposition between the grid lines and the organic shapes of the human body so now that you know all the smaller details and key principles on creating striking images we can bring it all together and we can start talking about composition techniques there are quite a few techniques that can help artists and designers create compositions with a punch so now that you have learned the smaller details it's time to bring it all together and
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create compositions so let's take a look at the first technique and that will be the rule of thirds the rule of thirds is one of the most basic techniques when it comes to composition and it helps create balanced images and indicates areas where the viewers I tend to go to First the rule breaks a frame or a canvas into thirds horizontally and vertically resulting in nine equal rectangles so the point of intersection on each of these lines is where the viewer's eyes
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will go to naturally first in this cover image by sippy Pinellas we can see that the subject is placed in line with the far right guides so in the two intersections are happening on the very right side to counterbalance the subject the cover lines are scattered around the intersection on the very top left so these are the main like I said the main focus or points where people's eyes are going to go to naturally on this next example by John Singer Sergeant we have the airplane under
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farmer placed opposite each other and if we draw the intersection lines here or the rule of third lines here we can see that they are exactly on two opposite intersections so this type of composition technique helps create a beautiful and almost symmetrical balance in the painting next we have the rule of odds and this is really easy it's a very easy technique that can be applied to really any visual work and capturing an odd number of subjects or elements gives off a
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balanced image let's say So to avoid cluttering an image it is preferred to have an odd number like three in up to five in this Picasso painting the rule of Arts is applied by portraying five females and the third female in the middle she's placed directly right at the center of the page so it creates a symmetrical balance in the artwork it is photograph we have also the rule of odds with three Magnolias and the second Magnolia is also placed at the very center of the photograph
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horizontally and vertically and this creates a very beautiful balance next up is the golden ratio also known as the Divine proportion and the number equals to 1.618 the spiral begins at any corner of the frame and grows at the rate of the golden ratio Hokusai is the great wave of Kanagawa is one of the paintings that is Loosely based on the golden ratio and while the ratio doesn't exactly dictator where each element should go specifically as opposed to the rule of
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thirds it is usually a very close approximation so here we can see that the wave and the spiral are almost the same and the boats are placed very close to some of these lines and we can see that even contemporary artwork like the ones by pien Mondrian include the golden ratio his famous modernist pieces in rectangle square compositions were carefully constructed to find balance even in all the with all the irregular divisions next up we have the Golden Triangle and the Golden Triangle is very
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similar to the rule of thirds and that is focused on intersecting lines so if we divide the frame from a corner to corner and then from the other two corners two more lines are dropped to meet the diagonal lines at the right angles you have a series of triangles that can introduce visual interest so in this nighter's artwork the golden triangles used by placing the subjects or the main subjects the dogs on the bottom triangle and it fills up all of it as well as placing some of these
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stocks on the intersecting lines in this Photograph the Golden Triangle is used by placing the main subject close to the top intersection of the lines on the right side and also the line that runs across from the top right to the bottom left so any elements placed along this line can also attract the viewer next we have Framing and framing is a composition technique used to draw more attention to the main subject by the use of other elements so in this bizarre
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cover by Ruth Ansel we can see that it is constructed almost as a collage so the framing is created with the fuchsia around element which creates emphasis on the model's face and in addition it highlights the cover lines on the very left of the cover in this Photograph the frame is created with the arch to highlight the beautiful pink flowers and the boats and mountains in the distance so the viewer's eyes can instantly focus on the distance because of this Arch acting as a frame and the viewer
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sometimes can also disregard the rest of what's happening on the image so anything that is outside of the arch next we have dominance and this is based on the focal point so the designer artist or photographer can make a particular object stand out to the viewer's eye through any element of design that will be size texture and even color and that's the example that we have here the elements highlighted here are the gooseberries and they have a very different yellow almost orange
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color against a very contrasting background making these uh the dominant element next we have foreground middle ground and background any image can be divided on the picture plane and that means that there is a transparent Lane in which the objects of an image sit in so the plane could be divided into three parts foreground middle ground and background and in this perogino artwork we can see that the foreground holds the main subjects so that will be the people
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at the very front the middle ground holds the rest of the people and the background is composed by the architecture and the mountains in the background in this Photograph one or two of the three parts house the focal point while the others tend to be out of focus to enhance the focal point in this case the foreground and middle ground are in Focus while the mountains in the distance aren't as uh clear let's say next up we have leave room and Lead room refers to the amount of space that is in
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front of the subject or in the direction the subject is moving in so without this technique there will be no sense of direction and the artwork can transmit a sense of confusion in this Johannes Vermeer artwork the woman is sitting on the very far right side of the canvas and there is a great amount of space right in front of her that would be the lead room so this helps the artist tell a story and set the feeling of the artwork on this next photograph example there is
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a big amount of leader room in front of the subject in this case we can see the subject mid walk and so the subject is not running out of space and won't be walking out of the frame next up we have left to right and this technique is heavily influenced by psychology and Western cultures there is an association that looking or walking to the left means looking or walking to the past while going to the right side or walking to the right side means moving forward
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in this Nicolas Busan painting we can see that he chose to create a separation between the sacred on the left and the profane on the right that is the the analysis of the painting and while everyone in the painting is walking to the right a couple of the subjects look to the left are looking to the past to the Nostalgia so that can also mean you know leaving things behind it is photographed we can see a group of people again walking from left to right the composition also includes mountains
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in the horizon line and a good amount of lead room um to towards the direction that they are walking into that gives off the impression that there is still a long track ahead [Music] now that you have learned the key principles and techniques to create conversations it is time to look and consider a few of the tips that you can take in consideration to take your compositions to the next level so let's start with layering layering is heavily based on a foreground middle ground and background
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and by using this technique you can turn a flat image into a 3D illusion which is something difficult to do when you're working with 2D images here we have the Sunrise it's giving a beautiful purple shadow on the mountains and the laying of the mountains and the slightly darker and lighter Shades from front to back help to give off a more realistic 3D illusion the opposite would be if every single layer here was the same color or if it was all dark we wouldn't really be
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able to tell or give off that 3D illusion in graphic design layering refers to the layering of the elements and we have here an example of famous designer David Carson he experimented with analog tools to create compositions so in this case we can see the mix of almost collage like cutouts ink brush strokes and this type of layering helps in a composition to create emphasis hierarchy and most of all texture next up we have horizon line the horizon line is one that runs across
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the photograph so you can see this often in landscape photography and it is usually where the sky and the water meet or the sky and the land meet it is used to enhance the depth of field and emphasize subjects so in this example by Frederick Edwin church we have this painting Cotopaxi and this includes the horizon line running right in the center or through the center of the artwork this line helps divide any element from the top or bottom and because this line
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is writing right through the center it gives us the impression that the top of the image is just as important as the bottom of the image so the cascading water is just as important as the volcano and the smoke at the top in this Photograph the horizon line is very low so this is used to emphasize elements like a dramatic sky or sunset on the other hand a higher horizon line means that the main focus is the foreground next we have perspective or unusual point of view so changing the camera
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angle on a photograph can create stunning images so go to extremes get higher get lower to capture a scene from an unseen perspective this photograph is an extremely low point of view of the crowded residential buildings and this type of angle enhances even more The Towering and overpowering feeling these buildings have especially in a city like Hong Kong when it comes to Art and illustration we have this example by mernett Larson and while the work is highly abstract it also contains
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multiple scenes in one with disorienting perspectives that make it all even more interesting you can see that there are at least three or four different perspectives that all work seamlessly together next we have fill in the frame so highlighting the beauty of the main subject or main element and making it as big as possible in a page is it just creates a visually stronger image so we have here this Bazaar cover by Ruth Ansel and this is a great example of filling the frame with Steve McQueen so
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the zoomed in image also highlights the subjects blue eyes and it helps make a connection with the viewer which would have been harder had he been even further away from the camera this red poppy by Georgia O'Keefe is a great example of filling the frame as well poppies are small flowers and feeling the frame helps us see the flower in detail and appreciate its beauty so it is a striking look at what is usually known as something very dainty and small next up we have simplification so an
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easy way to approach a composition is by applying simplification or editing back so for instance excluding any kind of clutter that doesn't really add to the message of the image or the photograph or any clutter that distracts from the focus of the image in this example we have an image of a woman on a skateboard in black and white the background is very dark acting almost as a blank canvas and allowing the photographer to really highlight their subject we can also see that the
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woman is slightly lit from the front maybe a little bit from the side and just enough to still keep the background dark in graphic design we can talk about simplification through Paul runs IBM poster this is very well known so the poster was created in support of the IBM think Moto so the designer represented each letter with an object creating an interesting visual word puzzle the Simplicity of this poster really speaks volume next up we have contrast and contrast
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focuses on elements that differ from the rest of an image and contrast is important to establish a hierarchy and focal point on this poster we can see that there is a dark background and there is white and a little bit of gray but there is also orange and yellow and these two colors are very contrasting from the rest not only because the rest is black and white but red and yellow are very bright colors so red will be the in the hierarchy will be the element that is of most important and that's
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where the viewers I will go to first and then it will go to probably the yellow or the white spaces in photography contrast is a very instrumental tool that isn't only referred to shapes but also to colors and a contrasting photograph usually has some bright colors that are opposing on the color wheel or can even be in black and white and have strong variation on the levels between black and white in this specific photograph we can see that black is contrasting from the red but we
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can also see that the position of the pencil is contrasting because the red the red pencils are in one single line [Music] applications and software have made it really easy for designers and photographers to apply the different composition techniques onto images so software like Adobe InDesign and Photoshop allows to create grids right directly into the program so let's take a Duke Adobe InDesign so in InDesign let's create a new file here we can create custom grids to be
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used from simple posters designs to elaborate multi-page editorial documents and to add some of the guides we can head over to layout create guides and there you can set the number of rows and columns you'll like in the gutter so in this case we can use the rule of thirds and set the number of rows and columns to three and set the gutter to zero and here we can see how easy it is to pinpoint the four intersections that we can put the main subject or main element on
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Adobe Photoshop offers even more extensive ways in which you can apply composition techniques for single images like photographs or even posters so head over to photoshop and open an image select the crop tool and draw a crop box over the image now head over to the overlay options on the options bar and select the composition tool that you would like to use here there's everything from Row Thirds to the golden ratio golden spiral the triangle and much more so these two software offer really easy
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ways and useful ways to test any kind of visual work to see if it's in line with the composition technique that you would like to go for
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decomposition techniques and principles that you learned in this course are essential in order to bring together elements that can make sense together and that are coherent the system of connections can help you articulate and deliver your visual message in this course you'll learn what is a composition the different principles you can use techniques to apply like the rule of thirds golden ratio and triangle along with useful tips to create meaningful and striking images many of
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the examples from this course are from envato elements be sure to check it out with one subscription you will have unlimited access to assets such as graphics and logos millions of creative digital assets with the simple commercial licensing and you can cancel anytime subscribe now with a link in the description below and subscribe now to Enviro that's plus if you would like to see more videos like this my name is Laura kyung and from all of us at Enviro textPlus thank you for watching and
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we'll see you on the next one [Music]
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