After studying artists and paintings of the 16th, 17th and 18th century, one thing hit my eye: nevertheless whether digital art is "minor art" or not, we still should try to focus on compositoric aspects within an image. Still we try to focus on what we want to call meaning and mood or feeling. Regretfully, composition and its power to underline and even raise our aim we want to achieve is something that is totally neglected by a lot of people out there. After talking with several - to me and even to a lot of you - people out there, I've often discovered the lack of knowledge about things like that. So what I want to achieve with the image: first of all, to point out how composition helps to improve an image, and second, on what you might want to look at in upcoming projects.
Still we should add that there is of course not a "how to do a perfect composition". Regardless of that fact, it might be pretty helpfull to analyze the series "
20minutes" containing of four images. By explaining the meaning, the compositoric methods I tried to realise and finally its combination, I try to present my way of creating images and on what I try to look at while creating something. Maybe you want to read some helpful things out of this.
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20minutes is a series containing of four single images. It deals with my recent acting in real life, personal things like the notebook and metaphors like the stairs and the snail (actually, not the snail itself but the shape of the snail-shell). A lot of ideas which came up my mind had been recently written down in a small black notebook, just to keep them in mind (my memory is pretty weak to be honest). While staying at home, I prefer writing with a black Indian ink and a dark blue fountain pen. At this point, it's unimportant the tell you the exact content of the book, yet it should be mentioned that I sometimes try to sketch ideas for different images (images are developed, not "made"). The (if you want to call it like that) most important part of the series is the last image, actually planned to be a stand-alone. Later, it turned into this series. This image no.4 comprises all aspects of the meaning (some of them are repeated in the enlargements of the images no.1-3). Basically, recent works which had not been published just showed me that I am not evolving myself as an artist. I had been able to repeat and certain ideas, transform it into different shapes and figures. Still I felt unconfident. Everything walked into circles (referring to the shell combined with the stairs), I hab been not able to get to a higher level. At this point, frustration and just pure disaffection surrounded me, I had been afraid to create mediocritic images without energy, life and depth. So what we see now is a try to express the will to escape this vicious circle, which just would lead me into a dead point. The first three images pick up the way the ideas generally had taken (and actually, still take). Raised up in my mind (not illustrated here nor ever made), I wrote them down (no.1: the pen). Still they're stuck in the book, just waiting to be picked up and realized (no.2: the book). At this point, they have to return to my head to be handled and illustrated (again, not illustrated here nor ever made). Suddenly, the always repeating process starts again: the vicious circle. The idea turns into stuff i had done before, nothing that pleasures me (that's what it should be. be egoistic! it has to please you!). As mentioned before, the last image combines all the aspects in one single image. Please keep an eye on the shell blended with the book: this wants to show that (although it wants to become something "new") the idea is trying to escape the circles (paper not exactly the same size as the book) but finally continues its way into the point of no return. Yet the circle is broken at randomly chosen points - as it is not a "harmonic" continuous way. You might now want to ask "why is he illustrating a personal feeling without showing himself or eyes or body parts?" Simple answer: although it might be a personal situation, it is kind of well-known to a lot of people. not exclusively artists. The absence of my face or my body implements are more "open" way of understanding the series.
So what have we learned until now? Messages doesn't necesseraly need complex metaphors. I cannot see blood to show up sort of an "inner pain", no massive use of textures to create a morbid and breakable feeling. Simple and calm things often - at least in my case - carry messages better than "over-paved" images. "The easy way might often be the better one."
Now let's move on to the composition. Please keep in mind what had been said before, it might help you a bit to understand everything a bit better. First, I want to analyze the last image as a stand-alone, without referring to the meaning. Like mentioned in the introduction, paintings of the last centuries, facilely considered as "classic art", showed up in what way a clear (but still wrapped in the dress of the "visual") composition helps to create a harmonic image. The viewer's eye get sort of a path on which he should "walk" through the image to "visit" all important parts of the image. Claude Lorrain did it perfectly, so did Raffael and millions of other artists. Often (this is something you might discover in Lorrain's paintings) those paths have several "co-paths", still they describe the same way.
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The image now offers us more or less two ways to walk through it. By being framed by the black parts of the book and the bottle of the ink, the eyes passes the white/beige pages (arrow in red) towards the offshoots of the shell/paper. Then, the eye just follows in circles (notice the coverage with the meaning?) towards the center point. Nearly the same happens with the green path, just the entrance point is different. Starting with the pen on the left, the eye enters the shell/paper at about the height of the stairs and then follows the same way. This should finally offer us (a lot) of problems: as I mentioned before, the content tells us (mind >) pen > paper (> mind) > circle. In this case, each way skips an important point. The green one still might be a bit better, as the book might be replaced with the stairs which are more part of the book than of the shell. Next to that, there's another (big) problem: several smaller axes (you will discover them on your own) come along with the general way, still there's a big "hole" on the top of the helix (which seems to be hidden because of the book's shadow). The eye might add the missing path, so might do the brain, but still it might have been better to indicate the way, as the radial way is interrupted in some way. This "destroys" the harmonic composition a bit. Also, an image should have leading axes. The "Golden Section" had ever been a proper way of creating harmonic proportions within an image. Here, we've got - next to the radial way of the shell, two important axes: a vertical one (take the middle red line of the entrance point, next the marker-band and the front of the pen) and a horizontal one (the whole pen going over into the "scratch" and (as a matter of principle) the tangent of the inner circle). As the Golden Section is defined exactly but used very inexactly, the horizontal axe fulfils its demand. Admittedly, the vertical one looks totally off, way to much aligned to the left part of the image (once again, I'm referring to Claude Lorrain: his landscape paintings perfectly show how horizontal/vertical axes should be aligned).
[we might want to do a small excursus here: please note that what i always wanted to do is creating new images. i do not want to manipulate photographs. Of course i do, but still the photograph is not the fundament of your image. It is a tool. Just like your preferred software. Put at lease as much effort in taking your own (please read carefully: own) photographs as in the manipulation itself. In this case now, I should have been more carefully with adjusting the single objects (remember the fault of pen/book and the shadow) and the axes. It sounds a bit fussy, but still remember: a harmonic and "perfect" image has to be perfect, even if it comes to details (notice that alignment of axes etc isn't even a detail at all.]
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So I guess you've noticed the faults i have made in the "main image". This lack of composition is visibil in no.1-3, as they're enlargements of the last one. Generally, the images deal with the most important parts of the last image (or meaning). The pen as the connector between mind and paper, the paper as the carrier of mind's idea and finally, the shell as a symbol for never-ending repeating processes. Whenever making series of a certain topic (even more important in case the images need the one in front or after), be sure that every single image is well-planned but also the ensemble. In this case, the combination of the single images isn't very well.
Entering the image on the top right, we'll walk diagonally in direction of bottom right, just where the "funnel" of the second image starts. This opens two problems, marked with (1) and (2). At point (1), the antipodal diagonal isn't picked up in the second image (the viewer gets sort of an "exit" - yet you want him/her to have a look at everything). Just as a thought, what would happen, if you mirror the first image: the transfer to the second image would be a bit more easy, the viewer has two entrance points which finally leads him to a certain point (so: maybe better, but remember: the fault has made in the entire image! "correcting" this fault changes my message). Be sure to combines axes and colors. no.1 and no.2 are connected with different shades of the "sepia-grey-ish" colors. This helps to create more balance. The second image should be clear, but at point (3), we've got a big big big problem. Though you can continue the axe in direction of the big curve, there's nothing that "keeps the eye on the right track". Still you might interpret the "black border" as a sign for the break of an idea which finally walks into circles, but I don't like that idea too much. Point (4), with the largest density, leads us into the final image. Please notice that the large curve on the right side of the third image picks up the entire shell of the last one. Once again, connection by repeating and picking up. The problem is: the order is important due to the story, likewise i cannot change the single images. The problem is based on the main image. This is the one which should be edited.
In case you might think that this is a bit nitpicking: perfection is something i want to achieve. Perfection means that every single part of the images (or series, that's unimportant) is well-matured. Creating "nice" images is pretty easy; but creating perfect images is what we should aim at. At least that's what I'm aiming at. Still keep in mind that it is a very rough essay, every part can be analyzed much more detailed. Still, it's up to you now what you're making out of this. Thank you for your patience.
