Creative Artist - AU (2020-02)

Tools

You can take this further and consider

using the rule of thirds within a rule of

thirds. As you can see from the following

image (Fig 4), if we isolate the actual eye,

the focal points within that eye, the pupil

and the reflections are also on similar

thirds. This means that you don’t always

need to slavishly follow your reference (if

you are using a photo to work from) and

can actually manipulate your image to

create a more pleasing dynamic.

Looking In

“Looking into the picture” as mentioned

before is where your subject (a person or

an animal) may be located for example

on the left hand third of the picture and

is looking towards the right. This helps to

create balance, as shown by my pastel of

a chimpanzee. (Fig 5) I have then taken

the same chimp and cropped it so it is

“looking out” of the picture, which creates

an unbalanced and less satisfactory

image. (Fig 6)

Having said this, I can actually break

the rule to tell a story. In the following

photograph I have a meerkat “looking out”

of the picture (Fig 7). It is placed on the

left and has turned its head to look out of

the shot. The body is facing to the right

Fig 6

Fig 3

Fig 4

Fig 5

artists (^55)