Informal Balance
The rule of thirds is a guideline which applies to the process of composing artwork. The guideline proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.
John Thomas Smith in 1797 first discusses this idea as the balance of dark and light in a painting. Smith then continues with an expansion on the idea, naming it the "Rule of thirds" in which two distinct, equal lights, should never appear in the same picture. One should be principal, and the rest sub-ordinate, both in dimension and degree.
John Thomas Smith in 1797 first discusses this idea as the balance of dark and light in a painting. Smith then continues with an expansion on the idea, naming it the "Rule of thirds" in which two distinct, equal lights, should never appear in the same picture. One should be principal, and the rest sub-ordinate, both in dimension and degree.
Focal Point
At one of the four points a good composition will contain the focal point or focus. A focal point is the element in a painting that pulls in the viewer's eye, that is the center of attention or the main subject. You can emphasize a focal point through the painting's composition, through color, and through the range of tones you use.
At one of the four points a good composition will contain the focal point or focus. A focal point is the element in a painting that pulls in the viewer's eye, that is the center of attention or the main subject. You can emphasize a focal point through the painting's composition, through color, and through the range of tones you use.
In Informal balance you create dominant and subordinate things. When there is dominance there must be subordination (things lower in ranking). In art this means that some things get more attention and some get less. Figure dominates ground for instance.