What is it? Why does it matter? How do I do it well?

 Does it matter where you place notes in a piece of music?

 Does it convey the feelings, ideas, and emotions the artist wants the viewer to understand?  Does the viewer see what the artist wants them to see?  Are there things that distract from the message and meaning of the artwork?

Why is balance important? Is it ever appropriate not to have balance?

 Visual weight is the ability to “draw the eye”. Something that is more noticeable has more “visual weight”. The more we want to look at something the more “visual weight” it has.

 What do you notice first?

 Things placed right in the center attract our eye.  Anything that touches the edge attract our eye.

 …other humans!  … animals next

ANSWER: The area that “draws the eye” first.

 1. Creating the “greatest value contrast” at the focal point.  2. Blur (or do not detail) everything else.

Things that are placed on the line of the “thirds” or the intersecting points tend to be good places to put things.

Answer: That’s all anyone will ever see!

 Too much negative space. Fill the picture!

 But don’t overwhelm the viewer with too much stuff.

 Don’t have objects sit on the bottom of your paper or canvas – it looks very “2 nd gradish”!

 Match your composition to the mood of your art. Horizontal give restful feeling, verticals give static or stately feel and diagonals show action.

 Don’t be boring with your compositions. Change it up, try something new with your compositions.

 Try a composition that goes off the edge on three sides. Artists use it all the time and it almost always works.

 DON’T float your subject matter in a sea of empty space it is a sure sign of a beginning artist.

 Change your mind set from “drawing something” to “creating an art work”.

 If you go off the page on one side you might want to balance by going off the page on the opposite side.

 Avoid a “bouncing” eye path. Artist use overlapping and irregular spacing to avoid bouncing eye paths.