Emphasis & Balance (Exercise 2)

*Highlight*

Emphasis

Emphasis is defined as an area or object within the artwork that draws attention and becomes a focal point.

Subordination is defined as minimizing or toning down other compositional elements in order to bring attention to the focal point.

Focal point refers to an area in the composition that has the most significance, an area that the artist wants to draw attention to as the most important aspect.

In the example below, it is very clear that the emphasis is on the red circle. It is the largest object in the composition. Conversely, although there are many gray circles, they are small in size, very muted in color, and blend in rather than stand out from the background.

The large circle is an extremely intense (pure) color which contrasts dramatically with the muted gray circles and background. The large, intensely red circle is bordered with an intense green that is a complementary color to the red, and equal in its intensity. Complementary colors (across from each other on the color wheel) with a high degree of intensity draw the most attention.

Therefore, the red circle is the focal point of the composition.

Balance

Balance is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space. If the design was a scale, these elements should be balanced to make a design feel stable. 

In symmetrical balance, the elements used on one side of the design are similar to those on the other side 

In asymmetrical balance, the sides are different but still look balanced. 

In radial balance, the elements are arranged around a central point and may be similar

Here are some interesting artworks that represent these three different types of balance:

Symmetrical Balance

Pietro Perugino, Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter, 1481–1482

Asymmetrical Balance

Edgar Degas, The rehearsal, 1877

Radial Balance

Ghotic Rose Windows

Week 2 (Topic: Emphasis and Balance) - Coloured pencils/pens/markers

For our second week assignment, we are assigned to create two different artworks using these two principles which are Emphasis and Balance.

Emphasis

For the first artwork the main concept for the drawing is space. In the drawing below, the focal point is obviously the eyeball. I tried to achieve the element emphasis by placing the eyeball in the middle as well as wrapping the eyeball with the octopus tentacle to drag the viewer's eye to the main focus.

First Sketch

Final Product

Balance (Asymmetrical)

For balance artwork, I just wanted to draw a human skull. So, instead of just drawing a skull facing forward that creates a symmetrical image, I decided to do two parts of skull that are being splited and facing the opposite direction which is a lot more interesting.

Both sides of the skull are not identical. Therefore, the image creates an asymmetrical balance.

First Sketch

Final Product