Composition Types

In trying to find good compositions using all of the various techniques, like Compositional weight, Focal Points, Contrast, etc, you tend to come across the same general sorts of compositions again and again. And while we all want to make innovative stuff, there's nothing wrong with the foundation of our compositions to be based on tried and true formulas. After all, the reason they work is because the eye and brain process visuals in a specific way, and these sorts of rules have been proven to work well with the human brain for thousands of years.
So lets go through a bunch of the more common types of compositions, and hopefully these will help explain some of your own compositions, why they work or why they don't, and inspire you to try using them as the basis for new work.
Here's two great resources on this subject:
www.amazon.com...
digitaltutoria...
For more info and other lessons, please visit www.neilblevins...

[@noble_rosethorn]

This got to be the best video I have ever seen on composition. Most often than not people just keep repeating the rule of thirds and golden ratio but you actually went on to explain in detail all these cool different types. You definitely studied a lot of Loomis and it was worth it! Wonderfully instructive!

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed the video and found it informative!

[@king_koby9591]

Bro it is 😭! , With examples and all , gotta get me that Loomis book again

[@lisalasers]

i agree!

[@Sucart12]

Less than 3 minutes in and it was already a goldmine of information. Excellent video worth years of education. Thank you!

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks, glad you like it!

[@sevi-007]

This is actually the first video on composition I've managed to find that breaks the rather abstract themes down in a way that I can apply practically. This is a HUGE help, thank you so much for the work you put into this!

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video. I do my best to provide something a little more practical, even if the video is on a pretty subjective subject :) Glad you feel it worked!

[@haroldasraz]

This is a brilliant, simple, straightforward introduction to composition types. Valuable pointers to get started. Cheers.

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks Harold! Glad you liked it!

[@be6386]

My glob, I’m doing a painting and I’ve been searching up videos in compositions but i feel like this video really helps me a lot, thank you so much!!!

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks, glad you found it so helpful.

[@sefragstian6163]

your videos are always so informative and have been super helpful to me on my artistic journey thank you!

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks, glad you've enjoyed them!

[@abdallahbridja2651]

i love how you mentioned creative illustration by Andrew Loomis. first time i read it i didn't understand a single thing and now am actually watching your videos to understand how art pieces function and how to actually make my work visually pleasing. thanks a lot for your work.

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Cool, ya, those books are certainly a product of their time, but there are some good ideas in there, glad you liked my modern spin on the material!

[@Nebulaoblivion]

Always glad when a new Neil Blevins video pops up! Thank you for teaching us!

[@LaszloSas75]

Thank you, Neil!

[@macronomicus]

Great summary, I'd say its not only useful for painting, in game design there are many points where these can be employed as well, even though its an environment you can move thru, there are many moments where the viewer is likely to be looking in a certain direction & you can frame in compositions from those perspectives.

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks! Ya, I've done concept design for games before and use many of the same ideas, as do the game designers making their greybox levels. It's all about how the human brain likes to break up information, whether it's moving or just a still image. Anyways, thanks for watching and glad you dug it!

[@macronomicus]

@@ArtOfSoulburn Great stuff, thanks for sharing your wisdom, the vid was well paced & very informative. I wish you the best with your channel & your art adventures.

[@centbent]

THANK YOUU !!! THIS VIDEO FUCKING ROCKS !!!

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks centbent!

[@Devill4010.]

I learned something new today, thanks to you.

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@ninja_tony]

This might be one of the best videos on composition I have ever seen!

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks so much ninja!

[@maureenfranks4899]

Brilliant. Clear and concise. Excellent video.

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

@@maureenfranks4899 Thanks Maureen!

[@utrix_1121]

I first knew you from your megastructure illustrations which I cherish so much. Now I'm learning composition from you.

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

thanks utrix! Glad you enjoyed the megastructure work!

[@Liliphant_]

Ooh I knew i recognized the name from somewhere

[@cupcaketv5673]

Thank you so much! Really helpful :)

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks Cupcake, glad you liked it!

[@petermgruhn]

You have discovered the secret to Golden...
You can fudge it on top of anything.

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Haha! Ya, I know some people live and die by the golden ratio, but for me, I don't think it's necessarily some sort of magic number (as you point out, many times you can find a way to fit it to an image after the fact), but many people use it and there's no reason not to use it, so have at it to anyone who wants to :)

[@speggeri90]

What wasn’t mentioned here was that a strong composition sorta keeps you eye in the work. Meaning you dont have line or lines guiding your eye out of the frame. A lot of modern art suffers I feel from this. Including the works shown here.

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

That concept is spoken about in another one of my compositional videos here: ruclips.net/video/MX59j9yhezw/видео.html This one is purely on categorizing types of compositions.

[@siddd__]

Thank you so much for this video! It was so interesting and well explained, I’ve been looking for so long for something like that so I’m really happy to have found your channel. The explanations were clear and the exemples made them even more understandable. I’m looking forward to watching the other videos you made on this subject :3

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks siddd, glad you've enjoyed the video so much, and hope you enjoy the others in the series!

[@kuyakanin9134]

so its all letters

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Haha! Well, I suppose, although I assume some letters will work better than others :)

[@ugottabkittenme4752]

Absolutely amazing video….
….and subbed!

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks, glad you liked it!

[@pvillez]

Thank you very much, I learned a lot from this.

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Awesome, glad you liked it!

[@dew_q]

Amazing video! I learnt a lot.

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks dew, glad you liked it!

[@comicboy4944]

🔥

[@derdugati7126]

Great stuff! Especially the mixing section was very interesting. Thank you!

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@rman197]

Exellent stuff as usual. Thank you!

[@lisalasers]

My mind was going wild with ideas, watching this. i feel like i now understand composition!

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Awesome, glad you enjoyed it!

[@arturofletcher]

Great video

[@CGTricks]

Thank you so much !!!

[@RamShankarDeo]

All it positions.

[@AlphaSierraHotel117]

Love your work. Thanks for making these.

[@echopathy]

my morning coffee meditation ~~>

[@maxhuk]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge 🙏

[@marcosdtorres]

Another great video Neil, keep it up.

[@youjustwasted3secondsofyou128]

Thank you ❤

[@Dragonbras]

Cool material, thanks

[@TripTilt]

very interesting. Just wondering, did you make that alien with the Y shaped head to have something with a Y shape in it or did you just come up with that weird face and it did fit the Y shape somehow without the intention to do so, but then, what did you think about the composition in this one?

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Great question. So for this painting, I used this technique to do it: www.neilblevins.com/art_lessons/photobooth_mirror_sketch/photobooth_mirror_sketch.htm So I didn't decide to do Y shaped and then made the painting that way. However, when I was moving the camera around to figure out my composition, something made me stop at that particular point and say "Ya, that's cool looking", which is likely because I have seen so many paintings of that format. So yes, sometimes you plan to use a certain composition, but other times you make a composition and it ends up looking like one of the types simple because you've ingested that sort of composition in other artwork you've seen before.

[@TripTilt]

@@ArtOfSoulburn ahaha, that is interesting!!!
I used to scribble around on paper and then draw faces into the scribbles, fun times, but with 3d and sitting in front of a monitor that is lost. Thanks for reviving my interest in such abstract techniques.

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

@@TripTilt It's a lot of fun to try and get happy accidents back into your digital work. It can still be done, just requires more work :)

[@davimolinari345]

Great video!!!

[@SophieKae]

Excellent presentation!

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Thanks Sophie!

[@Heisenburg17]

I only use the rule of thirds and it always works out

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Haha! Well maybe this will expand your options, but ya, rule of thirds is certainly useful.

[@allweb429]

Fibonacci was Italian

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

He was indeed, but the earliest investigations into the golden ratio happened thousands of years earlier by the greeks from what I've read.

[@HeleneHobbs-v2k]

very interesting !

[@Neptoid]

I love how pseudoscientific this is

[@ArtOfSoulburn]

Haha. While there are a few scientific truths in here, certainly the link between art and science is a murky one :)

[@Neptoid]

@@ArtOfSoulburn guess what rectangle we think is the most beautiful? It's not the golden rectangle. So what is the point now then?

[@naiknaik8812]

it is art yknow lol

[@kenonerboy]

Nothing particularly new. The same disconnected unstructured approach to composition that you see everywhere else. Unusable

[@lbmember4637]

Lol