Composition with a Grid
Composition with a Grid
The only grid like practices I had ever done were, just knowing the “rule of thirds” and then using a grid as a tool to copy an image. I had never composed with a grid and I really enjoyed it. At first I was going to do this project digitally thinking it would make things easier but I really had a hankering to get my hands on some scissors and paste. I tried to pick out and create different size objects to make the composition more interesting. My “thumbnails” consisted of sliding the objects around in different spaces trying to center them in squares and line up with the grid. I settled on creating two larger objects for the background and heavy at the bottom hinting at a base or floor. The grayscale girl and bowling pin on one side and the records and smaller object in the sky mimicking the one on the floor on the other side. I didn’t like how left right balanced it felt, so I colored what was left of the blank space with black, more on the left side, then pink, less on the right side, making the division exactly on a line from the grid. There was already texture on the magazine cutout of yellow so I wanted to match that but create a completely different texture on the blue, hence the dots. I’m sure the composition could be better, but I am very happy with it and feel I have gained another tool for my tool belt. I am learning: the more you plan a head, thumbnails, notes, sketches, grids, medium testing, etc., the more your project will turn out exactly how you want it.
Module 4 Reflection
In this module’s workload I loved reading Chapter 4 of Time Frames from Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. There was so much vocabulary and techniques that I had seen and experienced and even tried to attempt but never knew actually had a name. I learned Zip ribbons, continuous background, and general indicator. I also appreciated the emphasis on the panel itself contributing so much to the story. After reading this and watching Memento, I thought about the book Meanwhile by Jason Shiga. A choose-your-own-adventure comic. A person must be pretty clever and organized to be able to write multiple story lines in a completely different story telling order and pattern.
My daughter was home for spring break last week and we discussed Gestalt’s principles. She is majoring in psychology. First of all, she taught me how to pronounce Gestalt, haha. But we had a fun discussion of how our minds quickly process what we see and experience in order to make sense of the world around us. The way our minds automatically group together objects that are close (proximity) or the same color or shape (similarity) and how it responds to contrast, probably explains a lot of human behavior indicating that the storytelling of design can be very powerful.