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Positive and Negative space & The Rule of Thirds.
Positive and Negative space & The Rule of Thirds.
When composing an icon the placement of your subject is very important. Where is the focus of the icon? How does the negative space balance the positive space?
A quick glossary:
Positive space is usually your subject. It is the focus of the image. Highlighted here in black.
Negative space is the background. or "void." Highlighted here in black.
Rule of Thirds references the points at which the lines cross when splitting each side into thirds.
Starting with Placement via the Rules of Thirds. Now, this isn't an end all be all solution to composition. It's a guideline. And guidelines are meant to be broken. The Rule states that your point of focus, or subject, should be placed at the interception of the thirds. This allows the image to balance.
The Rule is a primary skill. It's not "innovative." But, it is consistent. By training your eye to see the thirds you can begin to understand the layout of your icon. The thirds give the image an organic feel, forcing the image out of symmetry.
The other thing that needs to be considered is the Positive and Negative space. Composition wise you do not want to have a 50/50 split, unless you are trying to achieve symmetry. All rules can be broken, keep that in mind.
When laying out your icon look at the two types of space. Go heavy in one way or another.
You can achieve this via placement using the 4 points of the thirds, Or by cropping the image off the screen, Or by scaling the image down or up.
Here are some examples.
Rule of Thirds & Positive and Negative Space
The subject is placed in the center of the image. It is breaking the rule. The image is not "wrong." But it is not "naturally" pleasing. By being centered you give an air of artificiality. This can work, especially with a subject like Bree.
When you center the subject on the intersection you allow for a more "balanced" image. You have to think about your subject, and how the they are facing, etc. (details about that will be part of a future tutorial). You also need to look at the positive and negative space (to be covered below). In this image because her body is covering the bottom portion of the frame, you get about a 50/50 split in positive to negative space. This also breed artificiality. And in this image, it is not pleasing to the eye.
Here we push to the top, again breaking the rules of the thirds. We are also breaking another rule, that was previously covered, the hair line rule. This is just an all-around crappy composition.
We have met the Rule of Thirds. We've also met the condition of the +/- space ratio. We have more negative space in this image. Out of the four this is my preferred composition.
This one is also centered, but it doesn't work at all. Because the subject is not faced directly forward it makes the composition wonky & the +/- is 50/50.
By placing the subjects face on the Thirds it suddenly balances the image. The b/w quality of the icon allows for the positive quality of the subjects body to blend into the negative background.
Going to the next Third vertically also works. The background is lighter so it allows for a brighter icon, and forces the positive space of the subjects face to stand out more. We are at about 75% negative space to 25% positive space.
Moving off screen. A rebel graphic artist. By staying on the horizontal third you allow the image to still maintain a sense of organic balance. We are now at about 85% negative space (give or take). The negative space is also all very similar. Your subject is hidden, giving a sense of mystery.
I hope this was somewhat informative. All icons used were made by me. If you have further questions please ask, I would be more than happy to attempt an answer.
When composing an icon the placement of your subject is very important. Where is the focus of the icon? How does the negative space balance the positive space?
A quick glossary:
Positive space is usually your subject. It is the focus of the image. Highlighted here in black.
Negative space is the background. or "void." Highlighted here in black.
Rule of Thirds references the points at which the lines cross when splitting each side into thirds.
Starting with Placement via the Rules of Thirds. Now, this isn't an end all be all solution to composition. It's a guideline. And guidelines are meant to be broken. The Rule states that your point of focus, or subject, should be placed at the interception of the thirds. This allows the image to balance.
The Rule is a primary skill. It's not "innovative." But, it is consistent. By training your eye to see the thirds you can begin to understand the layout of your icon. The thirds give the image an organic feel, forcing the image out of symmetry.
The other thing that needs to be considered is the Positive and Negative space. Composition wise you do not want to have a 50/50 split, unless you are trying to achieve symmetry. All rules can be broken, keep that in mind.
When laying out your icon look at the two types of space. Go heavy in one way or another.
You can achieve this via placement using the 4 points of the thirds, Or by cropping the image off the screen, Or by scaling the image down or up.
Here are some examples.
Rule of Thirds & Positive and Negative Space
The subject is placed in the center of the image. It is breaking the rule. The image is not "wrong." But it is not "naturally" pleasing. By being centered you give an air of artificiality. This can work, especially with a subject like Bree.
When you center the subject on the intersection you allow for a more "balanced" image. You have to think about your subject, and how the they are facing, etc. (details about that will be part of a future tutorial). You also need to look at the positive and negative space (to be covered below). In this image because her body is covering the bottom portion of the frame, you get about a 50/50 split in positive to negative space. This also breed artificiality. And in this image, it is not pleasing to the eye.
Here we push to the top, again breaking the rules of the thirds. We are also breaking another rule, that was previously covered, the hair line rule. This is just an all-around crappy composition.
We have met the Rule of Thirds. We've also met the condition of the +/- space ratio. We have more negative space in this image. Out of the four this is my preferred composition.
This one is also centered, but it doesn't work at all. Because the subject is not faced directly forward it makes the composition wonky & the +/- is 50/50.
By placing the subjects face on the Thirds it suddenly balances the image. The b/w quality of the icon allows for the positive quality of the subjects body to blend into the negative background.
Going to the next Third vertically also works. The background is lighter so it allows for a brighter icon, and forces the positive space of the subjects face to stand out more. We are at about 75% negative space to 25% positive space.
Moving off screen. A rebel graphic artist. By staying on the horizontal third you allow the image to still maintain a sense of organic balance. We are now at about 85% negative space (give or take). The negative space is also all very similar. Your subject is hidden, giving a sense of mystery.
I hope this was somewhat informative. All icons used were made by me. If you have further questions please ask, I would be more than happy to attempt an answer.