Illustrating Visual Space

For this exercise I chose to use photoshop in place of paper. I thought it sounded like something that would work well, given that I would easily be able to change the size and position of things etc. Also, I am very much a beginner with photoshop and thought it would be a good opprtunity to learn a few basics. As with every other time I’ve used photoshop, it turned out to be a bit more complicated than I expected! However, I managed to figure it out enough to do what I needed to do! I feel like I learnt a lot from it and did find it to be a useful tool for this exercise. I have created a gallery including all the pictures I made and have reinserted individual ones where I refer to them.

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How does your sense of the image and its meaning change when the figure is smaller than the other elements?

Generally I think the girl being smaller makes the image seem more realistic and more in perspective. Even when she is smaller than the other elements, I think she is always the focus of the image, perhaps because she instantly has more narrative than the others, due to her facial expression, the clothes she is wearing and the suggested way she is moving. When she is significantly smaller, like in image 9, I think it disconnects her from the image – if this was a book I think she might be commenting on what she sees on the page. It reminds me of non-fiction childrens books, where there is a character running throughout the book, introducing the reader to different images.

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If the elements are at differing angles to each other and at an angle to the frame, what dynamic is suggested?

With my image below, I think the angle of the image creates a sense of chaos and disorder. It looks a bit like something has exploded and sent everything flying. Because there is no horizon line, it’s hard to tell what size each part of the image is – you can’t really tell if the house is small or further away. The fact that the tree and the girl are going off the page perhaps suggests that they are closer to the viewer and the tree is further away, but I’m not sure if this is really the case as I’ve been looking at it too long! There is a lot of empty space in this image and there being no image in the centre seems to accentuate this.

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I had a lot of fun creating image 7. I think the way I positioned the images of the girl created movement in the picture, giving the idea of the girl flying through the air. The sizing also gave the impression of depth and gave it a foreground and a background.

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The angle of the girl in image 12 makes it clear that she is walking and the line gives her stability. Even though the perspective of the image is all over the place (for want of a better expression!), the line places her on solid ground.

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If all the elements are completely horizontal and vertical in relation to the frame what dynamic is suggested? What is your opinion about this image and what sensation does it communicate?

It seems to create a sense of order and stability, it certainly doesn’t feel unpredictable and chaotic like some of my pictures where the angles have been played around with. Even when the elements are at realistic angles, their size also makes a big impact on the feeling of the image. For example, in image 10, the size of the elements give a clear hierarchy, the girl being the biggest part of the image makes her the most important.

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With image 6, I put the girl horizontal to the frame, which I think takes the girl out of the image almost. It’s like she becomes an onlooker of the rest of the image.

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Which is your favouite composition? Explain why you feel it is most successful.

My favourite image is image 1 but I’m having real difficulty in thinking why this is! I really like the simplicity of it and the playfulness of the house and girl popping up from behind the tree. I think the way the girl and the house are placed at angles opposed to the tree and each other, make the image quite awkward, which I like! Each element is placed in such a way that they are drawn to the centre, keeping space around the edges, which is pleasing to me. The image is clearly unrealistic, slightly awkward to look at (it doesn’t make sense) and has no real sense of perspective. I think these qualities make it a fun, off-beat image!

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I feel like I’ve learnt a lot from this exercise. It’s really made me consider space and composition and think about what I’m actually doing when I put images together.  It was interesting to read about the basics of composition. It makes complete sense to me and almost seems obvious that, for example, parts of images placed at diagonals can create a feeling of chaos and disorder, but it’s not something that I’ve ever conciously considered before. I may have used these principles without realising it, but I think it’s extremely valuable to be aware of them and begin to understand them. Composition is something I enjoy playing with and I think I will start to be more aware of the effects of the choices I make and make further decisions accordingly.