Hello Everyone,

I’m Kouanto a digital artist/ webcomic illustrator from Greece!

 

In this tutorial we will learn all about character composition. From choosing our focus element to all the ways and means we can use, to draw the audience’s attention to the element/ character of focus!

Choosing a focus point

The first step in creating our composition piece, is choosing our focus point!

But what is a focus point and what could be yours..?

 

Well, it all depends on your illustration and what you want to project!

If, for example you are making a character portrait, and you want your audience to focus on that, you need to use the means that will draw the focus on your portrait and the face.

 

On the other hand, if your illustration is only a part of a comic panel, you might want to draw the attention on the action pose, on the detailed glamorous background, or even on a specific object inside the panel!

 

In this tutorial, you will learn how to incorporate factors such as colour, positioning, and perspective into your illustrations to achieve better compositions for your art!

 

 

In the picture above from my webcomic, I used a number of techniques to draw the audience’s attention towards my character; in order to portray the emotion of fear that he was going through.

 

1) I placed him in the centre of the panel

Though the centre of an image isn’t always the best composition choice, and there are many more spatial ways to compose your picture, (See more in the space section)

Something that is in the centre of our screens, can still easily grab our attentions.

 

2) Using low saturated background colors

Since I didn’t want to draw the attention away of the character, I didn’t want the background to steal any of it. So I only added few details on the background, using a few shapes and low saturation colours for it. Thus, I used more saturated/eye grabbing colors for my character, making him pop out from the background!

 

3) Diffentiating the shapes

As previously mentioned, I left out most of the background details (e.x. leaves) so that they wouldn’t drag attention away of the character.

I also used a black outline to separate the character from the background, though this is mainly a stylistic choice , and it wouldn’t work with everyone’s art style. (E.x. Photorealism)

For instance, in the above picture of my webcomic, I wanted to draw the audience’s attention solely towards my character and the emotion of fear that his eye’s portrayed.

 

Thus, I used a number of techniques to achieve that:

1) placing the character in the centre of the panel

2) using low saturated and faded colours for the background, that would drive the eye away from it and toward my character

3) Using crisp black lineart that separates the character from his environment (This is a personal art-style choice)

Another important matter to note, is that our focal point isn’t always our character.

 

In the picture above, I wanted to showcase the sand-castle that Ren created. Since I didn’t want Ren to be the central focus, she didn’t have to face the camera, so she was sitting with her back on us.

In that way, she could still be in the panel, and used as a measure of the size of the castle, without grabbing the focus away of it.

Space

One of the most important values of character composition is the distribution of space. Many methods have been devised for achieving the perfect aesthetic spatial composition.

 

From the simplistic shot of the character in the middle of the screen, to the classical pyramid composition, to the more complex golden ratio and to the most famous and practical one, the rule of thirds.

Triangular or pyramidal composition

This technique is used to create a sense of geometry.

 

Triangular composition involves forming or making use of a triangle within the image. Triangles can draw attention to the elements at their apex!\

Each edge of the triangle functions like a leading line that draws viewers’ attention to the element that is at its apex, or at each of its corners. Using this composition you can choose the part of your composition to lead your viewer’s eyes at.

In this illustration I wanted to draw the attention at the characters’ heads, leading onto one another, so I used the triangular composition method.

 

 

The triangle method is used to driver the audience’s eyes towards their faces and heads.

I changed the characters’ poses to form a triangle, with the apex of it leading towards their leaning heads, where I wanted my main focus of the illustrattion to be.

 

 

In this example from last year’s inktober (2022), I wanted the main focus to be at the sweet gesture of the girl’s hand giving the fox some food, and at the same time on the fox’s tiny leg nudging at the girl.

Using the triangle method and the leading lines forming from the two bodies, I drove the attention towards the girl’s hand.

Golden Ratio

The golden ratio, also known as the divine proportion, is a mathematical ratio of 1:1.618, or Phi, with a decimal that stretches to infinity, closely linked to the Fibonacci sequence. Sometimes it is also referred to as the golden section, the golden mean, the golden number, the divine proportion, or the golden proportion.

 

Many artists and designers throughout history have adopted this mathematical equation as a means of creating balance, order and symmetry. Designs that follow the golden ratio are generally considered to be aesthetically pleasing.

 

I won’t go into detail on the golden ratio, as I consider the rule of thirds (discussed below) to be a more practical application of the concept!

But as you can see in this example panel from my webcomic, the visual representation of the golden ratio can be used as guide to capture the audience’s attention towards the element of your choice.

Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds involves placing a three-by-three grid over the subject and using it to assist in the composition design. The gridlines and intersections are “safe” spots to position key features. For example, you could position your focal point at one of the intersections or the horizon line along the top horizontal.

Here, I wanted to draw the attention on the character’s gaze, so I used the rule of thirds to place the character’s eyes on the crossection on the grid of the rule of thirds.

At the same time, the rule of the thirds can be used to place the horizon line in the top or in the bottom horizontal.

 

 

In another example, I wanted to draw the audience’s attention to two places at once. To Leo sitting in the front and to the two characters in the water in the back. So I used the lower right crossection to place Leo and the upper left one for the other two characters.

All the characters are centered around the crossections, whilst, for the background, I used the lower horizontal line as a guide for the shore and the top one for the horizon line.

Negative Space

Another creative use of space in art, is the use of negative space.

Negative space, also called white space, is typically empty and lacks details as to simplify an image and keep the focus on the subject

This is a technique that I used a lot in last year’s inktober challenge. I painted the background a low contrast white color that would instantly drive the focus towards the darker, more detailed figure in the middle

As you can see in gamma scale, the white, empty background around the character, forces the eye to center around the main figure .

In the same way, in this panel from my webcomic, I wanted the focus to solely be on the two figures on screen.

So I added high contrast and more details on them, while leaving the background blank and without much contrast and saturation.

Also, you can see that inside one image we can use more than one ways to elevate our illustration’s composition. Here I also used the rule of thirds, to place the figures inside the crossections.

Colours

There are many ways to organize the colors in a composition, but essentially there are just four basic schemes: monochromatic, complementary, analogous, and triadic. These four are adequate for most situations, and each has its own influence on the mood of a picture.

 

They all play an important part, and you can choose either of them or play around while making your final composition.

 

Since they need a tutorial on their own (let me know if you’d like me to make a tutorial on Color theory), we will talk about the basics here.

Complementary

Complementary colors are the colors that are on opposite sides of the color wheel.

 

This combination provides a high contrast and high impact color combination – together, these colors will appear more prominent.

Those colors can be:

• Redandgreen.

• Blueandorange.

• Yellowandpurple.

• Yellow-greenandred-purple.

• Red-orangeandblue-green.

In this panel on my Webtoon, I wanted the girl pop out.

So, since she has to be the main focal point, contrasting everything and everyone else, I chose to make the rest of the characters and the background the same bluish- purple hue, whilst she had a contrasting, complimentary yellow orange one.

As you can see, the girl’s hair color pops out in the purple-bluish , low saturated contrasted background.

Here you can see her hair color and it’s complementary one in the color wheel.

In these panels from my webcomic, I wanted to drive the attention towards Leo.

So, I increased his hair saturation, and painted the background in the compementary green, but in a lower saturation. That way my character can pop out inside the panels.

 

I also added some purple flower details on the background, to make my image more harmonious. That’s a little tip; adding some of your character’s colors in the background to make him appear to be part of it.

Contrast

Another interesting way to capture the audience’s focus, is by adding pops of colour.

This is a technique I used a lot for my inktober art, when I had only a few hours to finish a polished piece.

 

As you can see in the image above, everything was in black and white, except the pops of color in the planets on her braids.

In the same way, the contrast of the sole red of the main focus element, is contrasting the rest of the image

Here, I did the opposite. By adding a pop of colour in the background, I contrasted the small character in the front.

Other!

There are many more ways to create interesting compositions!

 

Apart from spacing/ colors/ shapes you can use lines, values, textures, edges and many more..!

 

You have to play around and she what work for you, your art style and what you want to portray!

In this piece I used the rule of the thirds, the color contrast of black and white , negative space, as well as the pop of red in the back to create the final design!

 

 

Final

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and it could be useful for some of you!

Let me know if you’d like me to elaborate more on something / if you’d like a tutorial on something else ❤️

 

If you want to support me, make sure to like, comment, can check out my work (webtoons, art, instagram) here: