Sometimes you know which items you want in your painting, but nothing seems to look just right as you’re setting up your composition.
It’s time consuming to keep creating new sketches.
Also, it can be quite frustrating for a beginning painter, when all he or she wants to do is start flinging paint.
Make Cutouts Of Compositional Shapes
A simple way to cut down on your drawing and problem-solving time is by creating silhouettes of your compositional pieces from card stock or paper. You can then use these pieces to set up your composition in various formats to find a composition that’s appealing and dynamic.
Like sketching your composition, you’re able to see how elements interact with one another without spending time drawing, erasing and drawing again. You can see how slight modifications improve or detract from your composition and you can try entirely new approaches with the same elements used in a different arrangement.
Computer Sketching
There are also computerized sketch programs you can use for the same purpose, and these drawings can be printed out for further study and modification. With this type of tool, you can also adjust shape and size easily without the need to draw and cut out new silhouettes.
Pinups To Help Solidify Your Composition
If you’re working on the background before incorporating your compositional objects, you can place the silhouettes on your canvas to pre-determine their location. You can use a piece of tape or adhesive putty to adhere the cutouts on the canvas, so you can stand it upright on your easel. Then, step away to get a good look at your painting.
Viewing your composition as it would be seen by an audience is the best way to analyze your composition. Standing over your painting on a flat surface doesn’t give you the perspective you need to see it as it would be viewed.
Delineate The Position Of Your Elements
When you’ve come up with a composition that pleases you, use a pencil or light line of paint to outline your silhouettes in place. Once you’ve got everything outlined, remove the cutouts and begin painting them in.
However, don’t just paint individual objects, or they’ll look like the cutouts stuck on the background. You’re involved not only in the shape and local color of the items, but how the light source falls on them, the shadows they cast and the shadows that fall upon them.
Your cutouts act as a visual guide, and once they’ve served their purpose, it’s up to you to incorporate the images as integral parts of the piece.
