How to Go Back to the Playground to Keep Your Balance ?

Posted: Feb 01, 2011 |

Remember the teeter-totter? I remember playing on one with a kid who was much larger than I was. The big kid thought it was hilarious to sit on one end and hold the equipment down while I dangled helplessly above. Things were definitely out of balance. I got help from another friend, and teaming up, we two little kids could bring the teeter-totter to a level position. We were back in balance. Balance in your painting is similar, but it's a visual balance rather than a physical one. And, just like with a teeter-totter, you can achieve balance in two different ways:

Something with symmetrical or formal balance is equal on both sides. People are symmetrical, for the most part. If you draw a line down the middle of your face, or the middle of your body for that matter, the two halves mirror each other. A checkerboard is another example — it has an equal balance of red and black. Keeping things equal on both sides of your picture definitely provides balance, but a painting with symmetrical balance may not be as interesting as one with asymmetrical balance, which I discuss next.

With asymmetrical or informal balance, you achieve equality in each half using different numbers, weights, or shapes on each side of the center line. Asymmetrical balance is often more artistically interesting than symmetrical balance. Instead of identical trees on each side of a painting, you can paint one large tree on one side and two smaller ones on the other.

The teeter-totter example at the beginning of this section talks about asymmetrical balance in which two small kids balance one larger kid on the other side of a teeter-totter. An uneven number of parts creates equal balance because of differing sizes and weights. Now, switch kids with circles. One big circle on one side of a painting can be balanced with a bunch of small circles on the other side. Visually, the page looks balanced.

Pictures can be top- or bottom-heavy as well. If the picture feels heavy in one area, move the elements to make it more visually comfortable or in balance. If you can't move the elements, remember the lesson and use your knowledge in the next painting. You gain experience with each painting that you make.

Save yourself from discovering your painting is out of balance after you're too far along to make many changes. Plan your paintings by first making a thumbnail sketch. By planning the painting, you create a road map to your destination — a great painting.

Because asymmetrical balance is so much more pleasing to the eye, I show you in this section how to put asymmetrical balance in your paintings using the various elements of design. I focus especially on ways to balance color.

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