Do Ya See What I'm Trying to Show?

What makes a piece of visual media feel right? Take the above painting by Kandinsky for example, despite it being a compilation of random shapes and lines why it that I feel comfortable with it? Visual composition is the way in which an artist arranges things in their choice of media, using their own judgement to determine whether their composition looks right and in turn allows viewers to share the same thought. 

Be it a photo, painting or film understanding what looks appealing and  visually correct is trickier than it sounds. As an art student I am encouraged to through the iterative process of planing out my work by doing several prep sketches and paintings before attempting to pull off a final piece. This is a process every visual composer needs to take, sinply because no one is able to pull it off on their first attempt. Mentioning this now actually make me feel dissapointed with the schools I used to study at. Both during  my GCSE and surprisingly my A-levels I was never taught that this was the way to approach my work. Sure... I learnt how to plaster-cast, work with clay and block print but that doesn't exactly help to properly produce a final composition. So much time wasted faffing about just doing random shit without actually focusing on anything.

Carrying on the subject matter, there are several elements that make up the way a piece visual media is composed:

• Line
• Shape
• Colour
• Form
• Placement
• Proportion
• Texture
• Space
• Value

Each of these elements are altered and manipulated to the liking of the artist when it comes to composing and it is what I should be experimenting with when trying to come up with a composition. Using various thickness with the line, applying warm colours, choosing between a matte or a gloss finish are just some of the ways I try experimenting.

When visually composing for a video game there's whole bunch of things to take into account. Environments, characters and interface just a fraction of things to be concious of. Working is 3D is already challenging but as soon as the dynamic element kicks in theres lots of things to keep a eye on in order to make things look consistant. Just thinking about it bothers me, knowing that the moment I begin to put my work in-engine something is going to look out of place.