Creating the perfect collage

Rules of composition

UNITY – It’s all about creating a sense of harmony, with no particular object distracting you from the whole.

Unity can be achieved by using the same/similar shapes, distributing colours evenly, repetition of the same object.

There are two types of unity; unity with variation and unity without variation.

Unity with variation

Unity without variation

Unity with variation: repetition of the same object

BALANCE

There are two ways of creating balance, either through symmetry or asymmetry.

Symmetry – creates stillness or a sense of calm

Asymmetry – creates tension or movement

Asymmetry : rotation of the lines and the placement on one side of the composition

MOVEMENT

Movement can be created by placing objects in suspended animation to create the illusion of movement.

RHYTHM

Rhythm can be created through the placement of objects in a composition. By altering the distance of objects you can change the rhythm.

FOCUS – creating a main focus or point of interest in the collage.

There are different ways of achieving a focal point, including:

Isolating an element
One object differs from all the others
Difference in colour e.g. muted/bright
Difference in size
Meeting of lines

Focus: isolation of the design through change in colour

CONTRAST – difference between objects in the composition

Contrast can be achieved through differences in:

Light/Dark
Colour
Texture
Shape

Contrast: difference in colour saturation of objects.

Contrast: difference in texture and shape

PROPORTION – the size of parts of a whole

Interest can be added to a composition by having unequal parts of a whole.

Proportion: the proportion between the head and body is atypical creating an element of suprise.

SCALE – the visual comparison between different elements.

A difference in the size of elements can add interest to a collage.

Scale: the scale between the head and the person in the bottom-left is unequal creating interest.

DEPTH – creating the visual illusion of dimensionality to a 2D collage

Creating a depth of field can help bring a collage to life.

Depth can be created by:

The overlapping/layering of objects
Placing foreground/background objects in different parts of the composition
Making foreground objects larger and more vibrant
Increasing the distance between objects in the composition

Depth: a deeper depth of field is created by elongating the distance between the boat in the foreground and the building in the background.

THE RULE OF THIRDS

Possibly the best known rule of composition the rule of thirds is a helpful device to help balance the placement of objects in a composition. The key is to place objects along the lines of intersection.

The rule of thirds: objects have been placed at the intersection of lines

This post is inspired by Hollie Chastain’s book ‘If you can cut you can collage’.

Creating the perfect collage