My 7 Secrets to Creating Interesting Compositions

A few days ago, I was writing an article on the simple ways you can level up your art. Don’t worry, that’s still coming. However, as I was writing that article, I realized I sure had A LOT to say about compositions. So much, in fact, that it could be it’s own post. And here we are.

I’ve been focusing on this topic a lot lately - mainly because I realized the compositions I was creating for clients were better than the ones I was creating for my personal work. I decided to unpack why this was and boy did I make some interesting discoveries. This begs the question, what makes a good composition?

While I’m not an expert on this topic, I’ve been making art steadily for 10 years and working as a freelance illustrator for 4 years. This article covers everything I’ve learned in between, including some more recent things I’ve picked up.

1. Spend a Few Extra Minutes Thinking It Through

   This may sound obvious, but gosh it’s something I wish I’d known sooner. You can be a really great artist, but if your final art is partially thought out, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Part of the reason my compositions for clients were better is because they were thinking them through more. So was I so as not to disappoint. My skill level was the same as it was in my personal work, but my ideas weren’t as good.

   So what does this even mean? Well, say I want to paint a lake. I could just sit down right now and paint a generic lake with a few boats and people on the shore. That would be fine. But how much more interesting would it be if there was a race happening. A race in swan boats? At sunset? Where one boat has tipped over and someone has fallen in? And there are string lights on the piers that light up the scene? Now we’re talking. That sounds interesting right? It sounds good to me too. In fact, I might just paint it. These little obscure moments I just listed are what make a piece.

   The key is to take your initial idea and say to yourself - and what else is happening that would make things interesting? I want to paint a lake- what else is happening on the lake? It’s simply about telling interesting stories through your art. Usually your first idea is good, but it’s half-baked and not all that interesting. The “what else is happening” question fixes that. It makes the piece better.

   The cool thing is, you don’t actually have to make any art to do this. It just requires a little extra thought up front. And this brainstorming phase is actually fun. You know you have a well thought out composition when you can’t add any more things without overloading the image.

2. Sketch First

   You probably read the words above and sighed. We know, we know, sketching is good. Believe it or not, there was a time when I didn’t sketch at all before painting. Once you have that perfect composition thought out, do a sketch under your final work (at the very minimum). In order to make a really good piece, you may even want to sketch a little thumbnail. Or you could even do a very detailed sketch and use a light box to paint. Often, I like to do a sample painting on my iPad. Whatever it is, just make sure you sketch something.

   Sketching a piece before you tackle it is important because it’s a form of planning. And art is always better when you have somewhat of a plan. How much of a plan is up to you, but most artists have a sweet spot. You want to sketch just enough to have an idea of where the work is going, but not so much that it removes all the spontaneity and fun for you.

   If you’re trying to make your art better and you’ve already been sketching your work, maybe take it a step further and do more sketches than you usually do. See what happens. Once I started sketching to plan for my pieces, my compositions got a lot better.

3. Play with the Rule of Thirds

   Most of you probably know this rule. If you aren’t you can check out this article for a quick overview.

   If you divide your painting in thirds, vertically and horizontally, the major elements of your paintings should be on those lines in order to make things visually appealing. This rule gets fun when you do something unexpected. Say you’re painting a vertical city scene. Your first instinct may be to put the buildings in the middle quadrant and the sky and water in the top and bottom quadrants. However, what if you show more sky than you normally would and put all your buildings in the lower quadrant of the piece? Or, what if you don’t show any sky at all, and have the buildings bleed off the top of the spread. It’s about taking your initial idea and doing something unexpected.

   The beauty of using the rule of thirds, is no matter what you do, it will still be visually pleasing. You can use this rule when deciding where to put other elements in your painting as well. It just makes the work look more clean and professional.

4. Think About How the Viewer’s Eye Will Move Through Your Piece

   This is a less obvious one, but helpful. As I’m filling in my painting with little elements, I like to leave a trail for the viewer’s eye to follow. For example, I often use birds in the sky as a way to carry the viewer through a less exciting area of my painting. I think of them as little surprises or “easter eggs” for them to find. Don’t just focus all the action in one area of your painting. Make there is a fluidity to where your elements are placed.

   It can even be helpful to draw a line under your painting for where you want the viewer’s eye to go. Maybe it’s in the shape of a “U” or maybe an “S” or a “Z.” Just make sure you put little things for people to notice along those trails.

5. Choose a Light Source & Time of Day

   This is something I’ve been working on a lot lately. For years, I basically just ignored lighting. I think this was a necessary part of my growth as an artist though. I didn’t have the skillset at the time to worry about one more thing. Now that I’m more skilled, I can focus on getting better at it.

   So, what do I mean by “choose a light source?” Just decide where your main light is coming from. It would be the sun if you’re painting an outdoor scene. If you’re painting an indoor scene, it could be overhead lighting or a lamp. Is your light source coming from the top right? Then, the top right of all your objects should be lit up and your shadows should be cast to the bottom left.

   Next, choose a time of day. No matter what you’re painting, this is helpful. Even if you’re painting an indoor scene, the sun likely will have some role in how the painting looks. For example, in morning light, everything should have a warm, peachy glow to it and the shadows should be more dramatic.

6. Curate Your Color Palette

   Color plays a big role in how a composition is taken in. It does three things, it tells the viewer what to focus on, makes them feel emotion, and offers a unique perspective. First ask yourself - what is the most important part of this piece? And how can I use color to make it stand out? Second, ask yourself - what emotion am I trying to convey with this piece? If the piece is a sad one, maybe you use blues and cool undertones. If it’s a happy one, lean towards warm undertones. Lastly, how can I offer a unique perspective through color? Maybe you do the whole piece in black and white, with a few pops of red. Maybe the whole piece will be done using only three shades of color.

   Once you answer these three questions, you’ve put more thought into your composition than almost every other artist out there. And that’s what it comes back to - planning. If you’ve followed along here for a while, you know I use color swatches to plan out my paintings. I really think about what my primary colors will be and how they will work together. It’s made me a much better artist.

7. Study Your Old Compositions

   What are the most successful compositions you’ve created? What are the least? What makes them good or bad. Keep a written log of notes. Often enough we don’t go back and learn from our old work, but it has so much to teach us. The more you do this, the more you will see patterns emerge that will help you create better work in the future.

So back to my question of what makes a good composition? I’m going to say it’s showing a unique perspective. It’s taking that first idea you have and turning it on it’s head to take the viewer on a journey. When I’m painting something, I’m thinking like a performer. How can I surprise and delight my audience with this piece?