This one will not be a news item as I'm lazy today and writing this on the fly. It's nearly been a year since I spoke to you all as a professional offering real advice - in that time I've been taking my own advice, learning from people far greater than myself artistically (there's no lack of those out there! ) and generally doing what I can to earn a position of knowledge that you all can benefit from as well.

I've been asked to speak on this issue for some time, and though I have covered many of these tidbits before over the years, it would be nice to refresh it all.

Composition, Color, and their interactions: as specifically requested by many of the fine folks over on the Epilogue.net forums

It was requested by some individuals that I take a moment to share some information on composition and color. I am by no means an expert on these things, and constantly learn new things with my own creations - so there is far better information out there than I am likely to share, but perhaps it will offer some ideas and information that somebody out there finds useful. The most important thing to remember though is that while many of us look at these things as rules, we need to understand that no rule outweighs a good illustration. I don't generally believe in these things as rules to draw by, but I do see them as strong guidelines that will usually help a piece. Guides to better story telling. Don't take them for granted, but don't let them rule the illustration either.

Let's begin.

When it comes to composition, many people get confused because they over-think the process. A composition is effectively a basic shape that moves the eye around. Let's explore a few examples:

(as this was requested by Epilogue go-ers, I felt it pertinent to use the community of images as examples)
[link] this piece by Epilogue's own Patrick McEvoy is conveying composition through depth. By putting the majority of the piece in the far background plane, he uses greatly diminished contrast on his colors - even with a high red saturation level, that lack of contrast tells us a lot. As the composition goes the eye follows a > sort of movement based on the warrior to the skull fortress thingy - why? Because those are the two points with contrast in comparison to the areas around them. The rest of the image is in essence the supporting cast. No unnecessary detail, it all tells you a smidgen more about those two areas of the image.

On top of this, see how the mountains remain in the reddish hue while near our hero we see some blue in the sky, his horse is pale with some light tan tones. The people themselves are under saturated in comparison to the background, splitting them off from the foreboding "evil" feel that we get from the big red skull back there.

So yes, this is a good composition, it tells us a story, uses colors to manipulate the mood and tell us what is good or evil and uses some basic shapes to create a scene with some complexities.

What about this image by Cris Griffin, our very own Domestic Goddess?
[link] Here you can see a great example of using colors to move an eye. The composition itself isn't as defined by a background, instead it is moved by color hues that become sort of their own shapes. It's abstract in spots adding mysticism and intrigue. But how does it all relate? The big trick to making everything fit together like a puzzle is in taking a color and putting it in other spots of your image. The strong greenish/blue of the hair and blue dress is mirrored in the background in subtler tones, putting the strength on her, but still tying them together in some fashion. Her skin tones remain hers though, the bright pale skin putting great emphasis on her features. What do we mirror in this case? Darker browns, as the pale skin is just a derivative of these tones. So the browns and blues of the background get their tones from her, making it relate very well. What about the composition on things like this? Well we follow up the trees, around to the web-ular region, and those blues and shapes of what we are lead to believe are undefined mystical trees perhaps, drag us around to the birdy and then back to the woman.

So in this case, she is our focal point but we get a circular composition to make it eye catching. Even on your pinup pictures without major stories these compositions, which some people believe aren't needed, will help the image. The importance is that it makes people look longer, which is obviously a step to being more marketable. The story here tells us about the character, not a particular scene - but that story none the less is what the image is there for.

So, after those samples let's talk about this. How do we set up a focal point? It can be pretty much anywhere, though a far corner isn't always recommended.... but really it's where you want it. How would you make it a focal point? Contrast usually. The lightest and darkest parts, all things shape wise leading to or from it, high detail, etc all contribute to a focal point.

Some summarization and finer points: The relationship of color and value is something to keep an eye on, the contrastier spots will be important eye catching things, and if you want them to be there but not all that eye catching (supporting cast, if you will) they become closer together on the value and color scheme, like a distant mountain range to tell us "this dude is outside" or some such thing. Remember that the further back things go, the more desaturated and less contrasted they are often even taking a blue ambient tint. Importantly I urge you to also remember that in the early process, simple geometric shapes that flow together are your best friend toward making a simple to read and effective piece.

So this is how I relate composition AND color. But how about some plain ol color talk, color is more complicated than composition really, as there are even more variables to pull together into a product. Let's start basic: A warm color is best described as a vibrant color, it has more saturation, and pops out visually... your cooler colors are the opposite, they are muted and less saturated. However this is generally a relative term, as these colors are often defined by what they are around. I can take a red that I wouldn't normally call warm, next to a really dead looking green and it will pop out - in this case it will appear a bit warm. So there isn't always a fine or even a bold line. But remember that all colors can appear as either a warm or a cool, it just depends on the strength of it and how you arrange those colors.

I will not talk about complimentary definitions and what not right now, there are a TON of resources out there for you on these, however I will say this: buy a color wheel if you don't have one, unless you know a lot about color in which case.... why are you even reading this crap?! This will show you the various unities out there that you can tap into. You can set up contrasts say between an Red and a Green, or the subtle tones of using a sweep of reds, purples, and blues. It's all in how you use it for the greater good of your image.

Some things to note: Blues are a tone that people relate to. It's a calming color, even when vibrant. Why are most authoritative figures dressed in blue? Now you know. Greens and purples are usually a question color, a mystery, an unbalanced and some times uneasy bunch that make you want to know what's off kilter. Obviously some colors have happier tendencies than others, yellows and oranges lead to a spring time happiness, the lower spectrum of browns and blues and purples make us think more of a drab time of year. Play into this, it sounds cliche, but truly this is what eye manipulation is all about. It's a mood setter. I use blues to make people feel cold, I use reds to make somebody feel humid perhaps, or angry, etc..... explore your own preference of combinations - this is like a recipe of taste, and no set one is really the correct one. Just, some are better than others, so you gotta play around with it.

Another thing to keep in mind is subtlety. A piece that is primarily blue that needs a compliment of orange doesn't always need it in a dazzling display - work it in with small bits, put a low opacity pass of orange over that blue and while it may look a little muddy, that's a subtle tone shift that CAN do what you need it to, if you've planned it out a bit. So not all colors have to be purely green, purely blue, etc. Small doses of another color here and there can add a lot of spice.

(Later addition - as I wrote that a few weeks back and have new information now)

I received a fascinating comment on my recent image, Swordpoint Remonstrance:

"Really love the use of reds and browns. Gives it a very steampunk/magic feeling."

Which, after I thanked the individual I was responded to as such:

"if you had used black and greys and tried to make it darker I would have thought it was post-apocalyptic with some magic involved."

Our colors have a huge connection to the world we are portraying, and by paying attention to when to use the strong contrasts and color changes - and when to use the subtle ones.... you'd be amazed at just how well you manipulate that story.

I'd like to go further but I don't really know where to go with it, I'd love to take questions. And if anybody has conflicting knowledge, I'd love to hear it - I am not an expert on any of this material, it's just things that I've sorta picked up over time and countless efforts of "well crap, that didn't work...."

EDIT: [link] <-- If you've not seen this, it is a powerhouse of information on color, hue, chroma, value, etc