26 - Radial Balance

Radial Balance is a design were all the elements radiate or circle around a central theme of point. A classic example of radial balance is a snowflake with it's crystals coming from a point in the middle, or the sun with it's rays emanating around it.

I couldn't find anything in the realm of comics that could really show off radial balance so here's a wagon wheel!

They can't all be winners.

27- Crystallographic Balance (aka All Over Pattern) 5-2548

Crystallographic Balance is not as well known but more commonly referred to as all over pattern. Here there is no focal point. The pattern is uniform all over with a common theme and very little variation.

in comicdom, this is the closest I could get to crystallographic. This collage of the multiple faces of batman has a uniform pattern, with very little variation in the images. All of them are close-ups of the Bat.

3 - Line as Emotion

Line can convey a certain level of emotion as well. depending on the type of line you draw can affect how it's perceived. long flowing lines seem more whimsical and laid back, while short quick lines can help in conveying action or anxiousness.

This Fables painting shows a wide range of lines that convey emotion. The main girl on the lift wears a long flowing robe, that seems very relaxing with the long lines of the garment. Contrasting this are the wolves around her. The lines in the fur are very short and precise helping to add to the unease of them surrounding the girl.

8 - Naturalism

Naturalism is the raw and exact representation of the images found in nature. The image can convey mass and volume and gives the illusion of three dimensional space. They are hard to master completely and when a skilled artisan creates a natural pose, they should be commended.

Glenn Fabry, the cover artist to "Preacher" excels at naturalism. The comic business doesn't deal in a natural look at things often, so when an artist such as Fabry makes an art piece it stands out on the comic racks. Notice the attention to detail in the hands and the reflection of the face in the lighter.

9 - Distortion

Distortion is a departure from an accepted perception of a form or object, according to my design book. It usually manipulates established proportional standards and turns them on it's head. The long and short of this is that distortion accents something by making it a bit out of place.

Reed Richards is a prime example of distortion. Thanks to a blast of cosmic radiation, Reed can elongate any part of his body. Distortion takes a spotlight here when showcasing his powers.

10 - Idealism

Idealism shows the world as it should be and not as it is. Natural settings are improved and the human figure is shown in it's peak condition. All the flaws, accidents, and mistakes of the visual world are made right.

Idealism is seen throughout the comic world. This group shot of the Justice League by Alex Ross shows the idealistic form in all the characters. The men are barrel-chested with strong square jaws, while the women have softer features but still powerful and in perfect shape and condition.

11 - Abstraction

Abstraction is the simplification of natural shapes to their base character. Details are ignored as the shapes are reduced to their simplest terms. However. since no painter can get every last detail on canvas, most painting can be argued as being abstract. The abstraction and simplification can vary from artist to artist and still be abstract.

This cover of Fables is a form of abstraction. Here the details of the tiger and the woman are simplified to more basic shapes (notice the shape of the tigers head is almost a circle) This is a light form of abstraction but abstraction nonetheless.

12 - Nonobjective shapes

Most people think that abstraction is a bunch of shapes slapped together on canvas, this is not true. This is something known as Nonobjective shape. Nonobjective shapes have no object reference and no subject matter suggestion. Nonobjective shapes are often used to simplify design shapes and can be seen all the time in design books that are going over the design concept topics.

These three depictions of Winnie the Pooh show off Realistic, Abstract, and Nonobjective forms of art. The one on the far right is nonobjective. The artist has revert poor Winnie the Pooh to a few shapes and nothing else. Bother.

Trying to keep with the theme of superheroes and comics, the closest I could find on short notice was this scene out of "Heroes" The sculpture behind the two characters in Kirby Plaza is the non-objective, nothing but shapes.

13 - Rectilinear Shapes

There are two terms normally applied with shapes. The first is rectilinear. Rectilinear shapes are shapes that are composed of straight lines. All the shapes are sharp and angular.

This abstract pixel art of the Justice League shows off Rectilinear shapes in the most obvious way. All the shapes are rectangles.

14 - Curvilinear Shapes

The second type of shape is known as Curvilinear. Curvilinear designs are any designs that are rounded and (duh) curved and tend to imply a flowing shape or design in the composition. It took me a moment to find a good example of curvilinear shape in the realm of comics actually, but I did find one.

This cover of Fables is an awesome way of showing of curvilinear shapes. I am going to get on a bit of a soap box here and tell you that Fables is by and large one of the best and most underrated comics out there. (Check it out fan-geeks) Nonetheless this flowing cover involving Belle and the Beast from the comic have a continuous and airy design conveying the dancing they are no doubt doing.

15 - Value as Pattern

When talking about paintings or designs people always mention the value pattern. Value Pattern refers to the arrangement and the amount of variation in light and dark, despite the color used.

This painting of Superman, by Alex Ross, show the subtlety of the effect of a limited range of value. While the red suggest a very strong emotion and the image seems to be a very violent one, the lack of light and dark gives an understatement to what is going on in the image.

In contrast, literally, this sketch of Batman done by the same artist shows off a dynamic use of value. The variation in lights and dark shows a very exciting image of the wear and tear vigilantism does on the body. Despite the lack of action in the scene, the dark knight's body of scars seem to show plenty of action

16 - Value as Emphasis

A way to bring emphasis to a design is through the Value of the composition. A good use of dark-and-light contrast is to create a focal point or center of attention in a work of art. This gives the work a starting point for the viewer to focus on. A dramatically important character or feature can be highlighted literally through the use of contrast.

This etching I picked out of an old RPG book shows a group of people trying to kill a vampire by using sunlight. Value is used to emphasize the vampire as he gazes into the sun and gives the viewer a starting point as well as the theme of the piece all in one stroke.

23 - Unity With Variety

Unity is the presentation of an integrated image and is perhaps the closest thing to a rule as you can get in the art world. Roughly Unity means that a congruity or agreement extsts among the elements in a design according to the design textbook. There are multiple ways to look at unity and one such way to do this is with variety

There are a lot of ways to use Unity with Variety and one way is to to put Emphasis on Unity. A design can have both the ordered quality of unity and the lively quality of variety and still be pleasing to the eye.

This image of the multiple version of Supergirls from DC comics is one such example of Emphasis on Unity. While each character is drawn the same (i.e. the same hair, the same face, the same body shape) there is variety in the costumes each wear. This small variation rewards the viewer as he acknowledges each one, but still holds a unifying feature of being the same person overall.

24 - Symmetrical Balance

Symmetrical balance is something easily recognized. Simply put all the things in the work is balanced by something else, equally of size and weight. Mostly found in architecture, the idea can be carried over into artworks.

This cut between the DC heroes and villains is an ideal example of symmetrical balance. For every hero on the left, there is a villain on the right. They mirror each other balance the piece well.

26 - Asymmetrical Balance

Asymmetrical balance is a tricky subject. Nonetheless, asymmetrical balance can be quantified. Mostly it has to do with equal parts but not the same size. A pound of feathers and a pound of lead weigh the same but they look completely different.

This image from an issue of an older Ghost Rider is my example of Asymmetrical balance. The image of Ghost Rider crumpled with a spear in him are seemingly alone and asymmetrical with the rest of the piece. The only thing to provide a bit of balance is the long spear stuck out of him.

28 - Emphasis by Contrast

Normally, the emphasis in a piece if blatant, like in a portrait. However, sometimes the emphasis must be brought out using another means. In this instance, the use of contrast is in order.

In this instance the emphasis of light and dark is shown. The way the light bleeds through the arms raised in triumph emphasizes the lit parts of the figures main symbols.

Emphasis by Isolation

A variation on emphasis is something known as isolation. This is caused when all the elements are the same, but one stands out on it's own.

This cover of Astonishing X-men shows good emphasis by isolation. All the figures are the exact thing. The White Queen of the years of comics has changed her clothing and costume many times but the face is still the same. The one with her back turned is the same as well, but different and isolated because her back is turned to the intended viewer.

30 - Emphasis by Placement

Sometimes emphasis can be achieved by placement. One of the best ways to do this is through radial placement. All lines will somehow lead to the center point of the piece.

The cover here shows how radial placement is used. The lines and cracks lead you to the emphasis of the broken star. The stripes of the tattered flag take you to a worn and beaten Captain America, but his eye line takes you once more, to the star.

31 - Degree of Emphasis

Sometimes a theme needs to have a dominant focal point. The focal point still needs to be a part of the design, but has to stand out. Multiple focal points are dominant throughout good designs.

This cover of the comic Earth X has multiple focal points. The first, dominant, focal point is the man in the middle. With the darkness of the man in the middle and the fire around him draws you to him. The secondary focal point is the large X denoting the name of the comic. Finally, the tertiary point is below the man. The red creature below him is the same color as the X and can be immediately noticed after the X. The like values of red bring the viewer down the line.

32 - Absence of Focal Point

A focal point is not a necessity in a work of art. Sometimes there are works of art that have no focal point. The artwork has no central character or shape to bring you to a point.

In comics, the absence of a focal point is used widely as they make team shots. The shot shown is of many Marvel comics heroes. No single character is focused on or brought to the front. This creates an equality of all the heroes shown.

35 - Scale Confusion

Scale confusion deliberately changes the natural scale of something in an artwork to emphasize the important or focal spots of the work.

This cover from the comic book X-men shows an example of scale confusion. The main focal point is the woman in green in the middle. To emphasize her, the artist enlarged her to where she was much larger than the unconscious figures at her feet.

36 - Illusion of Space by Overlapping

Overlapping is the easiest device for creating an illusion of depth. When looking at a design or work of are, things that hide parts of another are on top of closer to the viewer.

This cover to the comic book Kingdom Come shows a prime example of overlapping. The spectral figure in the front overlaps all the heroes behind him. As the heroes recede in order, they are overlapped by the row in front of them.

37 - Illusion of Space by Vertical Location

Vertical Location is an older technique in describing space. The technique is simple: things that are farther away are higher up on the work of art. The thing closest to you is at the bottom of your range of sight, your feet. Things farther away tend to be higher up in your view and closer to the horizon line.

This group shot of some of the X-men shows vertical location. There is not much to determine the depth of the work, however the ones higher up on the piece are farther away, while the ones lower to the page are closer to the intended viewer.

38 - Illusion of Space by Aerial Perspective

Objects that are farther from the from the viewer in an artwork tend to become fuzzy and closer in value to the background. This is known as Aerial Perspective or atmospheric distortion. This creates depth in the work.

While Superman is distinct and crisp, the background is hazy. This is an example of aerial perspective. The cityscape behind him is the same hue as the background and has slight value change. The buildings are also hazy, as if viewed through fog.

39 - Illusion of Space by Linear Perspective

Another way of creating space is by using Linear Perspective. In nature, parallel lines will converge on the horizon. This is called a vanishing point, where all lines will recede. Also, horizontal lines will seem to get closer together, the closer they are to the vanishing point.

This sketch of Batman swinging through Gotham is an example of linear perspective. The buildings behind him, and the street below are slowly converging to the same point on the paper. You can take a ruler and measure them all to the exact spot which is the vanishing point.

40 - Amplified Perspective

Sometimes you need to be more dynamic in how you make the viewer perceive something. Amplified perspective is a way to do this, using a special way of viewing the subject. Normally the angle of the subject is in a direct way but a bit off the norm.

This image of the Avenger, Giant Man, is using Amplified Perspective. The angle of the piece is directly under his foot, distorting the image and making the character look larger than life. The artist is conveying a monumental size with Giant Man.

41 - Multiple Perspective

Multiple perspective is looking at an object from more than one vantage point. The most noted of this is in Egyptian Heiroglyphs. The Egyptians would draw a figure from the side yet make the eye as if you were looking at it facing forward. Another way of multiple perspective is through showing multiple areas. Breaking with the comic theme, here is an example of Multiple Perspective from Diablo 2

This view shows the room the player is in, but also the rooms around the player. This is multiple perspective by way of using many angles to show all the rooms.

42 - Spatial Puzzles (Equivocal Space)

Mastering the disciplines in art is something all artists must do. However, sometimes, an artist will ignore these rules to provide a new, fresh image. A confusion of spatial relationships is intriguing because you are faced with a problem in the artwork that much make you take further consideration.

Using spatial puzzles, Alex Ross created this work using the characters Wasp and Yellowjacket. Both characters can revert to small sizes, so to convey this, Ross distorted the size to confuse the viewer and to make them think about how big the two characters really are.

43 - Anticipated Motion

Anticipated Motion is one of the major ideas in art. Because of our memories and past experiences, we recognize, temporary and unsteady positions in the body. At this point the eye and mind realizes that a change is coming.

This splash page for the comic Ultimates 2 shows many examples of anticipated motion. The poses in the individuals seem uncomfortable and in the middle of action. Therefore, our mind will finish the motion; the running, the jumping, the fighting.

44 - Illusion of Motion by Repeated Figure

One of the oldest ways to create the illusion of motion was by multiple image. Using the same image in different movements conveyed motion. Most commonly, in today's age, this is used in comic books to show action.

This page from "The Ultimates" shows Captain America in a fight. This conveys motion by using multiple images to show the fight taking place.

45 - Illusion of Motion by Blurred Image

Using a blurred image can create the illusion of motion, since motion seems to be blurry on the cinema and in photographs. Making a fast shutter speed and taking a photograph can create the image of motion, Blurred images when seen with the eye are normally because of movement, the eye can't track crisply.

Let's take another look at the Flash.This image of the Flash from the comic Kingdom Come is an example of movement through blurred images. In the story, the Flash is so fast, that he is in constant motion. Alex Ross, the artist, decided to have every picture of the Flash in this blurred perspective.

46 - Illusion of Motion by Multiple Image

Another way to convey motion is by using multiple images. Using multiple images allows the viewer to see the motion for a different perspective.

This image of the Flash shows the same image multiplied to show the swiftness of the character.

34 - Alternating Rhythm

I'm breaking my stride here for a bit of fresh air.
Alternating Rhythm is a design or painting with two different forms, repeating themselves to form a regular and anticipated sequence. I had to resort back to Escher for this.

The repetition of black and white birds form an alternating rhythm with each other.

33 - Progressive Rhythm

Progressive Rhythm involves repetition but repetition of a shape that changes in a regular manner. The book mentions that there is a feeling of sequential patterns. Trying to keep with the theme, I've decided to go with this:

The flash is running, so the artist used repetition to convey this motion. The multiple shots of the Flash as he runs exemplifies Progressive Rhythm

7 - Lost and Found Contour

Now for a little magic! With Lost and Found Contours the focus of the composition is obscured heavily by shadows. However, thanks to the lines in the composition the mind will "fill in the gaps" of what is missing.

Notice how the only thing you see of the form in the back is his partially obscured face and the outline of his glove on the candle. However your mind will begin to fill in what you can't see. You see the full form of the figure in the back, now you see it, now you don't!

6 - Line as Value

Once more I'll look towards the comic realm to really demonstrate Line as value. To create value, many implement a tool known as cross hatching. Cross hatching is essentially marking lines multiple times in different directions to make a shadow or a value in the composition.

Notice how Bryan Hitch hatches and cross hatches the muscular of the character to show the different value and shading of it. Also note how he hatches the clothing as well as the weapon in the forms hand in a different way to fool you into seeing the texture of each form as well.

5 - Gesture Line

The other form of line is known as gesture drawing. Gesture doesn't focus on the rigidity of form but looks more at the action and the motion of the form.

Both hands seem to be moving thanks to the idea of gesture drawing. You could sense the fingers moving back and forth nervously in the second thanks to the quick marks of each line.

4 - Contour Line

The common way to use line in composition and design is a Contour Line. Contour line follows the edges around the subject of focus.

The artist, Bryan Hitch, uses contour line to finish this sketch of a comic character. He uses bold and thin lines to add the folds of the clothing on the form.

2 - Line as Direction

Flat, horizontal lines looke lifeless, like the floor around you. Vertical lines, like the walls seem to have a bit more life, but let's face it, their dull. A diagonal line though, that is where you get to have a little fun and can imply motion in a flat design. Line as direction is a well known tool for adding a bit of excitement in your sketch or drawing

Notice how the main characters in this other inking by Mark Brooks shows the motion of the moving cars and the scooter in the front. Also, the lines under the scooter show movement and action. Even the bridge is at a slant to further promote the chaos of this bridge in New York City.

1 - Line as Shape

Line as shape, my bread and butter. Line is important for any sketch or drawing art. It forms the shape of the composition.

A lot is going on in this picture. A lot of different characters from a popular anime. However, with everything going on in this picture, there is nothing but lines as shapes. There is no value and all you see is line, however you can tell the difference between individual characters in this inking by Mark Brooks.Line has formed all the shapes seen in this composition.

22- Unity through Continuity

Continuity shows that there is now a visual relationship between individual designs. The most common form of this is a standard grid.

This collage shows the continuity of the grid pattern but with multiple pictures and designs. While each picture is different, the grid brings them together.

21- Unity through continuation

Continuation is something that is a bit trickier. Not as blatant as the other forms of unity, it is still quite powerful. It simple means that arts of the design or piece is continuing, such as a line or edge.

Degas shows continuation in his dancers here. Notice how you can draw a continuous line with their arms all the way from the tip of the finger of one to the end of the fourth and final dancer.

20- Unity through repitition

Something also used in unity is something known as Repitition. This can be something that repeats itself many times in the design. The element can be anything: color, shapes, textures.

This example by Escher shows the repitition of swans moving back and forth. He also repeats the black and white value of the swans.

19- Unity through Proximity

Unity is a congruity or agreement that exists among the elements in a piece. One of the easiest ways to do this is through something known as Proximity. Proximity is simply putting elements or designs close together to form unity.

The Last Supper by Da Vinci has much in the way of proximity. Notice how he grouped the figures together save for the one in the center. By using proximity he focuses the groups into a tighter arrangement, bringing them all a bit closer together.

18- Visual Texture

Visual Texture is a lie. This very clever trick is something you can do to fool the eye into thinking texture is there where none actually exists. Most still pictures have to rely on Visual Texture. I pulled an example from the book (p.165) since it is a painting I have always liked.

Max Ernst, who created The Eye of Silence tricked us visually by using his pigments and colors well. The mossy structure of this very odd architecture looks so realistic, you think you could touch the painting and pull your hand back wet and cool as if you had slid your hand along the vegetation.

17-Tactile Texture

Tactile texture is something that can be felt. Painters will add layers upon layers of paint to put a texture to their artworks. One of the first to really do so was Vincent Van Gogh.

In his starry night, he used a technique known as impasto where the painter uses thick pigment. Van Gogh used short thick brush strokes and pure paints to bring out the image, looking at this example you could feel each star swirling about the night sky.

The setup