Find Out Useful Painting Advice – Rule Of Thirds And Focal Points in Pencil Drawings
Pencil Drawing Tips on the Rule of Thirds and Focal Points
The Rule of Thirds is an easy graphical method which provides a useful approximation for the so-called Golden Section.
The Golden Section – The Golden Section is the division of a length into two parts such that the ratio of the shorter to the longer parts equals the ratio of the longer part to the whole length.
This leads to the proportion of 1 over the irrational number 1.618, called the Golden Mean. This mysterious ratio turns up quite a lot in nature and is therefore pleasing to the eye.
The Rule of Thirds – There are exact mathematical methods to produce an exact Golden Section but for the practical purpose of determining a suitable focal point for a drawing we can get away with a much simpler but approximate method called the Rule of Thirds.
The Rule of Thirds starts with a rectangular piece of paper. It divides the rectangle into 3 equal parts vertically and then also horizontally. This yields 4 intersection points called “hotspots”.
It is easily seen that the Golden Mean is being approximated by 1/1.66 which is close enough to the Golden Section for government work.
The idea is that each of the 4 hotspots can now be used as a suitable focal point for your drawing. In de West people usually enter a drawing visually from the left. Therefore, the top and bottom hotspots on the right are preferable. This requires the viewer to traverse the entire left of the drawing to get to the focal point.
Another approximate method to determine a Golden Section is to first draw a diagonal of the rectangle. Then through any corner of the rectangle you can draw a line perpendicular to the diagonal. The intersection point of this line and the diagonal can suitably serve as a focal point.
There are many more compositional types which are pleasing to the eye. Here are four more:
1. The O-type – In this compositional type the objects are arranged in the shape of an O. This circular composition keeps the viewer’s eye inside the circle. The focal point should be somewhere within the open space of the O.
2. The S-type – As expected, the objects form the shape of an S. This compositional style is very graceful and fluid. The focal point can be taken in either of the open spaces of the S form.
3. The L-type – This compositional style has objects along a vertical line on one side of the paper and objects along the bottom line of the paper. In other words the relevant objects form an L. You can locate your focal point somewhere in the open area of the L or somewhere along the vertical stem.
4. The U-type – In this style the objects form a U shape. The space inside the U is a good place to put the focal point and also provides a rest place for the eye.
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