Portrait and landscape formats both require
a different approach so you should create your artwork differently depending on what
canvas you use. The shape of the canvas will always influence
what is created. If we had a round canvas or a triangle canvas
we would alter our compositions drastically. The viewer looks at each shape differently
and therefore we must create our artwork using different composition tools. The viewer also views portrait and landscape
format as being different. I would worry if an artist felt they were
the same. We have seen how the rule of thirds can be
limited when used with portrait format images. The rule of thirds doesn’t favor elements
that are central on the canvas. This lead me to question if it was possible
to create a portrait alternative to the rule of thirds and this is my alternative. After years of researching artworks with great
composition and examining their structure it has lead me to this composition tool. I have called it the Diamond guide. The guide is solely for works created on canvases
that are in portrait format. The points of interest are different. It’s in different places
on portrait images. This is because the viewer’s eyes navigate
a canvas differently depending on whether it’s in portrait or landscape format. In portrait format images the eye of the viewer seems
to focus more heavily on what is central to the composition, because of this I knew that
a central line would be the most important part of this composition tool. There are a number of lines within this composition
tool, but it’s important to remember that the central line is always dominant. At first glance this diamond framework seems
too complicated and it seems to lack the beautiful simplicity that the rule of thirds has. However this is a tool that can be used on
three different levels. On a very basic level you could just use the
idea that, when the canvas is in portrait format, you should place the important
elements on the central line. You could strip this composition tool down
to a single line and it would still improve the composition of your artwork. Using the central line will improve artwork your, but there are other ways this composition tool can be used. Let’s look at each line of this composition
tool and see how it’s constructed. First we will draw the central line and as
I’ve already stated this line is more important than any other. We are then going to draw a central horizontal
line that splits this canvas into four equal parts. Now we will draw two vertical lines. Place a cross in the top. Then place a cross in bottom. Draw a line from the centre of the top cross
to the top right edge of the canvas. Then draw another line from the center of
the cross to the top left of the canvas. Then draw a line from the centre of the bottom
cross to the bottom right edge of the canvas, and then draw a line from the centre of the
bottom cross to the bottom left edge of the canvas. At first glance this might seem complicated,
but as we come to the end of this section you will find this tool much easier to comprehend. This composition tool is used in a similar
way to the rule of thirds. If you draw the guide out, you can then create
images and you place the important subject matter on the lines.