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#Post#: 22--------------------------------------------------
Shapes in Composition
DIR By: Pam
Date: May 21, 2021, 5:41 am
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The very shapes an artist uses in an image dictate, to a great
degree, the mood, feel and ideas that the scene will
communicate. We've looked at this already in terms of specific
details, but it's no less important to remember that a scene's
actual composition is based around shapes, too. As can be
expected, these forms provide a great deal of options for an
artist, and can be combined or used in various ways to describe
a range of concepts or feeling to the viewer. Like the other
elements we've discussed previously, this is a powerful tool for
the artist when translating a writer's ideas into visuals.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=1.png
Our simplest, most basic shapes are rectangles and squares.
These are reminiscent of stable, trustworthy things: buildings,
house bricks, pavement. They feel man-made, measured and
reliable, so for places of authority such as this detention
centre from Unavowed they are the perfect basis on which to
build a scene.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=2.png
A more dynamic set of shapes are curves and circles. These feel
less stable, and slightly more natural, and their tunnel-like
appearance is often good at creating the sense of a distinct
pathway and a distance to travel, as well as drawing focus into
the middle of a scene. Combining a tunnel of circles with a
gentle S curve off into the distance such as Ive done here in
Unavowed is an effective way to give that impression of distance
straight lines are always the shortest route between two
points, so curving the line helps to build the illusion of
depth, and give greater surface areas to show for the walls.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=3.png
A third aspect of shape we can build around is angles. These
initially feel similar to rectangles in that they can feel quite
man-made, but the lack of perceived stability adds an element of
drama and tension to them. They are perfect for images like this
establishing shot from Unavowed, which places the 'camera' high
above the street, looking down, adding a slight sense of danger
by representing a point of view that isn't standing on stable,
solid ground.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=4.png
Knowing the nature of our scene is a good way to decide which
shapes to build it with. Take this castle wall and gate from
Companions of Xanth, for example. Here the structure we're
looking at is rigid and unyielding. Placing the viewer's eye at
this exact spot makes the forms of both gate and wall feel very
solid, and from here it's impossible to see any way to climb
over, crawl under, or walk around. These large, solid rectangles
represent power, authority, and a hindrance to any progress we
could wish to make.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=5.png
The square shape isn't always limited to man-made objects.
Companions of Xanth, again, uses large square canyon walls here
to represent a barrier that we cannot pass. Note how straight
the edges are there's no sense that we could climb these cliff
faces, and because of that we perceive an impassable and
immovable barrier. Compare this with the curving shape of the
path that winds through the middle, giving us a sense of a
distance that we must travel and a form that feels much less
firm and imposing.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=6.png
In the same way that squares don't necessarily represent
something artificial, circles don't necessarily represent
'organic'. In Simon the Sorcerer 2 we have the interior of a
building, easily recognisable as such, but if we take a step
back and examine the shape of the composition as a whole, it's
quite clear to see it shaped as a big circle. This works well
for this kind of scene, a place less authoritative and more
lighthearted. It gives a looser, less reliable feel than the
hard straight lines of a composition built around squares, and
also feels more fun.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=7.png
When used in nature, though, circles are great for giving a
sense of focus. In this scene from The Dig, our eyes are drawn
to the end of the tunnel, and the loose, circular composition
acts as a picture frame (something we've discussed before, and
comes up many, many times when studying compositions). This sort
of scene works in feeling contained and narrow, forcing us down
a passage, and is also an excellent way to link between two
areas, potentially building suspense for what is to come.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=8.png
Even the slight suggestion of a circle can help elicit that
feeling of narrowness. The rounded opening made by the
vegetation in this scene from Frederik Pohl's Gateway creates
both a strong sense of dense jungle, and a slight suggestion of
being concealed from the creature described in the text. While
much less of an actual tunnel in structure, it still has the
same effect of enclosing the scene to feel contained, and
focuses our eyes on a particular point.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=9.png
A more complicated series of circles and curves, as shown in
this area from King's Quest VI, can combine the two ideas
nicely. The curving walls, and particularly the pathway, give a
sense of scale, but the way the circles close in on themselves
towards the centre of the image still keeps everything feeling
contained. It's an interesting juxtaposition between the
elements that manages to feel both organic and unnatural,
blending both ideas together into a compelling whole.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=10.png
Conversely, when paired with squares, as in this later scene
from the same game, circles still provide a sense of containment
and bring focus, but now with a much more rigid, official feel.
We're still, effectively, looking at tunnels, but here the
tunnel feels structured and unnatural. Both combinations are
imposing in their own ways; it's the overall 'mood' underlying
that feeling that shifts, from oppressively alien to
oppressively man-made.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=11.png
Here's yet another circular composition, this time from
Discworld, in which it is paired with angles to give an
interesting mix of the two. It still feels manufactured, but in
a cryptic way. The high angle of view lends a sense of
instability to the scene, and the different angles of the
pathways help to throw the balance off too, so we end up with
something of a compromise it still looks man-made, but there's
also something definitely otherworldly about this scene. I like
to think of these forms as modifiers depending on the sort of
shapes we use within one particular composition, we can achieve
a vast range of moods.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=12.png
The unsettling nature of angular compositions can be very
effective. Alone in the Dark lends a greater level of drama and
tension to this death scene with an angled approach. An
interesting exercise is to try to envision this same scene, but
treating the slab upon which the character lies as a perfect
rectangle with edges parallel to the edges of our screen.
Suddenly the scene loses some of its impact the subject matter
remains the same, but the representation is more sterile and
clinical.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=13.png
In this manner, fairly normal subject matter can be given a
dramatic flavour by being shown at an angle to us. The colours
and lighting in this shot from Sam & Max Hit the Road are
certainly a big part of what gives it such an eerie, intriguing
feel something we've explored in the past but so does the
way that elements such as trees, clouds and the statue sit at
harsh angles. Its a placement that, compared to the stability
of rectangles, feels threatening and abnormal.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=14.png
Angles are also useful in that they can combine a threatening,
alien impression with rigid straight lines of solid, man-made
aspects of a square composition, making it feel more actively
menacing. The angular racks of guns in this armoury from Dune
could have been shown as squares, but the spiky angles they're
given here add to the sense of danger, helping the scene feel
more dramatic a perfect composition for a room full of weapons
on an alien planet. This gives us the authoritative sense we
might expect from a square composition, but without so much of
the stability.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=15.png
Another example of solid, square lines being used in an angular
fashion can be seen here in The Dig, with facets that feel
alien, dangerous and dramatic, and in structures that feel
manufactured, but not in a human way. This scene is interesting
in that the angles seem to get sharper and more prominent as the
view pans down, effectively increasing the sense of tension as
we perceive the full depth of the space beneath where we can
stand. Once more the lighting and colour play a very big role in
the mood that's created here, and paired with the forms that
make up the scene's basic shapes and structure, this leads to a
very powerful overall effect.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=16.png
Angled shapes can also be combined with curves and circles in
our compositions in wonderful ways. Here we see a curving path
leading up to a throne in King's Quest V, but it curves in a
harsh, angular way, combining the sense of distance that a curve
brings with the danger and drama of angles. We also see a circle
of harshly angled spikes behind the throne, presented in a way
that draws our attention in towards a specific point and
contains the scene. Much like the alien construction of the
previous scenes, the setting and materials here are perfect for
the composition, with the angular throne matching the idea of
shards of ice very well.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=34457&fid=43&f=17.png
Shapes, then, are about more than just the furniture with which
we dress our scenery and the patterns we paper its walls with.
They are the building blocks of the underlying structure of our
scenes, the very foundations upon which our sets are arranged
and designed. I've tried to outline fairly easy-to-follow
examples here, but often the shapes of a composition will be
much more subtle and harder to spot. Depending on how you look
at it, for example, the road from Full Throttle here could be
called angular or curved, but mostly, as with many elements in
compositions, it's some combination of both without being easily
defined. That being said, it's extremely common to use bold,
solid compositions that follow these examples, and the more you
look for them, the more you'll see how your favourite background
artists employ these forms to communicate their ideas back to
you.
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