ancesra

Using Gradients for Focus – Art Journal

Added 2024-09-18 02:02:29 +0000 UTC

Gradients are a great and easy method to help direct attention to parts of a picture you want it to be.

Recapping some of the main general rules of composition are something similar to this:

Eyes look for the light, avoid dark.
Eyes like saturation, don't like much desaturated colors.
Eyes focus on sharp areas, they have a hard time remaining in unfocused sections.
Eyes get attracted to contrast, of any type.

If we use these principles and apply them to gradients we can do many things to guide attention through the piece. Usually on most pieces where I want the viewer's eye to focus first is the subject's face. In these examples gradients combined with other composition elements work together to attach this goal.

In the image here there are just some examples and concepts and are not exhaustive. There are many other ways to use gradients, but I hope it can give you ideas to use on your own compositions in a similar or a new manner.

Note the illustrations used as example are edited to be exaggerated so the gradient effect is more easily visible. If you check those original illustrations the way gradients are used is in a mostly subtle manner, in some even almost imperceptible, but it still does the job. I always recommend not overdoing any technique or tool.