Before proceeding into Lesson Three, take a moment to step back into the energy of what you’ve already explored in the Graphic Design Basic Element Series that relates to this lesson.

Revisit >Basic Surfaces and Basic Surface Enrichments

After Lesson Two, this lesson experience expands the choices for tonal and opaque areas by embellishing your previous small works knowledge with a variety of engaging surface augmentations beyond basic line, plane, and tone.

The freedom to enrich these defined areas opens the door to exciting visual possibilities that can take your artwork in entirely new directions.

A simple subject set against visually rich surfaces can redefine a focal point, create a more compelling foreground or background, and give your linework new ways to interact with the surface itself.

The only caution is balance: enrichments should build interest while still supporting the focal point rather than distracting from it.

Surfaces That Communicate

You are already familiar with surface planes rendered as opaque or tonal areas.

Now it’s time to explore how to make these surfaces feel alive. Your imagination is about to dream up rich combinations that enhance areas using mediums and techniques you may never have considered combining before.

In addition to flat opaque surfaces that appear to block light, and softer tonal areas that gently receive it, we’ll now begin incorporating reflective, transparent, and translucent qualities.

It’s All About Light!

Reflective surfaces behave much like a mirror, returning light and imagery to the viewer. Foils, as layered mediums, are especially useful for creating this effect.

Transparent surfaces allow light to pass through clearly, so objects beneath or beyond them remain visible. A non-tinted transparent film demonstrates this quality beautifully.

Translucent surfaces also allow light to pass through, but not clearly. Objects beneath remain visible, though softened, diffused, or hazy. Tinted film is a wonderful example of this effect.

Opaque surfaces are solid without light. This basic surface is most commonly used for expressing black, or solid color shapes.

Water is a Perfect Example

You can render all four basic surface qualities visually without layering physical mediums or materials.

Imagine a painting were the viewer gazes into a pool of water. If the water is crystal clear, the rocks below are visible through shimmering clarity, illustrating transparency.

If the water becomes murky, the rocks may still be visible, but softened and dreamlike, demonstrating translucency. Reflective qualities appear naturally in water scenes at sunrise or sunset, when surrounding forms and light reflect across the surface.

Ten Surface Enrichments

Let the fun begin by reimagining how your chosen art mediums can express texture.

As you explore the ten surface enrichments incorporated into this lesson, notice which qualities you already tend to use naturally. Which surface enrichments appear least in your work? Which ones are quietly waiting for your creative attention?

1. Coarse: A surface or material that feels rough, harsh, or uneven, often composed of large particles, thick fibers, or pronounced texture.
2. Bumpy: A surface covered in raised lumps, nodules, or irregular projections that interrupt smoothness.
3. Rugged: A strongly uneven or irregular surface characterized by ridges, grooves, sharp edges, or dramatic tactile contrast.
4. Lumpy: A surface that is uneven and irregular, containing raised areas, depressions, or inconsistent forms.
5. Pebbly: A granular or bumpy texture made up of small, rounded forms resembling pebbles or tiny stones.
6. Ripply: A surface defined by gentle waves, folds, ridges, or undulating movement, whether liquid or solid in appearance.
7. Fuzzy: A soft, fibrous, porous, or visually indistinct texture that evokes warmth, softness, atmosphere, or ambiguity.
8. Gritty: A rough, coarse, granular texture — either actual or implied — that suggests rawness, struggle, age, erosion, or intensity.
9. Chalky: A matte, powdery, dry-looking texture with a soft, hazy, weathered, or heavily pigmented appearance.
10. Splattery: A spontaneous, energetic texture created by flicking, dripping, or throwing liquid medium onto a surface in expressive and often unpredictable ways.

Beyond Flat: Texture Blueprint Lesson

Now it’s time to experiment and begin creating your next grouping of small works.

Continue the small works format, which helps set a time frame to avoid overworking any single piece. The goal is spontaneity — building a reference library of visual experiences alongside your written journal notes.

From Lessons One and Lesson Two, you created an exploratory collection of twenty-four small works. Through repetition, you’ve exercised your creative memory muscles, creating a strong foundation of basic artistic structure.

Now you’ll begin expanding that foundation, experimenting with the three additional basic surfaces and ten varied embellishments.

Begin by laying out the twenty-four works you’ve created so far and choose five that especially draw your attention as inspiration and reference.

Rather than assigning a fixed number of new works, the goal is to explore all ten surface enrichments individually or in combinations, while also incorporating reflective, transparent, translucent surfaces.

Embellishing defined areas also strengthens your ability to adapt and experiment with the mediums already present in your studio.

Your Texture Reference Library

How to get started! Here’s some ideas:

To create coarse, bumpy, or gritty textures, you might squiggle or smear glue onto your canvas, sprinkle clean sand over the surface, shake off the excess, and let it dry.

Suddenly, the surface itself begins inviting your imagination into the design process.

You might paint on textured paper or sandpaper, create splatter effects with diluted modeling paste, or use painter’s caulk with a putty knife to carve ripples and rugged edges.

Pastels naturally invite chalky textures, while salt, inks, and diluted acrylic splashes create movement and visual energy.

Collage artwork is wonderful, too, as an exploratory medium. Foils, films, cellophane, fabric, tinfoil — everything is fair game in this lesson.

Time to Reflect and Appreciate

Once you’ve checked off the list of basic surfaces and all ten embellishments, take another visual pass through your work. Is there a combination still calling for exploration?

Finally, reflect on the experience in your journal:

• Which mediums did you love most?
• What surprised you?
• Which embellishments felt most natural?
• Which techniques would you like to incorporate more deeply into future artwork?

What’s Next?

Lesson Four is a recap and free-form play day — an opportunity to combine everything you’ve learned in whatever ways your inner creator wishes to express. Schedule time to celebrate your commitment to learning new ways to engage with your creative spirit.

Then, get ready! Because Lesson Five opens the door to another exciting exploration. The next few lessons transform the way the elements in your artwork fit together into an immersive, engaging visual reality that will awe your viewers and patrons.

Click here, to bookmark > Art and Design Tutorial table of contents

The post Lesson Three: Experimenting with Surface Enrichments appeared first on SandyBreckenridge.com.

Before proceeding to the second lesson, take a moment to step back into the energy.

For a refresher, click > Basic Design Descriptions and Shapes and Basic Directions

In this post, we will focus on incorporating basic shapes and line directions into this comprehensive lesson plan.

Defining Space: Shape and Direction

In the Lesson One, you created your first five sets of three artworks, exploring design variations by rendering art with lines, opaque planes, and tonal areas.

No doubt you experienced how each creation becomes a playful small work. Each set of three used the same basic elements, and each rendering delivered its own statement that could stand alone or be displayed as part of a progressive series.

You’ve completed an introductory basic element study of the first marks used to create art! Now we’ll add three more sets of three small works, each using basic shapes and incorporating the four Basic Line Descriptions and a subset of Five Line Descriptions as mapped out in the lesson plan.

Circle, Square, and Triangle

Basic shapes morph into ovals, rectangles, and interesting triangular shapes. Each basic shape can serve as a basis for an entire composition strategy, creating a pleasing flow of elements. We’ll cover composition strategies later in this artistic development course. For now, let’s focus on this lesson.

The following simple graphic retraces what we previously covered. In this example the three basic shapes are rendered as a simple well defined line, a plane, and a tone.

The Next Experience

In this exploration, we’ll expand by incorporating shape variation in addition to choosing from the line descriptions + plane, and tone.

You’ll experiment with small, medium, and large basic shapes, opaque plane, and tone.

Plus, you’ll get to further develop your small works by consciously choosing from the following line descriptions.

There are four Basic Line Descriptions and five Subset Line Descriptions.

The idea behind the repetitive practice in this lesson is to thoroughly understand that the amazing effects of line variation in your art can translate into captivating visual interest.

Plus, the varied sizes of small, medium, and large-shaped focal points and support elements also deepen interest and artistic skill. Using lines and varied shapes in interesting ways can help define all areas of your composition’s landscape.

The Nine Additional Line Descriptions

Basic Line Descriptions

1. straight (also diagonal)
2. horizontal
3. vertical
4. curved

Subset Line Descriptions

1. zigzag
2. contour
3. implied
4. dotted
5. dashed

Let’s Get Started

The guidelines for this lesson provide a lot of freedom to explore very interesting and creative combinations that stretch your imagination.

You’ll get to interpret your reference art in completely new ways!

You’ll create three sets of three small works. So, gather up nine uniform small canvases or whatever composition material you are using. Also, feel free to use whatever rendering or painting materials you like. You can even incorporate collage.

The Rules for this Lesson

Each set of three will include your choice of basic elements of line, plane, and tone: all three or in any combination. (Draw from what you liked best from your previous artworks.)

Plus, and this is where the challenge begins, adding basic shapes. One set will primarily feature circular shapes, the next, squares, and the third, triangles. Also, the sizes of these three basic shapes can vary between small, medium, and large.

In addition, you’ll add variation in your rendering style by choosing three of the ten basic directions until you’ve used all of them. Since there are nine variations, an easy choice is to choose three for each artwork.

Remember, repetition builds skill and trains your subconscious mind how to incorporate new, interesting elements in your existing artwork. Therefore, repeat the combination you detailed through each set of three.

Three Image Examples in this Post

For the three work study examples, I chose the following combinations:

1. Line, Plane, Tone, Circle, Curves, Dashes, Dots
2. Line, Plane, Tone, Square, Vertical, Horizontal, ZigZag
3. Line, Plane, Tone, Triangle, Straight, Contour, Implied

You can download each graphic to examine the elements closely. The contoured lines, implied line, and subtle triangles incorporated into the third image at the left are adventurous choices.

Notice how the line directions are interpreted in all three as creative representations of spaces in the reference photo (just as you did in the previous lesson).

Be sure to study the examples and identify all nine line qualities!

You’ll find interpreting your chosen reference material using a Small, Medium, and/or Large Basic Shape, and variations of three different Line Descriptions in each set of three small works an invigorating, creative work study.

What you experience creating the nine small works is a rich and exciting challenge for any artist, experienced or a beginner. You might find this lesson addictive because it asks you to incorporate interesting rendering options that may feel like unusual choices. Ideas that flow into your future art from this lesson may be subtle; others, bold!

Keep Practicing

You can also create additional projects of multiple artworks, exploring more combinations created from this lesson’s formula. Many skilled artists use this repetitive formula to stimulate their imagination when creating small comps before pursuing larger works.

Be sure to take notes in your art journal as you move through each lesson. Reference back to what you liked, what you loved, and what still feels mysterious! You’re giving your inner creator fuel, and creative and intuitive responses will follow.

Also, notice how your creativity is already evolving.

There is something magical about creating in multiples of three. This bears repeating: remember to notice what you like—and keep doing more of that!

Also, leave me a comment anytime. Let me know if you need additional coaching, even if you come across the lesson plan through searching for free online art courses. I am always happy to help.

The Next Lesson

In the third lesson, you’ll continue using the same small work format. Next, we will incorporate Basic Surfaces and Surface Enrichments. Texture and surface enhancement offer a chance to explore exceptionally creative artistic mediums.

You’ll get to dig out some art materials you tucked away, knowing someday you’d find a use for them! Bring your curiosity as we continue building your visual design toolkit.

To go to the next lesson, click > Lesson Three: Experimenting with Surface Enrichments

Click here, to bookmark > Art and Design Tutorial table of contents

The post Lesson Two: Basic Shapes & Line Descriptions appeared first on SandyBreckenridge.com.

”Art is the stored honey of the human soul.” – Theodore Dreiser

Before proceeding to the first lesson, take a moment to refresh your memory.

Revisit > Basic Design Descriptions and Shapes.

Our First Marks: Line, Plane, Tone

In the first building skill post, we introduced the method of building skills through small work explorations. We are going to start with the most basic building blocks of design—line, plane, and tone —and, in the second set of exercises, deepen our skills by adding the three primary shapes: circle, square, and triangle.

Basic elements are the framework of all art and design. Now it’s time to slow down and begin experimenting.

Each new task will include groups of  three small works. Creating in sets and through repetition gives us enough practice to explore variations. As we proceed with this adventure, our creative neural pathways begin to wake up, and we start to imagine how simple changes can alter perception and strengthen visual storytelling.

Now that your supplies are ready to go, it’s time to choose three simple photos to use as a reference (or more).

Make sure the photos you select have a clear focal point and a background that is free of distractions. You might use only one image for this entire lesson, but it’s helpful to have additional options available in case you want to experiment with multiple images.

Here are four examples that are simple enough for the Line + Plane + Tone exercise variations. This lesson consists of five sets of three small works. You can choose from these example snapshots, or select from your own photo collection; to download just right-click image.

Qualities of Lines

Lines come in many forms, just like styles of artwork. Memorizing all the variations is helpful, but until an artist has hands-on experience, the knowledge remains unexpressed.

List of line variations:

• Thick to thin
• Vertical, horizontal, diagonal, curved
• Light to dark
• Broken, continuous, dotted, dashed
• Tonal differences
• Color variations, including hues and intensity
• Smooth to textured, rough, jagged, hairy

Repetition is king! So, in this first set of three small works, you’ll practice rendering a variety of line qualities in each work, keeping in mind how the line qualities interact with one another.

Then we’ll add additional basic elements as we progress, totaling fifteen works for this lesson.

Ask engaging questions while rendering and after each completion:

• Does the line quality build depth, create contrast, aid in perspective, or move the eye forward?
• Does it build a pattern, engage flow, or generate vibrational static?
• Does varying the line thickness change the relationship of the eye to nearby surfaces?
• Does color change the eye’s interest in exploring the whole surface or draw the eye to the focal point?

First Set of Three Small Works: Line

It’s time to grab your supplies and canvases! It’s your choice whether to do this exercise with tracing paper over the top of your chosen image or to work directly on the canvas.

For this exercise you’ll render three small works using only lines.

PRO TIP: Easy Tracing Method: Place tissue on the photo, and trace using a graphite pencil. Flip the tracing paper over, then use a graphic stick to cover the surface. Flip back over, place on canvas, and retrace with a ballpoint pen so you know which lines you’ve traced. Now you can start rendering.

You can also cover the canvas with a matte medium, press the tracing paper with the outlined image onto the surface, then cover it with additional matte medium, let it dry, and continue the exercise. Digital artists can work in layers on their devices.

Create a uniform time limit for each small task. Forty-five minutes to an hour is a good target. Once the initial set of three works is complete, take some time to review your artwork. What did you like? What did you love? What did you learn?

Adding the Next Element: Line + Plane

A plane consists of a solid, opaque color. Light doesn’t pass through a solid plane.

Experimenting with variations of opaque plane surfaces reveals how color moves the eye forward or backward, and how a hue can complement or offer contrast, create a focal point, or solidify a background.

An opaque field can distinguish a point of interest, or construct a negative-positive feature or theme. An entire work can start with a contrasting opaque background creating dramatic effects.

In the second set of three small works, render using line + plane, shaped surfaces. Create combinations in the medium of your choosing. 

Again, take some time to appreciate your three artworks on their own. Then combine the two series and notice what you notice! How did the lines and planes interact? What did you like? What did you love? What did you learn?

Adding the Third Element: Line + Plane + Tone

A tonal color conveys to the eye a quality of transparency. The surface shape contains a visual effect projecting lightness.

The viewer is left with an impression that darker shapes might be slightly visible behind the hue, but not as light as a transparent surface. For now, don’t worry about adding texture to planes or tonal areas—we’ll add embellishments later!

Watercolors and washes are wonderful tonal mediums. Even house paint, ink, acrylic, and gouache washes work well to create tonal shapes. Lines can be used to lighten areas to create interesting shapes.

Render the third set of three small works with a combination of the three basic elements of line + plane + tone.

Remember, the elements do not have to be edge-to-edge; they can overlap. Play with contrast. Experiment with using the lines to add depth or define spaces.

If you choose to outline an element, notice how varying the line between dark and light, or thick and thin, can give the illusion of defining a space without outlining it. Perhaps the line is a series of small dashes with a space, followed by a longer line. A thick line may bring the eye closer, a thin could project distance.

Have fun developing a style, or learning a variety of ways to define spaces! This lessons repetitive practice will soon pay off. You are learning methods to refine or extend your personal style for future artwork.

Again, take some time to review your small works. Always ask: What did you like? What did you love? What did you learn?

Switching it Up: Line + Tone

Let’s eliminate the opaque element in this set’s exercise and use tonal shapes and lines to define spaces and add visual interest.

In the fourth set of three small works, render using just line + tone. The softer hues have a luminous quality.

Using lines that appear bold or darker shades can achieve the illusion of an opaque quality.

Notice how the line over the very soft tonal band and the slightly darker tonal shape on the composition’s base adds perspective.

Here, the flowers are painted in a wash style. Also the continuous darker  lines above the flowers complete the framing sections. The very soft thin lines on the window panes enhance the sense of reflecting light.

After completing this set, take some time to review your work separately. Now add the set to the other nine works and view them together.

Begin moving your artwork around and notice how they relate to one another. You are developing a greater understanding of the first basic elements that make up all art compositions. Again, remember to ask: What did you like? What do you love? What did you learn?

Omitting the Lines: Plane and Tone

The simplicity of an artwork featuring softer tonal shapes and opaque planes can be very relaxing to the eye.

Color depth or a plane’s distinct visual statement can set up how the eye relates to the focal point, or the main subject of your composition.

To create the final set of three works, use only plane + tone shapes.

In this example, not only does the lighter band move the visual of the bottom elements forward, but the darker tones at the top act as a backdrop. The tonal quality and color variation in the middle is clearly the focal point. You can achieve definition and perspective without using lines.

In your examples, experiment with how color density changes the perspective. Remember how dull colors and bright colors help define the stage. Mixing 2 brights creates a hue with intensity that pops forward, whereas mixing 2 dull colors has the opposite effect. A mix of dulls and brights is useful for defining space that supports your focal point.

In this last set, remember to “change it up!” You are also building the skill to place your focal point subject wherever you want in your composition! Perhaps you want the top area to be the foreground, while the bottom fades into the background.

The Power of Reflection

“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.” — John Dewey

Give yourself a big hug and pat on the back for completing the fifteen small works. Your commitment will pay off. I am excited to hear how your future artwork evolves. Leave me a comment, okay!

It’s time to make that hot cup of honey chamomile tea and reflect on the simplicity and elegance of your last set of three small works.

When you view all fifteen creations be sure and move them around. You will find so many relationships that pop! Plus, you’ll begin to identify new rendering skills to combine with your individual style.

You’ve also learned a valuable state of mind from which to view your work. Your inner creator responds deeply to heart-based learning. Asking questions like: What did you like? What did you love? What did you learn? will accelerate your learning and building new creative neural pathways!

In our next exercise, we’ll experiment with basic shapes, movement and direction, and get acquainted with four surface enrichments. Stay tuned!

The post Lesson One for Building Art Skill appeared first on SandyBreckenridge.com.

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” — Scott Adams

This post introduces a series of exercises that accompany the Graphic Design Basic Element Series to help develop skill and artistic design competency through the repetitive practice of each basic art element.

Exercises to Deepen Skill

Through this series of posts you will practice incorporating all the basic elements step by step through spontaneous small works. The repetitive method progresses from basic element construction into more complex combinations.

The result builds an experiential knowledge base in design that you can consciously incorporate into your unique design style and deepen your existing works by transferring this new experience to any art medium.

The practice of rendering creative variations offers the subconscious an opportunity to recall the association of the learned experience in future works with greater ease.

The 3, 6, 9 Repetitive Formula

We’ll explore each element, or series of elements using groups of 3, 6, or 9 small works. This strategy creates enough variation to allow you to experience, compare, and build a diverse sample base of reference artwork.

Feel free to expand any lesson series. You can also revisit the series and explore any piece in further detail. The idea is to have fun, notice what you like, and do more of that! Be super playful, make this experience fun, and break any of your steadfast rules as you go. “What if” is your friend.

By the time you complete your last rendering, you’ll have multiple series of references to serve as comps for future projects. Your lesson creations may become standalone series that tell a story or provide inspiration for a storyboard for future art projects.

Bob Roth, “Finding Birds” Metaphor

You’re not gonna like everything you do, so keep in mind there’s always a bucket of white paint lying around to reuse a canvas if you are ready to release it after it sits awhile. Also, finding birds in an artwork isn’t a mistake. The bird metaphor turns a misplaced mark into something interesting. Get as basic as you can get, as well as bold! Also, did you know there are no real boundaries on a canvas?

Gathering Your Materials

• 8×8 paper, cardboard, or mat-board canvases (or uniform alternate size choice)
• Graphite drawing pencils, colored pencils, and colored fine and medium tip markers
• Colored paper (for tearing and cut outs)
• Your choice of art and painting mediums (make sure to have a combination of bright and dull colors)
• Tissue paper (design aid, or overlays)

Exploring Color

During lesson plans we’ll incorporate color. Gather a combination of bright and dull paints, pens and markers along with black and white rendering materials. The intensity of the bright hues are important to incorporate during practice.

Click to revisit the > Best Palette Colors to Build Depth tutorial.

Bright Colors

The bright colors have more intensity and have the effect of moving forward toward the eye in a composition. They can assist in establishing a focal point.

Dull Colors

The dull colors are more subdued hues and are best suited for positioning in the middle ground or background. They work best for supporting the composition.

Step-by-Step Art Exercises

Now it’s time to deepen your skill and apply what you’ve learned. The following exercises are designed to expand your current skill level and are applicable to your existing art style and works.

Each lesson offers additional exercises that accompany the Graphic Design Basic Element Series.

1. Line Plane Tone Exercises

The post Art & Illustration Learning Exercises appeared first on SandyBreckenridge.com.

“Learning is the only power that grows stronger the more it’s shared.”

In a world obsessed with speed, strength, and certainty, it’s easy to forget the quiet magic that built every great civilization — the ability to learn.

Not the classroom kind, but the kind that hums beneath everything alive. Learning is the original superpower — invisible, infinite, capable of invoking humanity’s rising.

The Birth of a Spark

Long before capes, comic books, or PhDs, there was Learning — a quiet deity wearing spectacles made of curiosity and shoes stitched from assumptive mistakes. She wasn’t glamorous like Flight or Invisibility. She didn’t smash villains or seduce empires. She simply whispered, “Try again.”

The cycles of assuring voices ignored her. But those who keenly listened and questioned discovered that to learn was to bend the laws of the universe without breaking them. It was a kind of alchemy — a transmutation of confusion into clarity. Learning wasn’t a superpower; it was the mother of them all.

The Human Experiment

Enter: humans. Hairy, hopeful, often hungry. They built tools, fire, and eventually YouTube tutorials. Somewhere between sticks and silicon, they realized that learning could make them god-like.

They could heal bodies, send messages across oceans, and even question the cosmos and the anomalies within it.

But there was a catch — a cosmic joke, really. The moment one believed they had “learned enough,” the power flickered out. Stagnation was the kryptonite of knowledge. Learning demanded humility — a lifelong apprenticeship to the knowable unknown.

The Hero’s Dilemma

Every superhero has a flaw. For the Learner, it was comfort. Comfort dulled the spark. Why question what already works? Why climb higher when the ground feels safe?

The true Learners — those odd, restless souls — were often misfits. They couldn’t help dissecting the obvious, asking why when the world begged them to stop. They ruined dinner parties and redefined civilizations.

It wasn’t the strength of their minds that set them apart. It was their willingness to seemingly fail, fall, and look foolish — over and over — in public.

God as a Verb

While frolicking on the path, if one were to personify God, perhaps God is not a bearded figure in the clouds but rather Learning itself — the unfolding, the expansion, the infinite experiment. To learn is to participate in creation, to take part in the great cosmic improvisation.

Every discovery, every “aha,” every child asking “why is the sky blue” — all are sparks from the same divine current.

Learning, then, isn’t what makes us like God. It’s what guides us to create understanding — to recognize that we are each the center of our own unfolding universe, constantly expanding with every new insight.

To learn is to orbit wonder and slowly realize that the orbit and the wonder are one and the same.

The Revolution of Curiosity

If society ever declared a new age — one not defined by conquest or commerce but by curiosity — the Learners would rise again.

Their weapons: questions. Their shields: wonder. Their motto: “Teach me to expand the aha.”

And perhaps, when the last Learner dies, the universe will sigh and collapse — not from entropy, but from completion — only to reinvent itself as a playground for more Learners to begin again, wide-eyed and unknowing, ready to rediscover the infinite.

The Secret Compass

So yes, learning is a superpower.

It doesn’t come with a cape, but it does come with a compass that always points toward that next question invoking greater mystery. And if you follow it long enough, you may discover that the secret of the universe isn’t knowing everything — it’s wanting to.

The Eternal Explorer

I’m forever exploring the edges of what’s visible — and what isn’t. Through Transdimensional Mapping, a form of remote viewing, I’ve discovered that curiosity is the spark that invokes learning beyond logic.

Each session feels like opening a new page in the universe’s notebook — playful, mysterious, and infinite. Here’s to the inner explorer in all of us, guided by curiosity to learn across time, space, and imagination.

I invite you to take a peak at a recent short mapping session. As a TDM student developing skill with ongoing practice, I am so fortunate to play in a limitless realm with no end in sight.

So here’s to curiosity led by the inner explorer, experiencing the only superpower that lets us perceive across time, space, and imagination.

Click to visit TDM Session of: Nixon Ends the Gold Standard

The post Learning: The Superpower That Never Sleeps appeared first on SandyBreckenridge.com.

“To do it is not to learn it. To do it again and again is the learning process.” — Fred Griffin, PNW artist, instructor at Burnley School of Art, and Cornish Fine Art, Seattle, WA and creator of the Fred Griffin Design Code

The previous lesson described Perspective and all variations. This 11th and final tutorial, 64 Compositional Arrangements in Design completes the series and includes a downloadable visual poster illustration of every combination.

The Secret Code of Great Composition

Hint: It’s Been Hiding in Plain Sight! Do you know that moment when your whole being sees something for the first time—like when shadows crisscross a sidewalk, appearing like a sky scrapper, or how a crumpled candy wrapper echoes the shape of a nearby leaf fluttering in the wind? That’s composition at play.

Design is everywhere. Once you start seeing it, you can’t unsee it. This 11-part design series is about unlocking that kind of vision.

Seeing through new eyes starts with the provocative: Fred Griffin.

Fred Griffin: The Man Who Saw Art in Everything

Fred Griffin didn’t just teach design—he lived it. He had a way of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. I remember days when he would come into the classroom eager to teach by showing us his latest art journal sketch.

He’d pull out the overhead projector, place his sketchbook, flip on the light, and show us a projection of a discarded gum wrapper and a fallen leaf he found on his walk—then place tracing paper over how they overlapped. Like magic with a few strokes of his pencil, he’d uncover hidden connections between the two, transforming these found objects into something exciting and entirely new.

Fred saw design possibilities everywhere.

That’s what made the Fred Griffin Design Code so brilliant. He was a visual explorer; he understood the relationships between elements and what makes great compositions work. His design methods continue to provide artists a clear, structured approach for creating balance, movement, and impact in their work—igniting the freedom to create something by just rearranging elements in a new way.

He taught at Burnley School of Commercial Art in Seattle from 1960 to 2010, and trust me, if you studied under him, his lessons stuck with you and you have scrapbooks to prove it!

Learning to See the Griffin Way

I graduated in the last class available from Burnley in 1986, and Fred Griffin’s teachings completely rewired how I see the world. His Design Code didn’t just influence my work—it made me more aware of how everything around us is designed, whether intentional or accidental. While design isn’t at the core of everything I do, his approach has enhanced the way I observe, interpret, and create across all aspects of my life.

That’s why I wanted to document his design code and offer this series as a way to inspire other creatives that may not have an opportunity to attend an expansive art school. I wanted to keep his teachings alive and share them with anyone looking to level up their creative game.

8 Multiplying to 64

In summary, the heart of Griffin’s system are 8 Compositional Devices—the building blocks of great design. Think of them as the notes in a musical scale. When you start combining them, the magic happens! With just these eight devices, you can create 64 Composition Variations.

That’s a whole universe of design possibilities that stem from:

1. One Dominant – A strong focal point
2. Two Dominant – A dynamic push-pull balance
3. Pattern – Rhythm through repetition
4. Negative/Positive – Playing with figure-ground relationships
5. Movement – Guiding the viewer’s eye
6. Structure – A framework for organization
7. Frame – Defining boundaries
8. Perspective – Creating depth and dimension

The Grand Finale: All 64 Combinations in One Place!

To wrap up this series, please feel free to download my poster that showcases all 64 Composition Variations—a visual playground of everything you’ve explored in this 11-part free design series.

Always remember that great composition is about seeing possibilities, making connections, and creating with intention exploring your inner joy!

Downloadable Poster

You can also purchase a professionally printed poster for wall art in your creative space. You might like the design on a mini poster to sit on your desk. You can also find other items, like greeting cards, or art journals. I just ordered the tote bag so I can take the design code with me wherever I go.

To check out professionally printed items, click > 8 Compositional Devices, 64 Arrangements Design Poster

Whether you’re a designer, artist, or just someone who loves looking at the world in a new way, I hope this series has sparked some fresh inspiration. I’d love feedback of how the series has helped your creative journey. Or, if you have any additional questions please leave me a comment.

Now, go experiment, explore, and most of all—have fun invoking your creative spirt!

To start at the beginning of the series, click here>  Graphic Design Compositional Device Series

The post 64 Composition Arrangements for Artists and Graphic Designers appeared first on SandyBreckenridge.com.

The previous tutorial covered a general overview of the Frame Composition and eight variations. This art design tutorial describes the Perspective Device plus all the variations.

Perspective Composition

Perspective as a compositional device transforms a flat surface into a dynamic visual space, guiding the viewer’s perception of depth and scale.

It creates the illusion of three-dimensionality by manipulating size, position, and convergence, allowing elements within the composition to recede, advance, or exist within a believable spatial framework.

Whether through linear perspective with vanishing points or atmospheric perspective using shifts in color and clarity, this technique establishes a sense of distance and spatial order. By controlling how objects relate to one another in space, perspective helps anchor the viewer’s gaze, purposely leading them through the design.

Beyond creating depth, perspective enhances a composition’s narrative and emotional impact. It can evoke grandeur by exaggerating scale, create intimacy by pulling the viewer into a scene, or add drama by distorting angles for emphasis.

Perspective is a fundamental tool that shapes how the viewer experiences the artwork, making it more than a visual arrangement but a spatial journey.

Perspective One Dominant

Colorful modern art guided by a primary Perspective composition can feel like an explosive statement, especially when using a One Dominant subordinate device.

It’s hard to gaze away, and the eye keeps returning to the focal point.

This composition combination is often found on packaging designs, intended to capture your attention while strolling down the aisles while shopping.

For simple designs, Perspective One Dominant can be quite visually effective.

Perspective Two Dominant

This is another eye-catching composition option.

Of course, the Perspective Two Dominant choice is also adaptable to subtle designs.

In this example, perspective was defined using lines and opaque shapes.

Tonal bands, like the header image for this tutorial, are also fantastic rendering options.

Remember, photography also benefits from strategic composition. If this were an image in nature, it might be a close-up of two bugs against a landscape photo featuring perspective elements.

Perspective Pattern

Even though Pattern is the subordinate element, the entire design reflects Perspective by appealing to a sense of foreground, middle ground, and background.

Notice how the eye flows from the foreground heart to the background fainter-colored heart, yet this shape represents the patterned element.
The background Perspective acts as a foundation for the heart-shapes to appear to descend. This combination can be enjoyable and playful.

Even though the background incorporates patterned elements, the primary design device is Perspective, and the Pattern elements are secondary.

Perspective Negative Positive

The repetitive Negative Positive diagonal shape appears to be ascending from the upper left boundary of the image.

It’s also what defines the Perspective primary arrangement.

Even though the track colors and shape are bold, The Negative Positive object is still subordinate when describing the overall primary composition.

This is a great example of how easy the design could evolve by making different rendering choices with the lighter textured shapes or smaller patterned elements.

Perspective Movement

Perspective Movement is a prevalent composition in fine art and photography.

Nature gives us fantastic opportunities to build interesting arrangements incorporating a plethora of subjects.

Elements like water, light, the effects of the wind, and the curvy lines in the environment move the eye around the canvas.

As long as there is a focal point that suggests a vanishing point, Perspective remains the primary design device, and movement is supportive.

Perspective Structure

Structure is the subordinate device because it suggests a vanishing point. Even though that point is off in the distance, the eye still perceives the structure of the house with perspective in mind.

In this image example, the house appears to be sitting on a cliff with trees and a sky in the distance.

This is another example of a prevalent compositional style in fine art and photography.

Looking through your photo stream to identify common compositions is a fun exercise. You might decide to play with your photos by cropping them or spending a day experimenting with variations.

Perspective Frame

The Frame device doesn’t dominate the overall design. Instead, it becomes a focal point of the Perspective composition.

The fireplace builds on the primary Perspective device’s intent to capture the eye and add interest.

The Frame device can be bold while still keeping Perspective primary. The idea in any Perspective composition is to identify the vanishing point while capturing visual appeal.

Anytime an object is framed by elements, it adds a subordinate feature. Some design frames might be third or fourth in the hierarchy of components.

The 64 Compositional Devices focus only on the primary and secondary arrangement. However, this doesn’t mean that other elements may not reflect additional descriptions.

Vincent Van Gogh’s The Bedroom is a perfect example of one of the great masters who enjoyed playing with one-point perspective. Examine the placement of the furniture while noting how your eye is drawn to the window in wonder of what might be seen gazing through to the outside.

Perspective Perspective

A picture within a picture!

Perspective primary and Perspective secondary reminds me of standing in a corner of a room viewing a big open window that looks out at the ocean and a beautiful sunset of in the distance. What a perfect opportunity for a breathtaking snapshot!

What’s not to love about the opportunities this combination offers for the artistic eye!

It’s a teaser for the eye, too. The trick is to build on a focal point element without creating too much distraction. When interest can build without losing the eye’s ability to navigate the canvas that’s a winning combination! In this example, the secondary Perspective device was an image from our last tutorial.

ArtPlay

To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it. – Kurt Vonnegut

In the spirit of Kurt, here’s a suggestion to get your attention!

Listen, if you want to make art, you’ve got to do it the way a dog greets the mailman—with reckless enthusiasm and absolutely no concern for dignity.

Don’t sit around waiting for divine inspiration to descend like some kind of celestial FedEx package. Just start making something, anything, and let it be terrible.

The world is already filled with people clutching their brows, waiting for perfection to strike, and most of them end up doing nothing at all. Art isn’t about being good; it’s about being alive. And if you’re lucky, it’s also about making a mess and laughing at it later.

The thing is, no one ever told a kid with a box of crayons to “think about their career trajectory” before they started scribbling on the walls. They just did it because it was fun.

That’s what creative people forget when they get all serious and tortured about the process. You’ve got to play. You’ve got to experiment. You’ve got to give yourself permission to be awful because, frankly, no one is watching as closely as you think they are.

And even if they are, the worst they can do is roll their eyes—which, last I checked, has never actually killed anybody. So make something. Make a lot of somethings. Your soul will thank you, and if nothing else, you’ll have one hell of a time.

Downloadable Art Reference Sheet

The next tutorial is a recap of all the arrangements that are taught in basic graphic design which is also applicable to all mediums of art.  

Click > 64 Compositional Arrangement + A Downloadable Poster!

To start at the beginning, find every lesson, click > Art & Design Tutorial Table of Contents

The post Perspective Variations in Design appeared first on SandyBreckenridge.com.

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” – Albert Einstein

In her seminal book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Betty Edwards illustrates how engaging the brain’s right hemisphere—responsible for visual and spatial processing—enhances our ability to see and reason more accurately.

This approach contrasts with the left hemisphere’s propensity for assumptions and interpretations. By tapping into both hemispheres, we cultivate whole-brain thinking, leading to increased intelligence, improved problem-solving, and better decision-making.

The Science Behind Whole-Brain Thinking

Recent research supports that intelligence isn’t confined to specific brain regions but emerges from global brain connectivity.

Studies have shown that cognitive intelligence relies on the interaction of multiple neural networks across the brain. This suggests that integrating intuitive and analytical thinking contributes significantly to our cognitive abilities and can even aid in vocational rehabilitation.

Intuition: The Right Hemisphere’s Contribution

Intuition, often described as a “gut feeling,” is a rapid form of cognition that doesn’t rely on conscious reasoning. It’s our brain’s way of making swift decisions based on accumulated experiences and patterns. Intuition taps into the more profound abilities of our already existing senses.

The right hemisphere plays a crucial role in this process, enabling us to process information holistically and recognize patterns quickly. Listening to these internal cues can be incredibly valuable, especially in creative fields where decision-making is often fluid and instinctive. Strengthening intuitive skill also helps move through creative blocks.

Art as a Path to Whole-Brain Thinking

For artists, daily creative practice is more than expressing ideas—it is a workout for the brain. Engaging in art strengthens neural pathways, improving visual perception, problem-solving, and adaptability.

When we create, we activate the right hemisphere’s ability to see relationships, understand composition, and recognize patterns, while the left hemisphere helps us analyze, refine, and make intentional choices.

This dynamic interplay enhances overall intelligence and equips us with the cognitive flexibility to navigate life’s complexities.

How Art Improves Decision-Making

Practicing art regularly cultivates:

• Observation Skills: Training the eye to see rather than assume strengthens perception, leading to more informed choices.
• Pattern Recognition: Artists develop an intuitive grasp of composition, balance, and flow, which translates into better problem-solving skills in daily life.
• Emotional Intelligence: Creative work fosters self-awareness, empathy, and a deeper understanding of human emotions, all essential for making thoughtful decisions.
• Resilience and Adaptability: The creative process involves experimentation and iteration, which teaches artists to embrace uncertainty and refine their approaches—skills that are invaluable in everyday problem-solving.

Practical Steps: Creativity Cultivates Left/Right Communication

1. Draw or Paint Daily – A quick sketch trains the brain to observe, analyze, and make intuitive choices.
2. Experiment with New Mediums – Challenge your brain by engaging with unfamiliar artistic techniques to strengthen neural connections.
3. Engage in Mindful Creativity – Let go of rigid expectations and allow intuition to guide your work, fostering both right-brain creativity and left-brain analysis.
4. Reflect on Your Work – Review your artistic process to recognize patterns in your thinking and decision-making, reinforcing whole-brain engagement.

By practicing art daily, we refine our creative skills and develop sharper intelligence and more effective decision-making abilities.

Whole-brain communication, nurtured through artistic practice, empowers us to navigate our creative journeys and everyday lives with clarity, intuition, and insight.

Another skill that builds the access to an expanded experience of intelligence is a revolutionary methodology that builds on blindly following intuitive hunches combined with documenting data.

To learn more, click > TransDimensional Mapping created by Birdie Jaworski

References:

1. Psychology Today emphasizes the importance of listening to these internal cues, especially in an age where external information can be overwhelming.
2. Greater Good Magazine discusses how relying on intuition can foster creativity, though it’s essential to balance it with analytical thinking to avoid pitfalls like conspiracy theories.
3. ScienceDaily found that cognitive intelligence is a whole-brain phenomenon, challenging old theories that localized intelligence to particular areas.

The post Practicing Art While Developing Intuition Makes Us Smarter appeared first on SandyBreckenridge.com.

The previous tutorial covered a general overview of the Structure Composition and eight variations. This art design tutorial describes the Frame Device plus all the variations.

Frame Composition

Framing in graphic design is a powerful tool that isolates, highlights or defines key elements within a composition, guiding the viewer’s focus with intention. Unlike an external border, framing as a design device works within the artwork, using shapes, contrast, or spatial divisions to create emphasis.

Frame’s use can lead the eye toward a focal point, separate content for clarity, or reinforce the overall structure of the design. By strategically using the framing device, designers can control how information is perceived and ensure that key elements stand out without overwhelming the composition.

Beyond emphasis, framing also adds depth and context to a design. It can create containment, reinforce hierarchy and visual storytelling, or introduce negative space that enhances balance and readability.

Framing can be bold and directive, using strong lines or high contrast or subtle, using implied shapes and color shifts to softly guide attention.

Whether used to create separation, unity, or movement within a piece, framing organizes visual information and enhances the effectiveness of a design.

Frame One Dominant

Frame used to isolate a One Dominant subordinate element is a statement of the visual image’s intent to convey a message about the artwork.

In our example, the frame anchors the star instead of it appearing to float on the canvas.

The subtle weight of the frame isn’t about creating negative or positive space. It’s used to pull the concept together and act as an anchor.

Imagine the artwork without the Frame. The tonal elements lack interest until the frame adds definition.

Frame Two Dominant

In this example, the Frame design feature mirrors the concept of the Two Dominant subordinate elements using angles.

The Frame has a purpose. It defines white space, making it appear energetic and adding interest to the explosiveness of the firecracker element.

The Two Dominant subordinate elements are the firecracker and the descriptive typography.

Remember, if the Two Dominant design device were primary, the artwork’s design would not touch the edges of the canvas. This makes the Frame feature primary.

Frame Pattern

Frame Pattern as a compositional strategy is quite universal in textile design.

Remember, the Frame feature is dominant, and the Pattern device supports the artwork.

The rendered frame can and might not extend to the boundary of the canvas.
In this example, a variety of patterns are infused into the design, covering the entire surface, yet the Frame is still visually dominant.

Frame Negative Positive

The Frame device in this image is rendered in more than one placement.

The light green white space and subtle textured negative space complete the subordinate style in this example.

Negative Positive rendering can be subtle or striking depending on the intent an artist wants to convey.

Art Nouveau emerged during 1890 and through about 1910 and is a classic genre that widely uses framing and Negative Positive construction along with flowing lines and shapes from nature.

This beautiful style was most widely used in interior design, graphic arts, furniture, glass art, textiles, ceramics, jewelry and metal work.

Aubrey Beardsley is one of my favorite artists, and I still draw inspiration from him. You might consider adding one of his reference books to your art history collection. A classic favorite is Treasury of Art Nouveau Design and Ornament which contains almost 600 examples.

Frame Movement

Frame Movement offers the eye a way to move around the canvas and the learn about the subject.

In this example the idea of a swaying palm tree is featured in a flowing frame.

The rest of the subtle design moves and flows through repetition from one corner to the next.

Nature elements lend well to movement, and they also are featured in patterned art.

Frame Structure

If you want to become a better artist change up your style occasionally. Creating art is an endless journey and it can be exceptionally stimulating for brain health to try out new composition styles.

No matter what type of art medium, experimenting with how you structure and layer elements will expand your skill and keep your follower’s desire to check in and follow your inspiration.

In this example the subordinate Structure is build into the primary Frame device. The white space could include design elements. By keeping the concept opaque it could be a template for future development.

Frame Frame

Can you see how Frame is both primary and secondary? By doubling the device, it builds on the illusion of layers.

The orange background layer could be a stand-alone design. However, by adding another design built on a framing strategy, interest is delivered through color, lines, shape, and multiple placements of framing objects.

Even photography can build on doubling down on the Frame device!
Imagine a bird sitting on a window sill framed by the rectangular shape holding the glass window pane.

Now, step back, and the siding or materials where the window is placed become the secondary frame.

Imagination is a form of knowledge and experience expressed to create a moving or emotional response!

Frame Perspective

Frame Perspective composition is an effective way to showcase elements found in environmental art.

In this example, the framing elements touching the boundary of the artwork also create a sensation of perspective.

The subordinate perspective landscape design showcases the composition’s intent.

The landscape may appear primary to the eye, but the composition’s structure uses Frame as its primary composition.

Combining design devices becomes an art form, and the viewer may never understand how complexity becomes a simple and singular statement that’s so thoughtfully delivered.

ArtPlay

You Can’t Use Up Creativity – Maya Angelou

Creativity isn’t a finite resource—it expands the more you engage with it. Journaling and thumbnailing are potent ways to exercise artistic thinking daily, allowing ideas to flow freely without the pressure of a finished piece.

By sketching small composition variations, experimenting with shapes, and jotting down visual notes, you train your brain to recognize patterns, refine techniques, and generate fresh concepts effortlessly.

Remember to carry your art journal with you everywhere you go! You might even enjoy scheduling a date with you in a favorite “third place,” like a coffee shop to enjoy uninterrupted creative time.

Like a musician who plays scales or a dancer who rehearses movements, an artist builds creative endurance through repetition. Over time, these small, consistent practice acts strengthen intuition and unlock new levels of artistic expression. The more you create, the more creativity you have to draw from—so keep filling the pages.

Downloadable Art Reference Sheet

The next tutorial covers variations for the next set of eight devices, and how the Perspective Compositional Device is expressed in each one.

To find links to every lesson, click > Art & Design Tutorial Table of Contents

The post Frame Composition Variations in Design appeared first on SandyBreckenridge.com.

Design is content with intent. Content without intent is noise. Intent without content is decoration. –

The previous tutorial covered a general overview of the Movement Composition and eight variations. This art design tutorial describes the Structure Device plus all the variations.

Structure Composition

When choosing structure as a design device, its rendering style becomes the backbone of a composition, organizing elements into a deliberate arrangement that enhances clarity and impact.

Unlike other devices emphasizing dominance, contrast, movement, etc., structure focuses on the spatial relationships between elements, creating a sense of order, rhythm, and cohesion.

It can manifest through grids, modular layouts, symmetry, or carefully plotted alignments that guide the viewer’s eye in a controlled and intentional manner.

The Structure device provides a framework supporting stability and complexity, allowing for intricate designs that remain visually accessible.

Structure One Dominant

In this example, two ideas are present, and both incorporate rendering with a sense of Structure.

From the viewer’s gaze, this compositional device’s structured nature influences how information is processed and understood.

It’s easy to notice the hierarchy; the design incorporates lines and grids in the background, and the light complements the One Dominant focal point.

Even the light bulb contains rendering that is structured and the illuminating feature causes the eye to pause and examine the fixture.

Structure Two Dominant

This example shares the same rendering style as the previous one. However, in this case, the two light fixtures create the subordinate Two Dominant device.

Structure can either subtly support, as seen in the background corrugated metal effect, or overtly define the composition’s overall impact, like the beam detail and fixtures adding the subordinate Two Dominant light feature.

Structure is so versatile yet a fundamental compositional device in visual design. Many offshoots of modern art stem from this style of rendering.

Structure Pattern

Combining Structure with Pattern as a subordinate feature is another combination that builds on form and flow.

Imagine a composition of interlocking linear fields arranged in a precise grid, where the structured layout creates a strong sense of order and stability.

Within this framework, repeating patterns of subtle color variations or decorative motifs adds rhythm and texture, enhancing the design without disrupting its underlying organization.

Structure Negative Positive

When it comes to adding Negative Positive rendering as a subordinate device to Structure, the empty, negative spaces create visual points to pause and contemplate the artwork.

Picture a composition defined by a strong structural framework, where precise lines and geometric divisions create a clear, organized layout.

Within this framework, areas of negative and positive space subtly enhance the design, providing contrast and depth without overpowering the structured arrangement.

Complex designs, such as those in modern and architectural art, lend to this combination. Simple artwork, like logos and branding designs, are also standard in this style.

Structure Movement

Ah, the playfulness of Structure Movement.

Imagine a composition where structure shapes the design through a framework of intersecting angles and measured alignments, creating a sense of order and intention.

Within this foundation, movement emerges through subtle directional shifts or flowing elements.

The subordinate device adds energy and invites the viewer to explore the image with curiosity and playfulness.

Structure Structure

The combination in this example could almost be mistaken for Structure One Dominant, or even Structure Frame. Ask, how to distinguish the difference?

The key is the entire grid like Structure flows over the entire canvas. The subordinate Structure is rendered to overlap and appear like it is placed upon the base Structure.

The color variation is added to the subordinate Structure to add interest and hold the attention of the eye.

Creating artwork that explores design variations can take your artwork to a whole new level. Look back at previous creations and notice if your creativity is repetitious.

If you’re supporting a style that feels pleasing you might be building on a theme. But, if you’re doing the same composition style because it’s easy then change it up, and expand your imagination!

Structure Frame

Adding Frame as a secondary device again builds on the Structure composition without becoming a dominant element.

Structure defines the arrangement through precise alignments and spatial relationships, creating a clear and intentional design.

A framing element, whether through borders, contrasting edges, or implied shapes, reinforces this structure, drawing focus to the artwork’s core while subtly enhancing its overall impact.

The Frame device can be rendered with interest. In this example, a tonal frame was sufficient to act as a structural container, yet it still has a structured form.

Structure Perspective

Structure Perspective may have birthed several of this last century’s compositional styles.

Imagine a composition where Structure establishes a strong framework through deliberate alignments and spatial organization, guiding the viewer’s eye with clarity.

Perspective, whether through linear depth or atmospheric shifts, subtly enhances this structure, adding dimension and a sense of spatial immersion without overshadowing the composition’s foundational order.

In the 20s and 30s Precisionism was the first real indigenous modern art movement in the United States and contributed to the rise of American Modernism.

American Artist, Charles Demuth

Precisionist artists incorporated the Structure of geometric shapes yet eliminated much of the detail.

They often incorporated planes of light, adding perspective, focus, and form.

Charles Demuth, an American artist from Pennsylvania is well known for this style. His image, The Piano Mover’s Holiday sits in the Demuth Museum to this day.

Artist’s like Georgia O’Keeffe probably inspired his artworks. Precisionistic art often incorporated urban imagery.

Painting incorporating office towers, apartment houses, bridges, tunnels, subway platforms, streets, the skyline and grids of the modern city where popular themes of that timeline.

Art Play

As usual, play with all the variations of the Structure rendering devices. And now it’s time to explore these compositional strategies in greater detail.

Take some time to browse through art history books to identify how art styles evolved over time. List the themes that invoke appreciation that you’d like to explore!

Maybe it’s the era of Art Deco or Modernism. Advice: Just have fun adding inspirational images and sketches to your art journal. Play, Practice, Play, Practice, then repeat!

Downloadable Art Reference Sheet

The next tutorial covers variations for the next set of eight devices, and how the Frame Compositional Device is expressed in each one.

To find links to every lesson, click > Art & Design Tutorial Table of Contents

The post Structure Composition Variations in Design appeared first on SandyBreckenridge.com.