Practice question · Put in order
Arrange these compositional decisions in the order they are actually settled.
- Choose the format and its proportion, before any paint
- Establish the value structure of the large shapes
- Balance the remaining moments with smaller elements
- Decide the dominant mass and where it sits against the centre
- Place the accents of highest chroma last, where they can do most work
Hints
- One of the five is settled at the shop rather than at the easel.
- The strongest chroma is spent last because it is the scarcest resource.
Show the answer
- Choose the format and its proportion, before any paint
- Decide the dominant mass and where it sits against the centre
- Establish the value structure of the large shapes
- Balance the remaining moments with smaller elements
- Place the accents of highest chroma last, where they can do most work
Why
The order is a resource argument. Format cannot be changed, value structure can be changed only with difficulty, position of the dominant mass with effort, and the accents cost nothing to move. Spending the flexible decisions first is how students end up with nothing left to correct with.
Practise Form, Composition and Visual Weight
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