48 - Vertical Lines of Composition
This week,
a new episode of the podcast
lessons in composition and storytelling from a Satyajit Ray movie
how I learned to use vertical lines in SneakyArt
Ep 19 - Building Platforms with Teoh Yi Chie
In this episode, I speak with Teoh Yi Chie, an urban sketcher, artist and YouTuber, in Singapore. Teoh makes content at a prolific pace to meet the diverse needs of his audience - art tutorials, draw-alongs, art supply reviews, and useful insights into the art that inspires him.
We talk about the many ways that creators can interact and engage with fans in the new "creator economy".
In his work, Teoh is able to merge his natural curiosity and his passion for making videos and art. What has he learned from following his curiosity in this way? How has it helped him satisfy his own interests as well as that of his burgeoning audience? Follow Teoh's work on IG, or visit his website. Also check out his wonderful YouTube channel!
This conversation is packed with useful advice and wonderful ideas. I suggest you take notes! Listen on your choice of streaming service -
Spotify | Apple | PocketCasts | Google | Web | Gaana
“Past, Present and Future”
I don't claim to understand cinema, but drawing SneakyArt has given me an eye for composition. My path of self-education runs through great films and TV shows. Not only is Satyajit Ray one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Uttam Kumar is a demigod in my part of the world holding the title of mahanayak (‘great actor’).
In the film Nayak (1966), Uttam Kumar plays the role of superstar Arindam Mukherjee, on the verge of delivering his first flop film. Besides the news about the film, he is jostled by chaos in his personal life. Over the course of the film, he examines his past, his journey to become a superstar, and the people he has loved and lost along the way.
I break down a scene from the first 10 minutes of the movie. By all measures, this scene is not important. Still, it lingered in my mind throughout the course of watching this film, and even afterward. By re-drawing the key scenes of the conversation, I find out why.
Continue reading… to see how the great director, who was also a great storyboard artist, composes images of the past, present and future in this exchange, cycling through them with the sliding camera doing long-takes.
Out of sight is out of mind. Eyes turned to the horizon. But sometimes the path of the present tangles again with its past. Life does not go in a straight line to the future.
Vertical Lines of Composition
This week, I learned something from teaching it. I talk about composition in my Zoom workshop on urban sketching. For the most part, I talk about how to hack your way into understanding the rules, and exercising them in your work. Here’s a trick I use when I go out to draw SneakyArt…
Composition in art emphasizes its beauty, and has the power to guide your attention across the page. Air flows from areas of high to low pressure, and in the same way attention flows from areas of high to low interest. When directed with care and deliberation, this flow of attention is a soothing and rewarding visual experience for the audience.
When I go out to draw SneakyArt, I look for what I call ‘natural frames’. These are urban structures or elements holding a point of view between them. Just like a window-frame. Or the frame of a canvas. Inside them, through them, in between them, you can see a little world, sometimes full of interesting things.
On some occasions, like the drawing above, I even find multiple frames. The vertical lines (i.e trees) cut my page into different sections. Each section holds a story inside. Some are big stories, others are small. The small sections appear like satellites revolving around the big stories.
There are other practical reasons for finding vertical structures and natural frames. They help me chart my way across the page, without making terrible mistakes, when I go in straight with ink. They are the scales against which everything else is measured. They help to keep things in perspective.
Look at the scenes below. Consider the natural frames. What do you see inside? Look for the vertical lines of composition. What stories do the different sections tell? Trace the vertical structures. Do they say something about perspective?
Now look at the vertical lines in this scene…
What did you see?
In other news…
I got my first vaccine shot this week! It was a smooth experience at the Vancouver Convention Centre, and I only suffered some mild soreness in my left arm the next day (I got the Pfizer).
Faces for India
This week, I am also continuing to draw portraits in the Faces for India Project. Here is one for a college friend that was fun to draw!
There are some spots still left in the project. I think I will not be doing any more after this set is sold out. So if you’ve been waiting until the last moment to contribute, this is it!
As I mentioned in the previous post, a key part of my self-education is in the re-drawing of interesting/arresting/captivating film scenes. Here is the final piece from Nayak!
Links
Teoh Yi Chie’s YouTube channel
Ep 19 in the blog - transcript and shownotes
If you like my work, buy me a coffee!
Thank you for your time and attention. See you next week!