COMPOSITION

Composition, Placement and The Rule of Thirds

Training

I will be working on the final game structure in Unity by using my scene mockups and feedback to influence the way we style Anima Mundi. While doing so I must consider the player and what's most visible from their point of view. As Lead Artist on this project it's important for me to understand traditional techniques and methods to achieve a high quality outcome. This blog is essentially part of my own training for this role and taking part in a development team.

Using my research from the Colour Theory I was able to distinguish an appropriate colour palette for the design of our vertical slice. I chose these colours taking into consideration what they are associated to and the moods they depict to provide players with pleasant gameplay and make them feel at ease throughout. While the player is traversing the environment, it's important to keep a sense of calm throughout and to avoid distracting players. To prevent this, composition is especially important.

Before I begin the game structure I will be researching into achieving a better composition of subject matter and using the 'rule of thirds' to do this effectively.

"HOW TO USE THE RULE OF THIRDS IN ART" - Chris Legaspi

RESEARCH LINK: https://www.creativebloq.com/art/how-use-rule-thirds-art-21619159#:~:text=The%20rule%20of%20thirds%20dictates,more%20interesting%2C%20pleasing%20and%20dynamic.

"The rule of thirds will elevate your composition, whatever the subject matter."

TRADITIONAL ART AND THE RULE OF THIRDS

"The rule of thirds dictates that if you divide any composition into thirds, vertically and horizontally, and then place the key elements of your image along these lines, the arrangement will be more interesting, pleasing and dynamic."

• Used by photographers, paints and artists, mostly for landscapes.

• Can work for other subject matter such as still lifes and portraits.

• Provides you with a guide for placing focal points.

• Focal points according to the 'intersections' of the rectangles will create the 'counterbalance' needed to make the composition more compelling.

• Guide eyeflow by placing the main focal point at an intersection. The eye will lead from one focal point to another.

THE RULE OF THIRDS IN LANDSCAPES

Pierre Henri de Valenciennes -

As we can see above, the horizon is painted within the lower thirds of the grid, the mountains which essentially look over the horizon are placed in the far left and the sky takes up most of the grid. The placement of the scenery in this painting were intentionally placed to achieve depth and to 'create a more dynamic scene'.

What is the main function of the rule of thirds? To create asymmetric compositions.

"Asymmetry and counterbalance of elements create a more dynamic picture."

WHERE TO BEGIN IN MY OWN ART?

1. Set the scene - Arranging the objects (in my case, assets) in order to line up with the guidelines and intersections created by the grid.

2. Use Intersecting guides - Create the scene by using the intersections as guides. Example: lower and left thirds dominated by darker assets, while the upper section is dominated by highlights. This creates a 'dynamic focal point'.

As I am working with a game structure and not a painting or drawing, I will have to approach it differently. I'll begin by using the rule of thirds/guidelines on a few scene mockups to evaluate the appearance of the scene before I implement this into the final structure in Unity.

I have broken my scene mockups into 9 sections by applying the rule of thirds to them:

After applying the rule of thirds to my scene mockups it's clear which ones work the best. The first scene captures each asset in the foreground beautifully however there is no direct focal point. The puzzle interaction during this stage is the bridge, and players must interact with it to turn the lantern on. The second scene mockup has broken up the scene into thirds. The bottom row are the platform islands and essentially the 'horizon' of the air region. The right thirds consist of the biggest part of the scene, being the blossom tree which overlooks players as they complete their first puzzle interaction. Instantly, the viewers eyes are drawn to this part of the scene, making them instantly aware of what needs to be done. As well as this, the colours in the environment assist this, and help to draw the attention of the player towards their first puzzle.

"UPPING YOUR COMPOSITION GAME"

RESEARCH LINK: http://www.thisisnowphotography.com/blog/composition#:~:text=Second%20composition%20basic%20is%3A%20The,of%20those%20lines%20or%20intersections.

"In order for composition to work effectively, the components in your frame need to be working together and need to be drawing your viewer's eyes to exactly where you want them to go."

• Simplicity creates focus

• The power of a photograph comes in what was left out

• What are you making the viewer focus on?

• Take out a distracting background, distracting lines or shapes, distracting colourful objects.

REFLECTION

Although this composition works best for photography purposes, creating a specific focal point in the game is still important. Players eyes will follow the direction of the character except for when they're unaware of what comes next. The indication for puzzles within the environment are the lanterns furthermore, wherever there is an off lantern, there should be an incomplete puzzle just before it. Before gameplay, players are made aware of their objectives (to light up the environment and restore beauty) and during their first interaction (the bridge) they witness the lantern transition from off to on to make their game objectives clear and to display their progress visually. Consequently, if these lanterns are not visible to players from their current position, they will be unaware of where the next interaction takes place. In order to make this clearer, I can use composition and the rule of thirds to intentionally place assets and draw the players attention towards them.

HOW DO I DO THIS?

The way to do this will involve placing assets on the intersections of the grid, and just before a puzzle, the furthest third of the grid. This way, players are less distracted by what's behind them and more focused on what's next. My previous scene mockup was a great example of this:

NEXT STEPS

I will use the Rule of Thirds to take my composition and arrangements of the scenery in Anima Mundi further. Now I have a better understanding of how to attract the attention of the viewer and how to draw the players focal point in to a specific part of the scene, I can apply my knowledge to the finalised game structure in Unity.

My documentation for this can be found during Week 11 and Week 12 of Game Development.