Art Composition and Perspective in Paintings

Use these composition tips to create stronger paintings.

Learn about the basic art composition rules (such as the Rule of Thirds and the Rule of Odds), which when applied to your paintings will make for...

That rule about the focal point of a painting not be in the middle of the canvas exists to stop you being a member of the Fried Egg School of Painting Composition.

Get to grips with perspective once and for all with this easy-to-understand tutorial on art perspective in paintings.

When painting, one decision that must be made at composition stage, is where the light is going to come from as this influences the shadows, contrasts, and colours. So what are the choices?

Learn how to improve your painting compositions with these "before and after" examples of actual paintings.

Painting Composition Class: A tip to help you decide where to place the elements of a painting.

Often there's simply so much that's appealing in a scene you want to paint that it's hard to choose what to focus on. Find out how to use a viewfinder to crop the elements to get the best composition.

Simple Step-by-Step Instructions for Making a Viewfinder to Use When Composing a Painting.

Learn how to judge whether your composition wants to be a horizontal (long) or vertical (tall) format.

A simple change in composition can make a huge different in how dynamic a painting is, as these two versions of a painting show.

Do you paint the background first or last. Find out what other painters do here, and share your own preferences

A common mistake beginner artists make when setting out to paint a still life is to casually set up their props and just start to paint. If you want your still life to be successful, it needs a little more thought that this.

Discover various methods (that work!) for checking the perspective or angles in a painting.