Week 3 Emphasis and Focal Point

Contrast

Contrast is when an element in a design or piece of artwork differs from the other elements. I used a photo of my cat that I had taken in my photography class as an example. I made the whole photo black and white except for her eye. Crystal's yellow eye contrasts from the black and white background. The focal point is her eye because it is the only thing that has color in the entire photo and you see it right away.

Kristina Willette, My Cat Crystal

Kristina Willette, My Cat Crystal

One Element

One element is when you use a strong visual emphasis on one element which makes it stand out over everything else. This example is a painting by Yoshimoto Nara and its called Acid Rain. The girl stands out against the dark background and you see her first before you see the colors in the background and that she is standing in water or in something else. The focal point is the girl because she is the focus of the painting.

Yoshimoto Nara, Acid Rain

http://www.tomiokoyamagallery.com/artists_en/nara_en/

Yoshimoto Nara, Acid Rain

http://www.tomiokoyamagallery.com/artists_en/nara_en/

Placement

Placement is when several elements in a design or piece of artwork all point to one area or item. This example is a digital artwork done by Shu Mizoguchi and its called Axia. The lines in her dress all point towards the light coming from the violin. Her head is bent down looking towards the violin and light and her arm holding the bow also points at the white light. The focal point in this piece is the white light coming from the violin.

Shu Mizoguchi, Axia

http://shu-littlebit.com/

Shu Mizoguchi, Axia

http://shu-littlebit.com/

Isolation

Isolation is when one element in a design or piece of artwork is off by itself while all the other elements are close together. I had made this example for another class. I made one star all by itself while the rest of the stars are close together. The one star by itself stands out as the focal point because it is separated from the rest of the stars in the image.

Kristina Willette, Emphasis on Isolation

Kristina Willette, Emphasis on Isolation

Absence of Focal Point

Absence of focal point is when there is no clear focal point in a design or a piece of artwork and you see the entire image and your eyes do not focus on one point. This example is a painting done by Shiraga Kazuo and it's called Soryu no Mai. This painting has no clear focal point because paint was just splattered onto the canvas and he had painted the strokes of paint with his feet. The strokes of paint make your eyes wander all over the canvas and they do not stop at one point.

Shiraga Kazuo, Soryu no Mai 1994

http://www.mccaffreyfineart.com/artists/shiraga_works.html