Post 151: Composition 8. Golden Rule Placement of Your Main Subject

Composition: Golden Rule Placement of Your Main Subject

This is Part 8 of my series on Composition

According to the National Geographic Society, the Golden Ratio "is a unique mathematical relationship. Two numbers are in the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the numbers (a b) divided by the larger number (a) is equal to the ratio of the larger number divided by the smaller number (a/b). The golden ratio is about 1.618, and represented by the Greek letter phi."

- National Geographic.org

Ok. There is that. Looks like algebra to me. So what does it mean? Read the whole page on the link above to get a bit of understanding (?) and good luck...

The basics of it is that it is a naturally occurring and aesthetically pleasing to the eye way to configure the most balanced composition of order to your design. It is sort of a variation on the Rule of Thirds, using spacing, and blank spacing using the ratio. The thought in practice example is the spirals of a seashell spiraling out. 

Some variations on the theme are:

• Golden Rule
• Golden Spiral
• Golden Mean
• Golden Triangle 
• Golden Rectangle 
• Golden Ratio
  

Painters, photographers and designers have been using this composition rule for years, knowingly and unknowingly. Our eyes are just tickled silly when we see it.

 

Photo by SARAH GRANGER on Unsplash 

 

Photo by Ludde Lorentz on Unsplash 

Photo by Laura Gilchrist on Unsplash

Do you use this technique in your work or will you start now?

More suggested reading on Art Ignition about the Golden Ratio.

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This is part of a series of blog posts on the guidelines, or rules of composition. Look for all of them in the Search this Blog feature at the top right by searching for the word "composition". I hope you enjoy the posts!

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at https://DonnaLiguriaArt.com & her Blog at https://donnascavepainting.blogspot.com/.