PhotoShop: Teaching Design, Line

Posted by Mary Rayme Jan 22, 2007

Remember, this is a lesson in composition and in juggling. Introduce and then add only one element at a time. Student need to be competent in shape arrangement before they can move on to line, color, and the other elements of design.

So in grayscale mode, show students how to use the Line tool to pull and drag straight lines. If you have not introduced layers, this is a great time. Each new line is on its own separate layer so it is easier to manipulate without affecting its neighboring lines.

Begin with straight lines and then add organic or curvilinear lines to the composition. Maybe try a composition with 100 straight lines, and then a composition with 100 separate curvilinear lines. Emphasize that these are to be nonrepresentational compositions that should not resemble anything recognizable such as a face or flower. This can be difficult for some students who perceive all art as image making. Encourage your students to play with their linear compositions to take time to find an arrangement of elements that they find pleasing.

I like to compare visual composition with written composition. In English 101 one learns how to create an effective, correctly spelled, grammatically correct document with a coherent beginning, middle and end. It's easy to correct the spelling or grammar of a written composition, but less easy and more subjective with a visual composition. Remind students that they didn't learn to write overnight. Just as in writing, students must learn a visual language to create a pleasing composition. Creating a successful composition takes practice, and it means you have to accept failure and learn from it. This can be frustrating for students who seem to think that any composition can be art.

Many first time art students merely plunk elements on a page to fulfill the bare minimum of the assignment. If a student finishes a project in class ask them to do another. It is absolutely essential to have many iterations of the same assignment to have comparison to learn to discern a quality composition.

When the line compositions are completed, print them out or have each student place them largely on their desktop for a discussion of which compositions are more successful and why. The discussion and analysis is as important as the composition creating.

Coming soon: When shape meets line; Juggling two elements at once.