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Some people seem to have been born knowing creative design principles. Others, maybe you included, have to struggle to develop even the tiniest creative skills they do have. One thing is for certain, you can learn to be more creative. And you can discover the creative design ideas that other artists use for inspiration, even if you were not born with a single creative bone in your body.

There are several principles of design you must consider when you begin to learn the creative design process. These principles give an over riding basis on how your design elements will interact with one another, in your artwork and your designs. Each one influences the others in an endless tug-of-war within your mind and on your creative canvas. Your challenge is to learn to create harmony out of all these principles in your artwork, and to give your designs that unique blend that can only come from within you.

The creative design principles are…
Balance
Rhythm
Dominance
Unity

Now, let us look at each principle as it relates to your creativity and your designs.

Balance is the arrangement of different design elements, on any given piece of artwork, so that there is an equal distribution of visual weight to the whole piece. Art that doesn’t have balance can leave the viewer uneasy, almost as if there is something wrong with the piece.

Rhythm has to do with repeating elements and patterns in your designs. It also involves variations on those patterns to provide freshness, and to keep your art from becoming boring. Repetition can help to unify a piece, or bring different parts of your artwork together. It can also provide the basic textures for your design work.

Dominance refers to emphasizing certain parts of your design so that they get noticed first. Every piece of artwork needs a focal point which determines where your eyesight goes first, when you look at it. If you do not have a focal point your viewer quickly loses interest. Having too many points of interest will also leave the viewer with no place to focus. There are many ways to emphasize parts of your design, but the most important point is to select your focus based on your main message and, secondly, in consideration of whom your audience will be.

Unity is the final aspect in design, which gives a feeling that all the elements belong together. Unifying a piece can involve using various elements, including matching colors, shapes, textures, groupings, weights, typographies, or sizes. Unity, in your art, is the overall feeling that brings your piece together, and gives it wholeness or variety, whichever you are trying to convey to the viewer.

When you consider each of these design principles, while creating your artwork, they will have an impact on everything you create and do in your piece. No matter where your creativity takes you, if you will try to incorporate balance, rhythm, dominance, and unity into your artwork, you will be building on the solid basics of creative design.

The nostalgia of the 80’s has been simmering in the fashion world for several years. It is perhaps not a surprise that the pop culture of the 80’s is also rearing its head in the art world.

We have seen graffiti, which was once considered a vulgar expression of inner-city youth, become a tool for marketers and embraced as a creative outlet for urban artists.

This was made apparent on a recent episode of ‘The Apprentice’, Donald Trump’s reality program aimed to select a candidate from a group of smart, resourceful and business minded men and women. One of the tasks given to them on the series included creating an advertisement for a new game. They were to create a graffiti inspired advertisement on the side of a building to be used as a billboard.

Well, if Donald Trump has given his approval..

Speaking of games, another big hit in the 80’s was video games - Pac Man, Mario Brothers and others were played by most teens at one time or another. These teens are now adults looking back with a hint of nostalgia at their youth, despite the fact that it was only 15-20 years ago. But technology changes quickly and so these icons of the 80’s are now being featured in art galleries like Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight in Hollywood.

The gallery features pieces that take a contemporary look at video games and is possibly helping to create a new genre in the field.

A painting depicting Pac Man as over-the-hill and on a drip of pellets went for $3000 according to a Reuters press release.

The artist, Greg Simkins, claimed he started out by painting graffiti in back alleys before working with canvas. And he’s not the only one bringing this strange combination of video and art to the public.

So what should we expect in the next five years? Well, for the art world change is always good, although often criticized in its formative years. So we may have to wait and see if ‘video-game art’ will make a solid stand in the art community. What we do know is that the original game players are now coming into their 40’s and anyone under that age will have grown up with video games as a part of their childhood, just as ‘I Love Lucy’ was a part of another generations’. Because of that, the images will likely have an emotional pull and impact on new and existing collectors today.

You’ve seen them at amusement parks, corporate trade shows and even wedding receptions - the caricature artists who sketch a lovely rendition of your pronounced chin or schnoozola. These freelancers aren’t just drawing cartoons. It takes some talent and skill to draw caricatures. Whether or not you’ve always aspired to become a caricature artist or are just now, for the first time entertaining the idea, once you understand a few of the basic keys, you too can draw caricatures. Then maybe you can spend your summers in amusement parts earning money for your renditions of extra large foreheads and Dumbo ears on the vacationers.

There are certain factors to keep in mind before you get out your pencil or chalk and start drawing eyes and noses. Clearly you want your portrait be a reasonable likeness of your subject. You can tell immediately the color of eyes and hair (or lack of hair) and well-defined features. These are the traits you definitely want to bring out in your caricature. It’s also important to capture your subject’s personality. Ask them what they like to do for fun or passion. Does this person seem bubbly or more laid back? What kind of expression would best suit him/her?

If you want to be a portrait artist, you’ll need to recreate features as close to realistic as possible. If you want to be a caricature artist, it is not necessary to be that realistic. Some caricature artists over-exaggerate facial features to the extreme. You need to decide on your style. Are the pointy chins and large cheeks that you draw going to be simply slightly over pronounced? Or will you create them of gargantuan proportion? One other important key element that may set you apart from other caricature artists and wanna-bes, is that degree in which you vary your lines. Mix it up with a combination thin and thick, dark and light. Don’t make your caricatures flat and boring.

If you are going to draw more than one subject on a page, start with the shortest person and rather than draw horizontally, stack them vertically on your paper. When you first started drawing in school art class, what was almost always drawn first? Circles for the head, then you filled in the eyes, nose and mouth, right? When you’re sketching caricatures you will want to draw the insides of the face first. You may mentally get an idea of where the cheeks and chin will fall on the paper, or even lightly sketch some boundaries, but leave those finishing touches until your drawing is nearly completed.

Start with the eyes, in particular the top eyelids first. Pay attention to how far apart the eyes are, how big or narrow they are and what shape (oval, rounded or other). Generally you will want to move left to right unless you’re left handed. Doing so will alleviate smudges. After the eyes, draw in the outside nostrils. Focus on the relationship between the eyes and nostrils. Nostrils are a good place to exaggerate if your subject’s nose openings are rather large. This is also a good place to vary your line thickness. The nostril lines are thick but the structure on the tip of the nose requires softer lines.

Next draw a mouth; continue to pay attention to the distance from the nose to the mouth. Study his/her top tip. Is it thin or pouty? Does the person have a wide mouth? This is another good place to over-exaggerate. Up to this point you’ve drawn in the face in a top to bottom order. Now you’re ready to draw in the chin, cheeks, and jaw in that particular order. If you draw the chin first you will know when to end your jaw line. This is another good place to exaggerate here. Exaggerations don’t always need to be on the large scale either. If you are drawing a small chin, then fold the bottom lip over the chin! After the chin, draw in the cheeks, if the person has distinct cheek bones and then finally the jaw.
Now you’re ready to draw in the ears, then hairline. Your finished caricature will clearly reflect if they have a big forehead or not. Finish up the basic foundation of the caricature by drawing in the hair/head. Give them big hair, if they have it. The outer perimeter of the head is an edge. Therefore, it needs a thick line. Next draw the eyebrows. Do they have thick, bushy eyebrows, or Mona Lisa brows (none)?

Once you’ve completed the eyebrows, go back and draw in the bottom eyelid and the bags, too, if applicable. Add the eyeballs at the tail end. Move back to the nose and sketch in the bridge of the nose. Then draw in cheek structure. Some people have more than others especially depending on how much fat is on the cheeks. With the exception of the minor details such as freckles, scars, and facial hair, your caricature is almost complete. Add finishing touches and viola!

What do you think? Need more practice? Have at it! You’re on your way now!