Principle: p
MOVEMENT The word ‘movement’ or ‘motion’ comes from the Latin word ‘movere’ and it implies starting
Principle:
MOVEMENT Also called direction, the principle of movement creates a pathway through the work. Be it as subtle as a orchid-lined path or as bumpy as a camel trot, every visual image has some feeling of movement – or a conspicuous lack of movement – woven within it. Consequently, designing an image is very similar to designing a roadway through which the viewer will travel. The artist who gets this idea has a tremendous advantage. She needs consider: Will the pathway through the image be smooth or rough? Curvy or straight? Easy or difficult to navigate? Short or long? Generally speaking, the eye goes first to the greatest area of contrast – the lightest against the darkest, for example, or the strongest colors. Then it moves around to secondary objects and actions and finally goes into the ‘rest areas,’ the places where the eye gets a brief break from the visual action. The role of the artist is to create an interesting pathway within an image for the viewer. That path may be peaceful or violent; it is up to the artist to decide the velocity and nature of the pathways.
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Rat Maze, watercolor and cut paper, Kathy Rennell Forbes
Ask yourself where you want to lead your viewer? It’s generally not a good idea to lead them off the page, but that may be what you intend. If that is you intention, then be clear about it, and do exactly that.
Circular movement In the painting above, the viewer is likely to enter at the center and navigate the composition in an outward movement.
