Introduction
There’s a lot in nature’s moment that’s discordant, isn’t there? Nature isn’t always pretty. Like with movement, the body can achieve any number of odd poses within its limitations and not all of them are particularly artistically attractive. Likewise, coloration, patterns, and markings can end up with the wonkier end of the genetic luck of the draw, configuring into a look that’s not always appealing. Some of it just looks wrong, too, like someone made a big mistake in their sculpting or painting. But this is the nature of life with all the biology, physics, “organic chaos,” and emotion encapsulated in that discreet moment. So what's the takeaway here? Simply to take the good with the goofy and learn to appreciate both. Each spices up the other in a fun interplay of impressions that can add a lot of novelty and interest to our work if we know how to incorporate it well. And we learn to do this by first learning to See the moment in its entirety to glean effects and details that punch up our work with ever-more realism.
But hey...what’s a “moment” then? Well, it’s merely a split second of frozen time. Think of it as a snapshot. And a lot can happen in a moment! Movement, posture, expression, texture, physics, reaction, balancing and counterbalancing, environmental effects, and a host of other things happen that will make sculpture or painting even more fun and exciting! And moments definitely add that touch of energy, realism, and distinctiveness to any piece that will kick it up a notch in the best way. Indeed, to add moment to your work is to add life itself in its kaleidoscopic of possibilities.
Yet there’s also the concept of “flow,” of how the eye “travels” over the sculpture being “pulled” around it as a function of its form or coloration. So what’s this “flow” and this “traveling eye” bit? Well, it’s how the eye is drawn from interest point to interest point over the piece and how all that marries together to create a cohesive, “flowing” effect. The idea here is the easy continuation of line, form, effect, detail, color, and negative space that pulls the eye around the piece in an active manner. This continuity engages the viewer more and increases the appeal of the sculpture or paintjob while also tying it all together. An astute application of traveling eye precepts can even manipulate attention towards or away from aspects of the piece as well. It’s rather clever engineering that, in the end, works to please the eye by showcasing the piece best and increasing its impact. The more cohesive and flowing a piece is then, the more it tends to be deemed “attractive” or “well done.” Curiously however, if we mix a little oddness in there with flow, we can actually amplify things which will heighten the overall impression of realism and moment. Opposites can indeed magnify each other. The trick is knowing how to apply this well enough while still creating an appealing piece.
Conversely though, a lack of flow usually produces a disjointed, awkward piece that visually interferes with itself. It can even turn the eye off entirely. So how do we avoid this? Luckily, there are some handy tricks at our disposal, so let’s talk about them!
Shape Up
Envisioning a shape and then designing your piece based on that shape is a useful method to develop flow. In essence, it establishes a governing “containment field” for the eye that guides our every creative decision. Such shapes could be a circle, square, triangle, trapezoid, or even an amorphous shape. The options are only limited by your own preferences and motivations for your sculpture or paintjob.
However, the type of shape you choose can influence the whole feel of the work, another fascinating layer to our creative decisions. For instance, a triangle is a very dramatic shape and so works well to increase a sense of chaos or drama in the piece. Indeed, base any sculpture on a triangle and — bam — instant wild energy. On the other hand, a circle tends to instill a more controlled, intimate, introspective feel. That said, a square tends to heighten steadfast stability, pride, and strength whereas a trapezoid introduces a bit of chaos in that mix, throwing in some drama. Then put all that together, and an amorphous shape can be just about anything you want it to be. What’s the point here? When we design a sculpture, it’s fun to think beyond just what pose we want, but how we can help that pose along in the composition department. How will we design every aspect of it to forward its concept, appeal, or narrative? Because with the use of shape, we can add that enigmatic extra something, that touch of mood and energy that sits just below the radar, influencing our response. With shape we can also keep that eye moving around to draw the viewer in and keep them engaged. Templating with a shape then gifts us with a cool new way to think about what we do to explore new composition options.
Line Up
Similar to shape, the use of line is effective for activating the eye in the design. For instance, when the eye is drawn in straight lines, that tends to emphasize stability and rigidity while, in contrast, diagonal eye tracks really drive home the feeling of drama, tension, and energy, of activation. The use of line can also be applied with both the sculptural aspects and the painted elements, so have some fun with both. And by straight or diagonal lines, I don’t mean literally on the piece. For example, placing lighting strike tobiano markings on a moving piece can root in somehow and accentuate mass and steadiness while, conversely, slapping a curvaceous pinto pattern on that same piece can change it completely by intimating a rolling, pulsating and coiled feeling.
For a case of diagonals, that very same piece can be painted a dark chestnut with a flaxen mane with a hindleg stocking. The eye is then pulled back and forth between the lightness of the mane and the sock, creating an activated, dramatic effect.
Get Spacey
The areas involving the holes and open spaces around your sculpture or the light and dark areas of your paintjob also act as impact and influence. For instance, in negative space, there exists a whole ‘nuther sculpture around your piece that can also be manipulated and cajoled into visual partnership. Like a billowing mane is nicely paired with a billowing tail, of course, but also by the negative space between the tail and haunches. Or the detailing in the face’s paintjob can be nicely complimented by some big, spacey cut-outs in the tail. It’s little touches and balances like that, using negative space, that can take a piece to the next level just under our noses.
Strategy
Using areas of detail and color can work to pull the eye around the piece to lend either cohesiveness and contrast. A splash of color here and there or a dollop of detail there and here really work wonders to tease the eye around the piece.
Dapples and coat patterns can also be used effectively in this manner as can markings. For example, intensified dapples in strategic areas about the body can move the eye around and make an otherwise ordinary color more visually activated. Or, a star and hind sock will pull the eye diagonally across the piece between them. Then accentuate that with an uplifted mane and that eye is now traveling in a circle, point to point, between the visual stimuli. Similarly, a sock placed on a foot placed furthest under the body centers the eye. Now if that piece is positioned in a wild, flamboyant pose, that a contrast between chaos and centrality adds tension and more energy to the overall design. It’s the little creative decisions like these that can make our finished piece have a lot more impact, and in a way that isn’t so obvious.
Hair is also an extremely effective means to pull the piece together and get that eye moving all over it. Why? Because depending on the physics of the moment, hair can be blown in all sorts of directions, directions we can manipulate to further the composition. Like if you refrain from designing such elements willy nilly, based on a whim, but plan them based on traveling eye theory, your work can benefit tremendously. Indeed, even one tuft of flicked mane can either become an annoying distraction or an instant point of interest for the eye, it’s that powerful.
Tracking
But don’t stop there! You can layer all these ideas together to really increase the complexity, intensity, and sophistication of the whole composition. Really, the more the eye is drawn from point to point, detail to detail, line to line, splash of color to splash of color, intensity to intensity, the more the eye participates in the piece. If you can apply all this in a way that keeps the eye “within” the confines of your composition, you’ll have achieved your goal.
See, many people don’t often know quite what appeals to them about a sculpture or paintjob, they just can’t put their finger on why they love it so much. Well, more often than not, it’s the subtle manipulation of their eye with sophisticated design engineering that opened the door. See, the eye wants to be activated and so it tends to gravitate towards those pieces that engage it best.
Just The Ticket
Even so, life doesn’t care what’s appealing artistically, does it? Truly, some of what life throws at us can look downright wonky! That being the case, we are realism artists, aren’t we? And that wonkiness is as much a part of real life as anything else. As such, some of this oddness can be really cool to translate into sculpture or pigment, working well to infuse a clinical realism into our finished piece. Really, sometimes it’s that touch of the odd that's exactly what’s needed to take realism to the next level!
Nonetheless, we still need to account for flow because it’s art we’re talking, right? Not real life? Can that introduce a bit of a difference? It can. It’s your judgment here that decides how far to take this infusion, but just know it’s a powerful touch. Go out of balance just a little bit and we can tip it into distraction rather than delight. Get that balance right though and that touch of oddity can be just the ticket to make your piece much more believable, novel, and realistic. So when you practice field study or study references, be sure to also look for what’s odd, too, what’s wonky. It’s there, just waiting to be noticed and possibly used to your best effect.
From Fabulous To Faceplant
Traveling eye design is so powerful, in fact, that while it can add the final perfect touches to a piece, it can also be the touch that makes it faceplant.
Let’s say you’ve created a galloping mare in the extended phase of the gallop, designing her to accentuate a sense of speed and energy, and painted her a shaded dark bay. Yet you’ve neglected to tone down that orange splash of color on her hip and now the eye is continually drawn to it, away from the rest of her. It’s become an unchallenged focal point. As such, you either need to tone that area down or better yet, add more focal points in the paintjob to counterbalance that area.
Or say you’ve created a dynamic and romantic piece based on a circle. Yet that hindleg is placed a bit too straight down, becoming a visual distraction that stops the eye, creating a visual annoyance that "plants" the sculpture and sucks out its flowing energy. But if we angle that hindleg just a bit or bend it a snidge, that effect is erased and we've restored its energy, its flow. The change doesn't have to be extreme. Often it's just a little touch that solves the issue.
See, the thing is that the whole piece should work fluidly as a whole so the eye doesn’t get stuck anywhere on it or shoot out of the composition. Absolutely, every little element works together to create a whole complementary impression. That's to say, these touches are cumulative and synergistic, so keep that in mind as you go. A change here may necessitate a change there so stay open to the piece's impression as a whole even as you make adjustments.
Conclusion
The eye likes to be teased, seduced, played with, and invited to participate in art. It wants to be engaged. So give it something to do! It’s the use of flow that activates the eye and so heightens the whole impact of your sculpture or paintjob, further augmenting its appeal and connection with the viewer. In this way, flow is a handy tool in your arsenal of tricks as well providing some fun for you to play with in composition and design. So have fun discovering its many secrets and enticements! Go with the flow and you can quickly take your work to the next level in a powerful and clever way!
“The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.”
— Kakuzo Okakura