Collage art and the rule of thirds

If you’ve been creating some collages already, it’s likely you’ve already been following this rule, though never realized it. The rule of thirds is a guideline that can be applied to the process of putting together a collage.

When you are starting with collage, you may think that the placement of your papers is completely random. It is random to some degree, but you're mind likes patterns and is always trying to make sense of things. This rule takes advantage of that and says, "Hey, isn't it interesting that lots of people like the structure of seeing things in a certain way?" Yes, there are lots of times when you can ignore this rule and make a beautiful collage, but it's there if you want to play with the idea.

Look at some of your past collages. If you were to draw tic-tac-toe marks across the surface of your substrate like I did above, you may be surprised to see that your pieces are placed along the lines or where they intersect. Why? If you place your important pieces along the lines, particularly where they intersect, this helps a person’s eye start at that point and then travel around your overall piece.

The problem with placing your muse in the very center of your substrate is that there is equal balance between all sides, and your eye doesn’t know where to look next.

Most people’s eye naturally gravitates to the upper right side of a painting/photograph/collage. The secondary focal point is diagonally opposite (the bottom-left intersection). Taking advantage of these focal points can help when creating a collage.

Of course, just because there is a rule, it doesn’t mean that you have to follow it. It’s simply a guideline and you can use it or not.

When you next work on making a collage, be mindful of the rule of thirds while you are playing with placement, and then determine if you are following it or not.