Creating an interesting and inviting composition is the key to pleasing illustrations; images that are strongly composed with well-solved elements will draw a viewer into them and hold the eye while the details you have spent so much time slaving over are taken in.

Conversely, a badly composed image can undermine even the finest painted subjects, generating a subjective feeling that something is wrong. Many may not be able to put their finger on why, but the image will be less pleasing and read poorly, which, ultimately, will not hold up to scrutiny. The next few pages contain 20 points that I consider to be some of the most important parts to composition, the rules I lean on subconsciously every time I pick up my brush. Want to know more? Read on…