Picture This
Color and Light
Landscape Painting Inside and Out
Art composition refers to the arrangement of visual elements in a painting or other artwork. The best books on art composition help to convey the important considerations around the composition of art elements like: line, shape, color (both light and dark), texture, and form.
Composition can be used to describe any type of creative work, whether it’s music, writing, painting, or sculpting. However, in the visual arts, it refers specifically to the way elements are arranged within a piece of art. For any artist, when putting paint brush to canvas, it’s important to have a strong sense of composition because a single mistake can have a significant impact on the entire piece. The books below aim to help you gain a deeper understanding of art composition, across various art mediums as explained by great masters of the field.
Selection Criteria for the Top Books on Art Composition
Subject matter and composition are not the same thing. It doesn’t matter if a painting is abstract or representational; every painting has a composition. A painting’s success hinges on its ability to capture the viewer’s attention and invoke their emotions through its composition. Good composition draws the viewer in and then moves the viewer’s eye across the painting so that everything is taken in, before finally settling on the painting’s main subject, which is the focal point of the piece. The books on our list aim to help you understand how to do this and the reasons behind each technique.
Quality and Price of Books on Art Composition
When choosing a book about art composition and viewing our overall quality rating, please keep in mind that our major factors for determining their quality were a combination of their range of information on the topic based on their category, how well written and easy to understand they were, and the illustrations included in the book. Price grading reflects this process and all of the benefits the items provide to the art community as a whole; we react to it in comparison.
Hardcover vs Paperback Books
Books come in all shapes and sizes, as hardcopy in your hands or digital form ready to download off the internet. Essentially it is a matter of preference and habit. Yet, some harcore readers (such as us) tend to look deeper into this distinction.
Unlike a hardcover, a paperback may be folded up and shoved into the corner of a bag for easy transportation. However, a hardback is the more sturdy and elegant choice. They’re significantly more durable than paperbacks, and because of their aesthetics and rarity, they’re also worth a lot more money in the long run if you plan on starting a collection.
Overall, we feel, if you are going to invest in a book that you plan on keeping for a while and possibly hand down to your children, it is a good idea to splurge on a hardcover.
Our Recommendations for the Best Books on Art Composition
- Best Overall Book on Art Composition: Picture This: How Pictures Work
- Best Art History Book on Composition: Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter
- Best Book on Landscape Painting Composition: Landscape Painting Inside and Out: Capture the Vitality of Outdoor Painting in Your Studio with Oils
- Best Book on Photography Tutorials and Art Composition: The Secrets to Amazing Photo Composition: 83 Composition Tools from the Masters
- Best Book on Outdoor Painting and Art Composition: Composition of Outdoor Painting
- Most Practical Book on Art Composition: Capture The Magic
1. Best Overall Book on Art Composition: Picture This: How Pictures Work
Selection Criteria
- Quality – 9/10
- Price – $18.29, $18.85, $2.99
- Our score: 9/10
- Book Cover — Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle
- Pages — 152
- Author — Molly Bang
About Picture This: How Pictures Work
I surely understand that if you have ever opened a book about art composition in your life, this choice for overall top comes as a huge shock. But bear with me while I explain…
Picture This: How Pictures Work, even though written by a children’s book illustrator, explains the “why” behind photography and art compositional rules and elements. When Molly explains why and how composition works, she uses geometric shapes. Starting with the story of Little Red Riding Hood, she uses geometric shapes to depict the characters and their surroundings. The Red Riding Hood symbol is a red triangle. When she adds the mother, she demonstrates how altering the second shape’s form, color, and size alters how the two shapes relate to one another and how the viewer relates to the image as a whole. As she progresses, she adds elements and demonstrates how the direction of lines and angles, the relative size and position of objects within the frame all affect the way we perceive the image.
The simplicity with which this book is written makes it a work of art. Composition rules give you the tools you need to create visually appealing images. In other words, if you know why and how pictures work, you’ll be able to use that knowledge to better communicate with your audience. This book is simple enough for a beginner to understand, but it also contains advanced techniques that an experienced artist and photographer can put to use in their own work.
Pros
- Great examples of the how and why behind art composition theories
- Great for any skill level
Cons
- Kindle version pictures do not match the text alongside
2. Best Art History Book on Composition: Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter
Selection Criteria
- Quality – 9/10
- Price – $16.29
- Our score: 9/10
- Book Cover — Paperback
- Pages — 224
- Author — James Gurney
About Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter
Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter, James Gurney’s second art instruction book, follows up on his golden section book Imaginative Realism. Research on two of art’s fundamental themes, Color and Light, bridges the gap between abstract theory and practical knowledge.
As the book progresses, it takes a look at the underappreciated masters who mastered the use of light, color, and pigment to illuminate their subjects’ forms. Using science and observation, Gurney debunks the color myths that have persisted for millennia. To round out what is sure to become an indispensable resource for any artist, there is a glossary, index of pigments, and bibliography included.
In a strict sense this is not a truly historical book, but among other artists this is referred to as the ‘bible’ of art composition, so in a way it is a whole historic chapter in the history of painting skills.
Pros
- It serves as inspiration to students and artists of all levels
- Clearly explains the use of colors
- Artists interested in color mixing and lighting angles will find it especially useful
Cons
- Mathematical formulas could prove hard to follow
3. Best Book on Landscape Painting Composition: Landscape Painting Inside and Out
Selection Criteria
- Quality – 9/10
- Price – $56.93, $235.10, $13.99
- Our score: 7/10
- Book Cover — Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle
- Pages — 146
- Author — Kevin Macpherson
About Landscape Painting Inside and Out: Capture the Vitality of Outdoor Painting in Your Studio with Oils
Is there a specific message you want your painting to convey, but your painting skills just don’t mirror your intent? Your brush will be guided by the conversation you have with nature thanks to this book. It is Kevin Macpherson’s mission to teach you how to paint personal, poetic landscapes that capture the spirit of the place you’re in.
When painting outdoors, it is important to take advantage of the changing light and atmosphere by taking photos, sketches, and other visual notes. Landscape art is not for the faint of heart.
Landscape Painting Inside and Out is a breath of fresh air for painters of all levels, from the novice to the seasoned professional, as it offers instruction and encouragement while also posing a number of new challenges.
Pros
- Landscape painters of all levels can learn new techniques
Cons
- Leading lines and specific sponsors are being mentioned not in the same amount as other brands
4. Best Book on Photography Tutorials and Art Composition: The Secrets to Amazing Photo Composition: 83 Composition Tools from the Masters
Selection Criteria
- Quality – 9/10
- Price – $15.99, $11.99
- Our score: 8/10
- Book Cover — Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook
- Pages — 184
- Author — Marc Silber
About The Secrets to Amazing Photo Composition: 83 Composition Tools from the Masters
When it comes to the compositional aspects of photography, Mark Silber’s book Secrets to Creating Amazing Photos is like a kit of tools, as it features an array of 83 compositional tools from master photographers and artists, each of which is explained in detail with accompanying images. Mark Silber refers to it as a cookbook in the preface, describing it as a collection of “recipes” for visual storytelling.
Each compositional element is explained in a few paragraphs with an illustration, but the sheer number of them means that this book goes far beyond a simple Rule of Thirds-based approach to composition. This is a great volume for any photographer’s library because of how well-designed it is. The compositional tools are divided into two sections: the fundamentals and lines that create mood. Finally a third section pulls it all together.
Pros
- Adequately explains even hard to understand techniques
- Considered a classic among photography books
- Lots of images to teach techniques in photographs
Cons
- Some examples may appear vague
5. Best Book on Outdoor Painting and Art Composition: Composition of Outdoor Painting
Selection Criteria
- Quality – 9/10
- Price – $52, $57.72
- Our score: 9/10
- Book Cover — Hardcover
- Pages — 169
- Author — Edgar Payne
About Composition of Outdoor Painting
This book was last reprinted in 2005. Written by Edgar Payne, a noted California impressionist, this book is a must-have for any serious collector.
Landscape painters will find a wealth of knowledge in this book, which focuses on composition, color, and form. Photography and digital art can also benefit from the book’s basic composition rules.
Pros
- Classic book for artists of all levels
- Great composition ideas
- Useful information for a variety of techniques
- Offers perspective and tips for students of the arts
Cons
- Rather philosophical in nature
- Badly illustrated, Images are mostly black and white
- Badly edited
6. Most Practical Book on Art Composition—Capture The Magic
Selection Criteria
- Quality – 8/10
- Price – $29.99, $23.99
- Our score: 8/10
- Book Cover — Paperback, Kindle
- Pages — 188
- Author — Jack Dykinga
About Capture The Magic
Photographer Jack Dykinga uses his stunning images in Capture the Magic to demonstrate the rules and principles of composition in a way that is practical and easy to understand. As an artist, Dykinga does an excellent job of showing not only how he composes his images, but why he composes them in that way as well.
This is a book that teaches, but it does so in a way that is extremely useful to any artist. If you want to learn how to apply the rules and principles of composition in a real-world context, this book is your best bet.
Throughout the book, the author shows us how he refined his composition to more clearly convey his intent by showing us multiple photographs of the same scene. When it comes to composition, Dykinga demonstrates that it’s all about refining your vision, not your image. Using multiple images, we can see that even though they all have technically correct compositions, he is able to change the meaning conveyed through the frame by making minor adjustments.
Pros
- Interesting approach to train the artist and not just to explain strict guidelines
- Useful for any craft as knowledge is transferable
- Writing is easy to follow
Cons
- Basics are revisited
Conclusion—The Best Books on Art Composition
When preparing for your paintings, drawing or even videos and movies, your story should not begin with strict guidelines. You should be influenced by your passion instead. Yet, the introduction of composition techniques can sometimes make a great difference in getting your message across. The books selected in our list aimed to give a holistic view for artists of all mediums. But even so, some people prefer other books and articles based on how they want their information to come across.
The Secrets to Amazing Photo Composition is an excellent choice if you prefer your information to be presented in a straightforward manner and broken down into manageable chunks. Beginners and aspiring photographers will benefit greatly from this book.
If, on the other hand, you prefer a more out-of-the-box approach, you can’t go wrong with Picture This: How Pictures Work, which is aimed at artists who prefer to experiment with their stories and perspective.
We hope you found our analysis of the top books on art composition of 2022 to be helpful. Consult our associated guides for further sources of comparable items for the artistic lifestyle.
