BALANCE - SYMMETRY

Balance is concerned with the distribution of visual interest -- what is where

in a composition.
There are two systems for controlling balance:
Symmetry

a mirror image

Asymmetry without symmetry

In this lesson you will:
Learn about symmetry.
Make a symmetrically balanced composition.

It is necessary to
balance many
things in a
composition: visual
interests (this
lesson), unity and
variety, figure and
ground, realism
and abstraction as
well as many
logistical concerns
(time, space, cost,
etc.).

BALANCE
Balance is a skill that everyone uses almost all of their waking
hours. It is balance that allows you to stand up and walk around.
You balance your checkbook and hopefully find a balance
between your academic and social life.
Balance in design is similar to these kinds of balance. You have
already had to balance between unity and variety, and in the last
project balance figure and ground. Your physical sense of
balance will play a part in your ability to balance the visual
information in a composition.
Visual interest is what you balance in design. Different colors,
shapes sizes, etc. create different degrees of interest. It is the
distribution of this interest that you need to control. We will
study the abstract (non-figurative) aspects of balance to make it
easier to understand how balance works. Subject matter changes
the situation because different objects can call more (or less)
attention to themselves because of their content and
relationships to other objects in the image.
Balance can also be described as achieving equilibrium. The
problem with this definition is that artists rarely want things to
be equal. It usually means that no part of the composition calls
too much attention to itself at the expense of the rest of the
image. This increases unity, but decreases variety, and hence

interest.
Balance is usually a desirable characteristic of a composition.
There are times, however, when it is desirable to deliberately
throw the balance off in order to call more attention to some
aspect of an image. For this lesson we will attempt to achieve
balance as a way of learning how to control attention in a piece
of art.
There are two systems for achieving balance: symmetry and
asymmetry.
The word
symmetry comes
from the Greek
roots syn, meaning
with or together,
and metron,
meaning measure.

Symmetrical
balance is formal
balance.

SYMMETRY
Symmetry means a mirror image -- one side
is the mirror image of the other. Symmetry
can occur in any orientation as long as the
image is the same on either side of the central axis.
This type of image has great appeal -- it makes for "good" shape
relationship. Many people automatically gravitate to symmetry.
We are symmetrical after all -- two eyes, two ears, etc.. Look
around at consumer products and graphics (printed materials) to
see how many use symmetry. You will find that it is the
dominant organizational concept.
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
A vertical axis is required to achieve balance with symmetry.
Part of the reason is that we have struggled throughout our lives
to perfect our balance in order to stand, walk, ride a bike, etc..
To do this we must have exactly the same weight on both sides
of our bodies. Our axis of symmetry is vertical and this makes a
good model for symmetry in visual information.
Symmetrical balance is also called formal balance because a
form (formula) is used -- a mirror image about a vertical axis.
The results look formal, organized and orderly.
There is a strong emphasis on the center axis in symmetry since
all of the information is reflected from there. This should be
taken into consideration when designing with symmetry. It is
easy to over emphasize the center.
Symmetrical balance guarantees left to right balance, which is
the most important aspect of balance. But there is more to
balance than that. Top to bottom balance is also important. Most
images seem more stable if the bottom seems slightly heavier. If

the top seems too heavy the composition can look precarious.
Balance between the center and the outsides of the image must
also be considered. Fortunately our own sense of balance is
usually good enough to feel when the balance in a composition
is wrong. Pay attention to your own sense of balance and you
will do well. Your sense of balance, like anything else, can be
improved with practice and experience.
TYPES OF SYMMETRY
Symmetry means that the sides are exact mirror images of each
other. This limits symmetry's application to abstract images
since objects in the real world are not truly symmetrical. Try
folding a leaf down the center and notice that the opposite sides
do not exactly correspond with one another. Fine artists rarely
use pure symmetry for this reason. It is more applicable to
commercial designs.
NEAR SYMMETRY
Near symmetry is based on symmetry but the two halves are not
exactly the same. Slight variations will probably not change the
balance but there is more potential for variety and hence more
interest. When the sides become too different, symmetry ceases
to exist and balance must depend on other concepts
(asymmetry).
Near symmetry is more versatile than pure
symmetry. It is used in many graphic
images since type throws off the symmetry
but the balance is still achieved. It is also
occasionally used for formal fine art
images, especially early Christian religious
paintings.
INVERTED SYMMETRY
Inverted symmetry uses symmetry with one half inverted like a
playing cards. This is an interesting variation on symmetry but
can make for an awkward balance.
BIAXIAL SYMMETRY
A symmetrical composition can have more than one axis of
symmetry. Biaxial symmetry uses two axes of symmetry -vertical and horizontal. These guarantee balance: top and
bottom as well as left and right. The top and bottom can be the
same as the left and right, or they can be different. The most
regular and repetitive image occurs when they are the same.

More than two axes are possible. Snow flakes and

kaleidoscopes have three axes of symmetry.
Radial symmetry is a related concept and can use any number
of axes since the image seems to radiate out from the center, like
a star.
UNITY AND VARIETY
Symmetrical images have a strong sense of unity because at
least half of the image is repeated. At the same time they lack
variety because only half is unique. A biaxial image is only
unique in one fourth of its format since that fourth is repeated in
all the corners.
When the top/bottom and left/right are the same, only one
eighth is unique. As the repetition increases, so does the unity.
In other words symmetrical images are usually well balanced
and formal with good unity, but can lack excitement since they
are so repetitive.
The strong sense of order and repetition make symmetrical
images more acceptable to many people. That is why they are
used so often in the applied arts. It is for the same reason that
symmetry is rarely used in the fine artist. It is not that order is
not wanted, but rather that variety is wanted to generate interest
and to give the artist more freedom.
ASYMMETRY
Asymmetry, also known as informal balance, means without
symmetry. You will study asymmetry next.
PROJECT

Student example
#1

SYMMETRICAL COMPOSITION
Make a symmetrically balanced collage using only circles,
triangles and/or rectangles. The shapes can overlap or be
trimmed to make new shapes. Up to four colors may be used.
The composition must have a vertical axis of symmetry. Biaxial
symmetry may be used. There should be no reference to subject
matter. Make the project as large as possible from a 9 inch by 12
inch piece of colored paper. One of the four colors can be used
as a border.
Start with thumbnail sketches. Remember that there will be
repetition so only half, or a fourth, of the image needs to be
drawn. It is easier to see the composition, however, if the whole
design is drawn. Plan on designing the major shapes and to

Student example
#2
Student example
#3

experiment with the details once the collage is

under way. Make some of the shapes quite large
to increase variety.
Decide what colors you will use. Try stacking
several sets of colored paper, varying the order
and the amount of each that shows until you find
a color scheme that will work. Try to make all of the colors
equally visible, but vary the amount of each to get more variety.
Try to make all of the colors operate as figure in the design.
Also try to make all the colors act as ground so that there is not
one background. Use what you learned in the last project to
control the figure/ground relationship.
Filling in the thumbnail sketches can make it easier to see color
and value relationships. Use different values, or lines and dots,
to indicate the different colors. Using colored pencils or felt
pens will let you see more clearly what your design will look
like. Be careful of white shapes that fade out into the
background.

The collage rough

becomes the
finished project
when you glue
down the pieces.

COLLAGE ROUGH
A full sized rough is not usually necessary, or desirable in this
type of project. Move all of the parts of the composition around
like you did for the ambiguous figure/ground project, trying
different combinations, proportions and relationships before you
are satisfied. Try taking pieces off. If they are not missed, leave
them off. Also try adding more pieces if part of the image lacks
interest. Working this way is called using a collage rough. A
collage is not done until the last piece is glued in place.
Unity and balance are more or less assured. It is interest that you
need to work toward getting. Use your sense of balance to
determine if the image is correctly balanced. It should not look
top or bottom heavy or be too crowded in the center or along the
edges.
When you are satisfied with the composition, measure, mark
and carefully glue the image together. Since there may be many
layers of paper involved, either glue pieces from the top of the
stack down or from the bottom up.
DISPLAY
This project and the next (asymmetry) will make a set like the

last two projects did. Mount this project on the left or top page
of the set. Label this project SYMMETRY. Mount this project
first in a set of two with the next project (like the two
figure/ground projects).
This project is worth 10 points.
If you want your interior decorating to stimulate the senses, you must keep in mind the principles
of Balance, Unity and Scale (BUS). Balance refers to the proper balance or weight distribution of
a combination of objects. When arranging a wall grouping, you want to choose either a
symmetrical or asymmetrical balance. Symmetrical balance refers to arrangements where the
majority of the objects within the grouping are placed in even patterns about a focal point, such as
sconces around a picture. When you draw an imaginary line down the center of a symmetrical
grouping, each side should mirror the other. Asymmetrical balance is more interesting to the eye,
but is more difficult to achieve. In asymmetrical groupings, items are arranged so that it your
grouping is balanced, but the objects on either side of the focal piece are not necessarily the
same. In both types of groupings, drawing a line down the center of your focal point will allow you
to determine if you have achieved balance, as the amount of space taken up with accessories on
each side of the grouping should be approximately the same. Unity is achieved by considering
all parts of a grouping, including your layout, color, and theme. Each item should be arranged to
create a single, harmonious effect that is pleasing, functional, and relative to the other parts of the
room. Unity can be attained by placing items within a grouping fairly close together,
approximately one palm's width apart, so the eye can move easily from one object to the other.
Achieving unity does not necessarily mean that all items must have the same colors or finishes,
but rather these items are linked by a common color, theme, or element that ties them all
together. Scale refers to the relationship between all the items in a room. Scale should be
considered in relationship to the placement of furniture within a room. Objects on the wall must
be large enough or small enough to complement the furnishings. The dimensions of the room,
the size of the wall you're covering, and the proportions of your furniture are all important to
achieve scale within a room. See my Home Decor page for exciting additions to your interior
decor. I would be happy to assist you with achieving the look you want in your home.

Balance. What is it and how is it achieved on a flat surface? To answer this question, we
must first think of a three dimensional work of art. If the pieces were not physically
balanced or anchored, they would fall over. For images created on a flat surface such as a
canvas the same principle of balance applies. However, instead of having actual or
physical balance, the artist needs to create an illusion of balance, referred to as
visual balance.
In visual balance, each area of the painting suggests a certain visual weight, a certain
degree of lightness or heaviness. For example, light colors appear lighter in weight than
dark colors. Brilliant colors visually weigh more than neutral colors in the same areas.
Warm colors, such as yellow tend to expand an area in size, whereas cool colors like blue
tend to contract an area. And transparent areas seem to visually weigh less than opaque
areas.
Balancing the components of a painting can best be illustrated by weighing scales or a
child's playground see-saw. Visually the scale can be pictured as an apparatus for
weighing or a see-saw which has a beam poised on a central pivot or fulcrum. In using

this scale or see-saw, balance is not achieved through an actual physical weighing
process, but through visual judgment on the part of the observer. In this respect, visual
balance refers to a "felt" optical equilibrium between all parts of the painting.

To balance a composition is to distribute its parts in such a way that the viewer is
satisfied that the piece is not about to pull itself over. When components are balanced
left and right of a central axis they are balanced horizontally. When they are balanced
above and below they are said to be balanced vertically. And when components are
distributed around the center point, or spring out from a central line, this is referred to as
radial balance.

There are two forms of visual balance. These are symmetrical balance, also known as
symmetry or formal balance, and asymmetrical balance, also known as asymmetry or
informal balance.
Symmetrical Balance

Symmetrical balance is when the weight is equally distributed on both

sides of the central axis. Symmetry is the simplest and most obvious type
of balance. It creates a secure, safe feeling and a sense of solidity.
Symmetrical balance can be achieved in two ways. One way is by "pure
symmetry," and the other way is by "approximate symmetry."
In pure symmetry identical parts are equally distributed on either side of
the central axis in mirror-like repetition. A good example of pure
symmetry is the human face. It is the same on both the right side and the
left side of the nose. Pure symmetry has its place in certain art works,
however, because of its identical repetition, pure symmetry for a
composition can easily become too monotonous and uninteresting to
look at.
Approximate symmetry on the other hand has greater appeal and interest for the viewer.
The two sides of a composition are varied and are more interesting to view. Even though
they are varied somewhat, they are still similar enough to make their repetitious
relationship symmetrically balanced.
Asymmetrical Balance
Asymmetrical balance is when both sides of the central axis are not identical, yet appear
to leave the same visual weight. It is a "felt" equilibrium or balance between the parts of a
composition rather than actual. If the artist can feel, judge or estimate the various
elements and visual weight, this should allow him/her to balance them as a whole. As a
result, a more interesting composition will occur in the work.
The use of asymmetry in design allows for more freedom of creativity, because there are
unlimited arrangements that may be devised using asymmetrical balance. The way to use
asymmetry is by balancing two or more unequal components on either side of the fulcrum
by varying their size, value or distance from the center.

Examples of The Effective Use Of Balance

Radial Balance
This flower resting a tea cup on the left
is a good example of radial balance. The
pedals radiate out from a central point.
On the right radial balance is created by
the flowers which spring out of the
center of the vase.

Horizontal Balance

Vertical Balance
Do you see the vertical balance suggested in the painting on
the left? Look at where the foreground ends and you will
quickly see how it is balanced by the building in the
background.
The painting on the right is a little more obvious in
it's vertical balance. Notice how the three objects in
the top part of the painting balance the apparent
heaviness of the one object (the plate of pancakes) in
the lower part of the painting.

XV
BALANCE
There seems to be a strife between opposing forces at the basis of all things, a strife in
which a perfect balance is never attained, or life would cease. The worlds are kept on
their courses by such opposing forces, the perfect equilibrium never being found, and so
the vitalising movement is kept up. States are held together on the same principle, no
State seeming able to preserve a balance for long; new forces arise, the balance is upset,
and the State totters until a new equilibrium has been found. It would seem, however, to
be the aim of life to strive after balance, any violent deviation from which is accompanied
by calamity.

And in art we have the same play of opposing factors, straight lines and curves, light and
dark, warm and cold colour oppose each other. Were the balance between them perfect,
the result would be dull and dead. But if the balance is very much out, the eye is
disturbed and the effect too disquieting. It will naturally be in pictures that aim at repose
that this balance will be most perfect. In more exciting subjects less will be necessary, but
some amount should exist in every picture, no matter how turbulent its motive; as in good
tragedy the horror of the situation is never allowed to overbalance the beauty of the
treatment.
220

Between Straight Lines and Curves

Let us consider in the first place the balance between straight lines and curves. The richer
and fuller the curves, the more severe should be the straight lines that balance them, if
perfect repose is desired. But if the subject demands excess of movement and life, of
course there will be less necessity for the balancing influence of straight lines. And on the
other hand, if the subject demands an excess of repose and contemplation, the bias will be
on the side of straight lines. But a picture composed entirely of rich, rolling curves is too
disquieting a thing to contemplate, and would become very irritating. Of the two
extremes, one composed entirely of straight lines would be preferable to one with no
squareness to relieve the richness of the curves. For straight lines are significant of the
deeper and more permanent things of life, of the powers that govern and restrain, and of
infinity; while the rich curves (that is, curves the farthest removed from the straight line)
seem to be expressive of uncontrolled energy and the more exuberant joys of life. Vice
may be excess in any direction, but asceticism has generally been accepted as a nobler
vice than voluptuousness. The rococo art of the eighteenth century is an instance of the
excessive use of curved forms, and, like all excesses in the joys of life, it is vicious and is
the favourite style of decoration in vulgar places of entertainment. The excessive use of
straight lines and square forms may be seen in some ancient Egyptian architecture, but
this severity was originally, no doubt, softened by the use of colour, and in any case it is
nobler and finer than the vicious cleverness of rococo art.
221We have

seen how the Greeks balanced the straight lines of their architectural forms
with the rich lines of the sculpture which they used so lavishly on their temples. But the
balance was always kept on the side of the square forms and never on the side of undue
roundness. And it is on this side that the balance would seem to be in the finest art. Even
the finest curves are those that approach the straight line rather than the circle, that err on
the side of flatnesses rather than roundnesses.
Between Flat and Gradated Tones

What has been said about the balance of straight lines and curves applies equally well to
tones, if for straight lines you substitute flat tones, and for curved lines gradated tones.
The deeper, more permanent things find expression in the wider, flatter tones, while an
excess of gradations makes for prettiness, if not for the gross roundnesses of vicious
modelling.

Often when a picture is hopelessly out of gear and "mucked up," as they say in the studio,
it can be got on the right road again by reducing it to a basis of flat tones, going over it
and painting out the gradations, getting it back to a simpler equation from which the right
road to completion can be more readily seen. Overmuch concern with the gradations of
the smaller modelling is a very common reason of pictures and drawings getting out of
gear. The less expenditure of tone values you can express your modelling with, the better,
as a general rule. The balance in the finest work is usually on the side of flat tones rather
than on the side of gradated tones. Work that errs on the side of gradations, like that of
Greuze, however popular its appeal, is much poorer stuff 222than work that errs on the
side of flatness in tone, like Giotto and the Italian primitives, or Puvis de Chavannes
among the moderns.
Between Light and Dark Tones.

There is a balance of tone set up also between light and dark, between black and white in
the scale of tone. Pictures that do not go far in the direction of light, starting from a
middle tone, should not go far in the direction of dark either. In this respect note the
pictures of Whistler, a great master in matters of tone; his lights seldom approach
anywhere near white, and, on the other hand, his darks never approach black in tone.
When the highest lights are low in tone, the darkest darks should be high in tone. Painters
like Rembrandt, whose pictures when fresh must have approached very near white in the
high lights, also approach black in the darks, and nearer our own time, Frank Holl forced
the whites of his pictures very high and correspondingly the darks were very heavy. And
when this balance is kept there is a rightness about it that is instinctively felt. We do not
mean that the amount of light tones in a picture should be balanced by the amount of
dark tones, but that there should be some balance between the extremes of light and dark
used in the tone scheme of a picture. The old rule was, I believe, that a picture should be
two-thirds light and one-third dark. But I do not think there is any rule to be observed
here: there are too many exceptions, and no mention is made of half tones.
Like all so-called laws in art, this rule is capable of many apparent exceptions. There is
the white picture in which all the tones are high. But in some of the most successful of
these you will generally 223find spots of intensely dark pigment. Turner was fond of these
light pictures in his later manner, but he usually put in some dark spot, such as the black
gondolas in some of his Venetian pictures, that illustrate the law of balance we are
speaking of, and are usually put in excessively dark in proportion as the rest of the picture
is excessively light.
The successful one-tone pictures are generally painted in the middle tones, and thus do
not in any way contradict our principle of balance.
Between Warm and Cold Colours.

One is tempted at this point to wander a little into the province of colour, where the
principle of balance of which we are speaking is much felt, the scale here being between
warm and cold colours. If you divide the solar spectrum roughly into half, you will have
the reds, oranges, and yellows on one side, and the purples, blues, and greens on the

other, the former being roughly the warm and the latter the cold colours. The clever
manipulation of the opposition between these warm and cold colours is one of the chief
means used in giving vitality to colouring. But the point to notice here is that the further
your colouring goes in the direction of warmth, the further it will be necessary to go in
the opposite direction, to right the balance. That is how it comes about that painters like
Titian, who loved a warm, glowing, golden colouring, so often had to put a mass of the
coldest blue in their pictures. Gainsborough's "Blue Boy," although done in defiance of
Reynolds' principle, is no contradiction of our rule, for although the boy has a blue dress
all the rest of the picture is warm brown and so the balance is kept. It is the failure to
observe this 224balance that makes so many of the red-coated huntsmen and soldiers'
portraits in our exhibitions so objectionable. They are too often painted on a dark, hot,
burnt sienna and black background, with nothing but warm colours in the flesh, &c., with
the result that the screaming heat is intolerable. With a hot mass of red like a huntsman's
coat in your picture, the coolest colour should be looked for everywhere else. Seen in a
November landscape, how well a huntsman's coat looks, but then, how cold and grey is
the colouring of the landscape. The right thing to do is to support your red with as many
cool and neutral tones as possible and avoid hot shadows. With so strong a red, blue
might be too much of a contrast, unless your canvas was large enough to admit of its
being introduced at some distance from the red.
Most painters, of course, are content to keep to middle courses, never going very far in
the warm or cold directions. And, undoubtedly, much more freedom of action is possible
here, although the results may not be so powerful. But when beauty and refinement of
sentiment rather than force are desired, the middle range of colouring (that is to say, all
colours partly neutralised by admixture with their opposites) is much safer.
Between Interest and Mass.

There is another form of balance that must be although it is connected more with the
subject matter of art, as it concerns the mental significance of objects rather than
rhythmic qualities possessed by lines and masses; I refer to the balance there is between
interest and mass. The all-absorbing interest of the human figure makes it often when
quite minute in scale balance the weight and interest of a great 225mass. Diagram XXVII
is a rough instance of what is meant. Without the little figure the composition would be
out of balance. But the weight of interest centred upon that lonely little person is enough
to right the balance occasioned by the great mass of trees on the left. Figures are largely
used by landscape painters in this way, and are of great use in restoring balance in a
picture.

Diagram XXVII.
ILLUSTRATING HOW INTEREST MAY BALANCE MASS
Between Variety and Unity.

And lastly, there must be a balance struck between variety and unity. A great deal has
already been said about this, and it will only be necessary to recapitulate here that to
variety is due all the expression or the picturesque, of the joyous energy of life, and all
that makes the world such a delightful place, but that to unity belongs the relating of this
variety to the underlying bed-rock principles that support it in nature and in all good art.
It will depend on the nature of the artist and on the nature of his theme how far this
underlying unity will dominate the expression in his work; and how far it will be overlaid
and hidden behind a rich garment of variety.
226But

both ideas must be considered in his work. If the unity of his conception is
allowed to exclude variety entirely, it will result in a dead abstraction, and if the variety is
to be allowed none of the restraining influences of unity, it will develop into a riotous
extravagance.