Graphics Programs Reference
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relate to each other. By assigning focal points and a hierarchy to your pieces, you can then start to build a
composition that supports your concept and communicates it efficiently. It's not unlike completing a jigsaw
puzzle: the first step is to just concentrate on finding your edges and the rest will follow. Start simple with
clearly identifiable shapes and then build depth and detail later.
This illustration, titled The White Fox vs. Sherlock Holmes , appeared in Coilhouse Magazine Issue 5 and
illustrated a story about Chinese pulp fiction at the turn of the century. In some of these stories, China actu-
ally appropriated the Victorian Sherlock Holmes and integrated him into Chinese folklore, with one of his
chief adversaries being the mystical White Fox. After working through a number of roughs, the central idea
unfolded, which was that the White Fox and the protagonist Sherlock Holmes would be literally on a stage,
not unlike actors in a Chinese Opera. In terms of compositional pieces there were primarily just the three,
the two characters and the stage. In terms of hierarchy it's the White Fox, followed by Sherlock Holmes, and
finally the stage itself, which is intentionally a sparse and simple backdrop for the drama to unfold upon. I
always imagined that this picture caught that moment when the curtain raises and the characters are revealed
for the first time in dramatic poses: the beautiful White Fox with her sword and fan, defiant and deadly, and
Holmes, intent upon the clues, his pose a play upon the iconic depiction found in the classic illustrated topics
of the period. Figure 1-50 shows my compositional breakdown of this image.
If I had placed White Fox in the middle of the picture, it would have forced Holmes uncomfortably off
to one side. As I had to overlap these figures, it was important to find a solution that allowed the partially
obscured Holmes to still be a strong secondary element. By using the rule of thirds (the blue grid), I tweaked
my initial rough to make sure that the White Fox was on the left one-third line and Holmes's face and hand
on the right one-third line. This was done by eye without literally putting down a grid, but with an under-
standing of how the rule of thirds can be applied.
Figure 1-50: Compositional breakdown: The White Fox vs Sherlock Holmes
 
 
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