KEY POINTS

Gather a selection of interesting and varied objects from your home. We will explore arranging our objects in different ways and photograph them. We will then use these photographs to inspire a set of drawings. Some things to consider as you play about moving your objects:

• We are 'setting a stage' for our objects and things

• It is good to explore different combinations, look from different angles, consider the spaces in-between the objects and how decisions about placement can make certain shapes more important.

• Which object is playing the lead role? If you place an object right in the centre of your image it is like being ‘centre stage’ and it will take the limelight

• Contrast and unity. Have you got enough difference or contrasting things and have you got enough harmony and sameness? Variety may be height and size, unity may come from patterns or repeating shapes

• Is your composition too busy or too simple? We’ll start with six or seven objects to see which ones we like together, but I recommend only using three or four objects in your photo

• What is the main focus of the picture? Usually the area with the highest contrast draws our eye and is the focal point

• Odd numbers often look better than even, groups of three or five things tend to look better than four things

• Consider the verticals and horizontals. It can be useful to think of an L shape. A lot of artists use this compositional device in their paintings

• Consider the shapes and spaces in-between things, are they interesting?

• Consider overlapping objects to create interesting inter-spaces and negative spaces

• The rule of thirds is a compositional device where key objects are placed on the lines that divide the pictorial plane into thirds