11:09 PM, Friday July 22nd 2022
You're welcome, Rhyldur. You've been no bother at all. As Jesus said (though in a different context), "Freely you have received, freely give." I've learned so much through free instruction, mostly on YouTube; so I'm happy to share what I've learned.
I think of myself as having a very light grip on composition ;) There's so much to learn. I mostly took the free route for initially learning composition. Fowkes' course definitely upped my game, but there is quite a bit of decent free information online.
WARNING: there is a lot of information (often contradicting) about composition available online. I've tried to list the sources in rough order of what made the biggest impact/impression on me. I've not watched every video here, but I am familiar with each artist enough to recommend them. Remember, too much head knowledge without application isn't usually healthy (in any area of learning). Try to put what you learn into practice as soon as possible before taking in more information.
Free Internet Resources on Composition:
Nathan Fowkes has some free content about composition on YouTube
The Core with Nathan Fowkes, Part 1: Pictorial Composition
The (Not) Rules of Portrait Composition
Composition conversations with artist Nathan Fowkes.
Nathan Fowkes YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS
The Draftsmen podcast/channel on YouTube has at least one episode dedicated to composition; Marshall Vandruff is very knowledgeable about composition and often has great advice to contribute; Stan Prokopenko has good advice too, but Marshall has more experience; they have rather different backgrounds as artists and each offer a valuable perspective; they balance each other nicely.
How to Learn Composition - Draftsmen S2E15
What Are The Fundamentals? Draftsmen S1E04 (not strictly a composition episode, but they touch on how it fits into the rest of the art fundamentals)
From Rocket Scientist to Professional Artist (ft. Jama Jurabaev) - Draftsmen S2E33 (Jama Jurabaev is a past student of Marshall's and has some stunning work.)
???? How To Nail Composition with Bill Perkins
How to Create a Composition From Imagination with Glenn Vilppu (this guy just spews artistic wisdom constantly; he's a great figure-drawing instructor)
There Are No Rules, Just Tools (Draftsmen talk about Glenn Vilpuu's advice)
Composition and Lighting, with SPECIAL GUEST Visual Development Artist Michael Spooner! (two veteran pros chatting about composition; both blew my mind)
James Gurney on Composition (composition on the Gurney Journey blog)
Feng Zhu on composition (Feng has tons of free, valuable drawing instruction)
Design Cinema - Episode 104 - Environmental Composition
Design Cinema - EP 78 - Environmental Thumbnails
Design Cinema – EP 89 - Just Draw! (I love this episode so much!)
Merging Shapes - 10 Minutes To Better Painting - Episode 1 (Marco Bucci is another treasure trove of artistic advice)
Secrets of Thumbnail Drawing (Real-time) (Trent Kaniuga has a lot of good art advice)
Sketch with Peter Han (Peter Han is really good and teaches a bit on YouTube)
How to Draw Tips | What are thumbnail sketches? How to use them (Alphonso Dunn has some good art advice)
COMPOSITION 1 - Understanding Shapes (Modern Day James has a lot of interesting content)
Kim Jung Gi gives a bit of drawing advice and instruction; one can learn much from watching him draw; I find his skill really inspiring and something to aim for (WARNING: he sometimes/frequently draws extremely inappropriate stuff; so I don't endorse all his stuff, but man is he ever good.)
Composition and Storytelling with Kim Jung Gi
Interview & Demonstration with Kim Jung Gi
While I don't find Aaron Blaise's composition advice to be very strong/helpful, he's got a lot of other great art advice, especially when it comes to drawing animals; I will say though, that he composes very well intuitively after decades of creating on a highly professional level; I just don't find that he communicates too strongly in this area.
More Art Inspiration:
If you haven't seen Syd Mead's art, you're missing out ;) -- wild, futuristic concept art with stunning compositions.
Joseph Clement Coll has absolutely amazing compositions in his ink work -- so much energy. Image 1 Image 2
Pete Beard's YouTube channel will open you up to new worlds of art and composition.
Bobby Chiu's interview with Heri Irawan -- if you're struggling economically, this guy may inspire you. Bobby has tons of really interesting artist interviews; listening to other artists talk about their lives is a bit like reading biographies; you can learn something from everyone.
A useful exercise is to try to break down other people's compositions as studies; just do little 1x2 inch thumbnail copies (or go up to 3.5x5 inches); try to study how they structure the values (i.e. scale from light to dark) and the colours. What kinds of contrast do they use? How do they focus/move the viewer's eye? etc.
A simple YouTube search for "composition" by itself or with an artist's name will yield many useful results. These are some of the most influential free resources I could recall from 2.5 years of drawing. I know it's a ton of information; please don't go crazy and burn out; just pick one resource to start (whatever catches your eye) and spend some time on it; pace yourself. Don't try to consume this waterfall as fast as possible, but do drink deeply to your satisfaction. I'd recommend visiting this list from time to time when you're wanting to up your composition game. Composition obviously isn't all there is to know about art, but it's a really valuable skill, and as Nathan Fowkes' says, possibly the most important skill an artist can possess.