Focal Point in Painting: Create Engaging Artwork 

Light values contrast with the dark ones.

Value contrast is the easiest way to make a focal point. The eye is automatically drawn to an area of high contrasting values.

Artists will use light against dark in many areas of the painting. But the focal area or point, should have the strongest value contrast.

The fish is obviously the star of the show. Its white, red, orange and yellow contrast well against the dark colors in the background.

We can use the color wheel to identify the color's value.

Bright colors contrast with subdued colors.

Bright, clean colors contrast well against subdued colors.

In this painting the clean butterfly colors make it stand out from the subdued colors of the background.

We subdue colors by adding white, grey or black or their complement.

The subdued colors look farther away than bright, clean colors. So, the flowers and background recede and bring the butterfly forward.

Get more tips on how to mix colors.

The warm horse shows off against cool colors.

The warm colors, (red, orange and yellow) automatically attract attention.

When we place them against cool colors, (blue, green or purple) they really sparkle.

The horse's over-all warm colors make it stand out against the cool colors of the background.

The colors of the mane and shadows were mixed from the warm horse colors and the cool blue of the background.

Even these dark colors are warm and contrast well against the cool background.

Details make the subject more important.

Details: Our eyes are drawn to the intricate patterns on the butterfly's wings. The large focal butterfly on the left is more detailed than the other two smaller ones.

Hard and Soft Edges: The hard edges on the main butterfly bring him forward. The soft edges in the background make it recede.

Shapes: The focal butterfly and its flowers are a large shape compared to the smaller shape of the other two butterflies with their flowers.

Contrasting Values: The main butterfly has more value contrast (light versus dark) than the other two butterflies.

Leading Lines: The lower right butterfly and the branch on the lower left are both lines directing our line of sight to the main butterfly. (Leading lines are explained in the next section.)

Saturated Colors: The focal butterfly is painted with saturated colors, compared to the rest of the painting. The yellow and white are brighter and the black is darker.

The principles and elements of art created this successful painting.

A well-placed focal point

• Generally, it's placed "near" the center of the painting.
• The woodpecker painting is an example. The bird is slightly off-centered and well-integrated into the design of the painting.

The subject is almost never placed in the absolute center of the painting.

If the subject is dead-centered, the viewers are drawn to look at the subject and then don't spend additional time looking at the rest of the painting.

Don't place the subject too close to the edge of the painting. It makes the viewers feel uncomfortable and possibly take them out of the painting.

The rule of thirds is a game-changer. It's a tried-and-true method for placing the focal point.

Animals are automatic focal points.

The chicken and background both have a lot of detail, but a couple of things bring her forward from the background.

She is painted with hard edges and saturated colors. This pulls her forward and makes her the focus.

Also, notice that the only red in the painting is her comb and wattles.

Red is a great color for attracting attention. Use the meaning of colors in your artwork.

Man-made things draw us into a painting.

Things such as vehicles, buildings, bridges, boats, etc. will always attract our attention.

The hard lines and angles of man-made things attract our attention.

Notice the rigid, structural lines of the building compared to the softer lines of the grass and shrubs. 

Formal buildings are normally painted in a symmetrical composition, but the palm tree changes the symmetry. 

What type of composition is used in most modern paintings?

A single object draws attention.

The hummingbird in this painting has multiple things that call attention to itself.

First, it is a solitary item. It's flying, all by itself out away from the flowers, so it stands out.

Second, we know animals, as well as birds, automatically attract the viewer's attention.

Third, it has other techniques used to create a focal point; contrasting values, intense color and hard edges.

Fourth, it demands attention because it is small compared to the large mass of flowers. 

It could be the other way around - a large shape compared to smaller ones, like in the butterfly painting above.

This is a painting of patterns.

As a composition note: The two fish in the center overlap each other to hold the viewer's eyes inside the painting.

The fish are all moving to the left and I didn't want them to carry our eyes out of the painting.

So, the left fish are not touching the edge of the canvas to keep us looking inside the painting.

Complementary colors, warm vs cool colors

1. He is painted with complementary colors, blue and orange.
2. Hard edges are painted on him, compared to the soft edges in the background
3. He has bright, saturated colors compared to the background.
4. He's a solitary object and a bird.
5. His dark value contrasts with the lighter background.

The painting shows movement that's another attraction.

Use any or all of these techniques to create a focal point in your paintings.