Planning and composition

Concepts applied to the window garden and criteria for adapting it.

Use this material to consult the example’s decisions. Editable SVGs are in the course kit; stage images help compare the effect of each change.

Define what the image must communicate

An illustration organizes a visual idea. Start by defining what must be recognized, where the image will appear and what decision it should support. Our example communicates a small home garden: a foreground plant, a window behind it and a watering can as a supporting object. The deliverable is a square image and an editable source.

The brief is intentionally short: “a calm scene, rounded shapes, the plant as the main subject, a restrained palette and details that remain readable when small.” It lets you judge changes: enlarging the plant reinforces the subject; adding ten objects to the table may scatter attention. You need not draw everything that could exist in a real room.

The kit includes a shape plan, flat colors, a finished version and a value study. Use it as a starting point or rebuild the shapes. This scope teaches stylized vector illustration; realistic brushwork, anatomy and advanced perspective require other practices. Composition and layer organization transfer to other media even when commands do not.

Choose pixels, vectors or a combination

A raster image stores pixels; painting changes their colors. A vector drawing stores shapes, paths, fills and strokes, which are then rendered into pixels for display. The garden leaves are editable curves: move a handle to change the silhouette without repainting the edge.

Vectors suit clean shapes, size variations and reusable components. Raster suits brushwork, texture and local color mixing. Neither determines whether an image is good. A vector file can contain raster photographs, which do not gain infinite resolution just because they sit inside an SVG.

The main example uses Inkscape with a mouse or trackpad; a drawing tablet is optional. In Krita, you can use vector layers or rebuild/paint with raster layers. When opening/importing SVG, check clips and shape order. A PNG is a finished image: opening it does not restore the SVG’s nodes and layers.

Define aspect ratio, size and margins

The garden page is 1200 × 1200 units with a 1:1 aspect ratio. Its PNG version is 1200 × 1200 pixels. In SVG, the viewBox defines drawing coordinates; the file can be rendered at other dimensions while preserving proportion. The frame leaves breathing room around the scene.

At 600 × 600, the same composition uses half as many pixels along each axis and one quarter as many overall. A 3-unit line becomes approximately 1.5 pixels wide: it may soften or disappear depending on contrast. Judge detail at its intended size, not only while zoomed in.

For a vertical destination, rearrange the composition instead of stretching it. For printing, pixels divided by pixels per inch gives physical size: 1200 ÷ 300 = 4 inches, about 10.16 cm. This calculation does not certify print output; confirm size, bleed, profile and file requirements with the printer.

Arrange masses and empty space before detail

In the shape study, an ellipse stands for the plant canopy, one rectangle represents the pot and another represents the watering can. There are no veins or highlights yet. Compare size and position: the plant dominates the left/center; the can occupies less space on the right; the window connects them.

Empty space between leaves, sun and can also shapes the scene. When two edges only touch, a confusing tangent can appear: it looks like an error or accidental connection. Separate them clearly or create an intentional overlap. Here, foliage crosses in front of the window bars rather than needing to end exactly on them.

Make two or three thumbnails that change size and placement before detailing. Compare them against the brief, not an automatic rule of thirds. Central and asymmetric compositions can both work. The useful question is whether subject, support and background have recognizable roles at viewing size.

Use references to answer visual questions

Choose references by question: how does a handle attach to a can, how does a leaf bend, or which proportion makes a pot feel visually stable? Write down what you want to observe before collecting images. Compare different shapes and viewpoints so that one solution does not become your only option.

The kit garden is an original arrangement of common forms. Its leaves are not a botanical guide: they are simplified to teach curves and hierarchy. Sun and landscape signal an exterior rather than simulate physical lighting. Recognizing this intent avoids demanding realism from an exercise about stylization.

When incorporating an external photograph, texture, font or artwork into a distributed file, record its source and use conditions and confirm that inclusion is allowed. An image being accessible online does not itself authorize redistribution. This exercise can be built without downloading third-party imagery.

References

Sources checked 2026-09-26.

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