How Pictures Work
A brief overview based on the
work of Molly Bang
In this lesson, we will explore how visual images
make meaning; or better yet, how we make meaning
from visual images.
Some of the slides will ask you to think about what you’re
looking at. Please do this in earnest. As you do, you will
begin to understand the point of Bang’s book which is, of
coure, how pictures work.
There are no right or wrong answers, but you may be
surprised at how many common understandings of line, color,
shape and space emerge. These common understandings or
“readings” are what make pictures work.
THREE KEY ELEMENTS help pictures work.
1. Context
2. Composition
3. Compositional elements
(You may be surprised at how much of this you already know!)
CONTEXT
CONTEXT refers to outside influences on the text; things that impact our
thoughts or feelings about the text and that can give us clues when we
analyze the text.
For instance, if we see Jim Carey in a movie, we bet its genre is comedy,
even before he does something funny. This is because of an outside
influence - we know that he has made other comedy movies, so we
expect that.
Other typical CONTEXTS that make a text meaningful:
• Historical context (e.g. songs from the 60s / hippie music)
• Emotional context (a hug at a wedding vs. a hug at a funeral)
COMPOSITION
COMPOSITION is somewhat opposite of context. Whereas context looks
exclusively outside the text, composition looks exclusively at the text itself.
What is the text like? What are its parts? How are they put together?
These are all COMPOSITION questions.
Text composition is not about the meaning of the text. Yes, compositional
elements help determine the meaning, but when we talk composition, we
are just talking about the make-up of the text itself.
Composition is a very important consideration when we analyze a text. By
describing the compositional elements of a text, we can explain how they
cause us to interpret the text as we do.
COMPOSITIONAL ELEMENTS
Compositional Elements found in visual texts include:
• Color
• Contrast
• Size
• Shape
• Spatial Arrangement
• Symmetry
When we discuss the composition of a text, these are some of the aspects of
the composition we refer to.
(Now… see these 3 Key Elements at work!)
LOOK CLOSELY at this cover picture from Molly Bang’s book.
• What’s happening in the picture?
• What about the COMPOSITION & COMPOSITIONAL ELEMENTS
make you think so?
What well-known children’s story is Bang telling?
With this picture, Bang is telling the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
When she wrote this book, she worked to communicate the essence of the
story with COMPOSITION & the COMPOSITIONAL ELEMENTS of line,
shape, color, & space.
Does this picture work?
How do the COMPOSITION & COMPOSITIONAL ELEMENTS help it
succeed?
Now, look at this slide. What impressions does the shape give you?
How does it compare with the shape on the next slide?
How do the two shapes compare?
Which is cooler and less interesting?
Which is more dynamic or energetic?
Which is more huggable? Why?
Why do you suppose the triangle was chosen for Little Red Riding Hood?
Now, think about the mother. Consider the following several slides.
This could represent a mother and daughter.
But, other than size, how motherly does the big triangle seem?
How about now? The author thought the rounded corners made
the figure more gentle and mom-like. But, think about the color.
The author thought red was too energetic for the mom. Plus, moms and
daughters aren’t exactly the same. So, Bang chose purple. Purple is related
to red, but not the same.
But why did Bang choose a red triangle to represent the protagonist?
•Literal Reasons:
• The protagonist is Little Red Ridinghood (so the color makes sense.)
• The triangle is similar in shape to the hood or cape she wears
•Figurative Reason:
• Red represents danger, and the girl is in danger.
• Red is an energetic color, the color of blood and life and fire.
All of these meanings are going on at the same time and we must
sort out which ones to pay attention to. CONTEXT helps us do that.
Summary of design ideas so far:
• SIZE has meaning - bigger for the mom.
• SHAPE has meaning – rounded shapes are softer & more “motherly”
• COLOR has meaning – literal & figurative reasons just stated
So, what about CONTRAST and SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT?
Mom gives her the basket.
The color is black to contrast with the other
colors. It stands out. It’s clearly something
different that the other two shapes.
Note how the basket is tilted, also. This
implies motion, that mom is handing it off.
If it were level, it wouldn’t have that feeling.
Mom gives Little Red Riding Hood the basket. Its color is black to contrast with
the other colors. It stands out because it is different from the other two shapes.
The black basket is also slightly tilted. This implies motion & energy. If it were level,
it would have a calmer feeling.
Now, consider the forest and Bang’s possible choices for trees.
Does this possibility work?
How about this option?
Or maybe this one?
Bang’s FIRST CHOICE seemed simple and even boring. Also, compositionally,
it was made up of triangles. This might have confuse the issue with Little Red
Riding Hood.
Bang’s SECOND CHOICE was more obviously tree-like. But the shapes also
crowded the space and didn’t leave much room for Little Red Riding Hood.
In Bang’s THIRD ARRANGMENT, the trees seem very tall; we can’t see their
tops. And the different widths imply space; they make the forest look deep. This
choice, then, was best.
Now, look at the next 4 slides. How does changing the SIZE and SPATIAL
ARRAGEMENT affect your feelings about the picture? Which one is more
scary? In the story, Little Red Riding Hood is in danger, afterall!
How does this COMPOSITION feel?
Did changing her size impact the meaning?
How does the picture feel now?
How about now?
In this image, there is SYMMETRY in the tree trunks.
They all go up and down.
How about now. Does the picture feel the same?
Molly Bang explained these three COMPOSITIONS in this way:
• When everything is straight up & down or sideways, things seem STABLE.
• When things are at an angle, they seem IN MOTION. Angles make things
seem scarier, too. These trees might fall on the little girl!
• There is also a lot of open white space for her to move into as she comes
forward. However, the angled trees seem to cut her off from going backwards.
• In the next 10 pictures, we see the WOLF!
• Which ones seem scarier?
• What do you see that makes you say so?
Reflection:
• A smaller wolf might have been more creepy / sneaky, but perhaps less
dangerours
• A purple wolf…not so scary. He seems more like a stuffed animal.
• A wolf with round corners make him look more like a sock puppet.
• What about purple eyes?
• What about the red triangle eye? It makes him look sort of surprised!
Now, what about these possibilities for the wolf. See what you think.
Consider the red tongue. It makes the wolf stand out more from the
background . Also, you can’t see the tree trunk through his mouth any
longer.
Note also the use of RED. It seems associated with Little Red Riding Hood
by color, and the red is literal for the tongue. Red is also demonic for the
eye – think of the horror films you may have seen.
Now, consider the change in background color. What’s up with that?
What does a purple background do to the feeling of the picture?
Finally, the author experimented with more contrast on the teeth. This
could be a literal choice, but real wolf teeth are probably not so pearly
white.
White does make us think of teeth, though, and there is a lot of contrast.
What do the wolf’s white teeth add to the picture?
This PowerPoint has been a brief overview of the “building a picture”
section of Molly Bang’s book. You are STRONGLY encouraged to read the
full text to expand and reinforce your understanding of how compositional
elements help pictures work.
CONTEXT is still needed to figure out the story completely, but the images
get us close. Even without knowing what the story was, you could have
guessed that a wolf was after something from the first picture you saw.
ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNMENT:
Create ONE frame of a story most people will know.
Use simple shapes like were used here to capture the essential narrative
of the inspirational text.
Then, write a 1-page statement to explain WHY you made the choices you
did. Your reasons shouldn’t be ALL figurative or ALL literal - go for a mix of
both.
References
Bang, M. (1991/2000). Picture this: How pictures work.
New York, NY: Sea Star Books.