Grade by Grade
B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Visual Arts: Emphasis and the Focal Point

D1.2 D1.3 D2.1 D2.2 D2.4About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can explain emphasis, this year's principle of design.
  • I can create a focal point using colour intensity, value contrast, placement, size or line weight.
  • I can plan and make a narrative art work (an art work that tells a story) with a clear focal point.
  • I can find the focal point in an art work and explain how the artist created it and what it means.
  • I can document my strengths, interests and areas for improvement in my portfolio.

Words to know

principle of design
A way of arranging the elements (line, shape, space, colour, texture, value) in an art work. Emphasis is the Grade 4 focus.
emphasis
Making one part of an art work stand out, so the viewer looks there first.
focal point
The part of an art work your eye goes to first: the centre of attention.
composition
How the parts of an art work are arranged on the page.
narrative art
Art that tells a story, or shows a moment from a story.
thumbnail sketch
A small, quick drawing to plan an idea.
portfolio
A collection of your art work, sketches and reflections that shows your growth.
artist statement
A few sentences an artist writes to explain their art work and their choices.

Remember from Grade 3

Last year's principle of design was variety: using different lines, shapes and colours to keep art interesting. This year's principle is emphasis: making one part stand out. Variety keeps the eye busy; emphasis tells the eye where to look first.

Where did your eyes go?

Imagine a page covered in small blue circles. In the middle is one big yellow circle. Where did your eyes go first? Straight to the yellow one!

That part is the focal point, and making it stand out is called emphasis.

One bright red maple leaf among many green maple leaves on a branch.
Your eyes go straight to the red leaf. Its bright, different colour makes it the focal point, an example of emphasis. AI-generated image
size and colourline weight
Left: many small blue circles and one big yellow circle, which stands out because of size and colour. Right: six squares drawn with thin lines, except one drawn with a very thick line, which stands out because of line weight.

Five ways to create emphasis

  1. Colour intensity: make the focal point bright and intense, and keep the rest subdued.
  2. Contrast in value: put the lightest light next to the darkest dark at the focal point.
  3. Placement: put the focal point where the eye goes naturally: near the centre, or where other lines point to it, or apart from everything else.
  4. Size of shapes: make the focal point bigger (or the only different size).
  5. Weight of line: outline the focal point with heavy lines, and use light lines elsewhere.

You can combine tricks, but choose one focal point. If everything shouts "Look at me!", nothing stands out.

lines point tothe focal point
Emphasis by placement: all the lines lead the eye to one spot. Try it: wherever you start looking, your eyes slide to the star, the focal point.

Emphasis in famous art

  • In Girl with a Pearl Earring by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, painted more than 350 years ago, a girl looks back over her shoulder. The background is very dark, and her face is light. That value contrast makes her face the focal point. A small, bright highlight on the pearl catches the eye too.
  • In North Shore, Lake Superior by the Canadian painter Lawren Harris (a member of the Group of Seven), a single broken tree stump stands in the centre, with light shining on it and the lake behind. Its placement, size and light value make it the focal point. What do you think the stump might stand for?
  • In ancient Egyptian wall paintings, the most important person, like a pharaoh, is often drawn much bigger than everyone else. Size creates emphasis and shows importance.

Narrative art: tell a story

Narrative art tells a story or shows one important moment. Think of your favourite picture-book illustration: it shows the pivotal moment, and the focal point is the most important part of the story.

To plan narrative art:

  1. Choose a story from your life or your imagination (a theme or topic: a family celebration, the first snowfall, a lost mitten adventure).
  2. Pick the most important moment (just like a tableau in drama!).
  3. Decide the focal point: the person or thing the story is about.
  4. Make two or three thumbnail sketches with different compositions.
  5. Choose the best one and decide which emphasis tricks you'll use.
Just for fun

If everything in a picture shouts "Look at me!", nothing gets noticed. It's like a choir where everyone tries to sing the solo at the same time!

Worked example

Example: Planning a narrative art work

Mei wants to make a picture about the day she scored her first goal in ringette.

  1. Moment: the instant the ring flies into the net.
  2. Focal point: Mei and the ring.
  3. Thumbnail 1: Mei small in the corner. Too hard to find! Thumbnail 2: Mei large, in the centre, with the net beside her. Better.
  4. Emphasis tricks: Mei's jersey in intense red; the crowd and ice in subdued greys and pale blues (colour intensity). Mei is the biggest player (size). Mei is outlined in heavy black marker; other players in light pencil lines (line weight). The other players' sticks all point toward the ring (placement).
  5. Theme: working hard pays off.

Mei planned the moment, the focal point and four emphasis tricks, all supporting her story.

Worked example

Example: Analyzing emphasis in an art work

Let's analyze Girl with a Pearl Earring with art words.

  1. Where do my eyes go first? To the girl's face and eyes, then to the pearl.
  2. How did the artist do it? Value contrast: a light face against a very dark background. Placement: the face is near the centre of the painting. The pearl has a tiny bright highlight.
  3. What feeling does it give? Her look over the shoulder feels like she just turned to notice us, as if she's about to speak. It feels quiet and mysterious.
  4. Say it: "Vermeer used value contrast and placement to make her face the focal point. It makes me feel like she is looking right at me."

A strong analysis names the focal point, the emphasis tricks and the feeling or meaning.

My portfolio: documenting my growth

A portfolio shows your growth as an artist. In Grade 4, document your work: keep finished art, thumbnail sketches and photos of 3D work, with the date. For your best pieces, write an artist statement and a reflection:

  • Strength: what worked well, with evidence. "My focal point really stands out: everyone who looked at it found Mei first."
  • Interest: what you loved doing or want to explore. "I love using intense colours next to subdued ones."
  • Area for improvement: your next step. "My background is too busy. Next time I'll simplify it."

Reflect as a viewer too: "When I looked at my cousin's painting, I noticed..."

Hands-on activity

Make a narrative art work with a focal point

You need: paper, a pencil, an eraser, a black marker, crayons, pencil crayons or paint, and a folder or large envelope for your portfolio.

  1. Choose a true or imagined story with a clear moment: your first time skating, a family celebration, the night the power went out, a summer canoe trip.
  2. Make three thumbnail sketches (each about the size of a playing card), with the focal point in a different place or size each time.
  3. Choose the best one. Write which two or more emphasis tricks you'll use.
  4. Draw it full size. Outline your focal point with a heavy marker line. Use intense colour and strong value contrast only at the focal point; keep the rest more subdued.
  5. Test: show it to someone for 3 seconds, then hide it. Ask, "What did you see first?" If they name your focal point, it worked!
  6. Portfolio: put the art and the thumbnails in your folder with the date. Write an artist statement (what story it tells, your emphasis tricks) and a reflection (one strength, one interest, one area for improvement).

Your turn

1

What is a focal point?

2

Name three ways to create emphasis.

3

What is narrative art?

4

In a picture of 20 grey pigeons and one bright red cardinal, which bird is the focal point? Why?

5

Why should an art work have one main focal point?

6

What is a thumbnail sketch used for?

7

Write one strength you might put in your portfolio, with evidence.

More practice: warm-up

1

What is this year's principle of design?

2

True or false: A heavy outline can help create emphasis.

3

Making the focal point bigger uses which emphasis trick?

4

What is a portfolio?

5

What is an artist statement?

More practice: on your own

1

How did Vermeer make the girl's face the focal point?

2

In ancient Egyptian paintings, why is the pharaoh often drawn bigger than other people?

3

Your drawing of a birthday party has bright colours everywhere, and nobody notices the birthday cake. Give two fixes.

4

Write an area for improvement for an art work, kindly and specifically.

5

Why did Lawren Harris put the tree stump in the centre of North Shore, Lake Superior?

Challenge

1

Plan a narrative art work about a snow day. Describe the moment, the focal point and at least three emphasis tricks.

2

Can an art work have emphasis without any bright colours? Explain with an example.

3

Look back at your work from this unit. Write a short portfolio reflection with a strength, an interest and an area for improvement, each with an example.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Emphasis means ___.

2.

The part of an art work your eye goes to first is the ___.

3.

A light face on a very dark background is an example of emphasis through ___.

4.

Which would weaken a focal point?

5.

Art that tells a story is called ___.

6.

Which is a portfolio reflection?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: The Grade 4 principle of design is emphasis: using colour intensity, contrast in value, placement and size of shapes, and/or weight of line to create a focal point. Students use composition and principles of design to create narrative art works or art works on a theme or topic (D1.2), use elements to communicate (D1.3), interpret the feelings and themes in art works (D2.1), explain how elements and principles create meaning (D2.2), and document their strengths, interests and areas for improvement (D2.4).

How to help:

  • Play "3-second look" with magazine ads, book covers and posters: what did you see first, and why? Advertisers are experts at emphasis!
  • Look up Girl with a Pearl Earring and North Shore, Lake Superior online (gallery websites have good images) and ask, "Where do your eyes go?"
  • Help your child keep a dated portfolio. Photograph 3D work. Reread old reflections together to see growth.

Common difficulties:

  • Everything is bright and detailed. Encourage "quiet" backgrounds: subdued colours, light lines, fewer details.
  • Focal point tucked in a corner. Use thumbnails to try different placements quickly.
  • Reflections without evidence. Prompt: "How do you know? What would someone see?"