Cropping Photos Using the Divine Proportion tool
by Heather Button
You can use the Divine Proportion tool to aesthetically align the focal points in your painting. The Divine Proportion tool is based on the divine triangle, which is a guideline that was used by classical artists to ensure that the composition of their paintings was pleasing to the eye. The divine triangle is based on the idea that everything in nature, from the features of the human face to the spirals in a nautilus shell, can be broken down into a proportion of 1:1.618. Once this common proportion was discovered, it was used as the basis for such classical works as the Greek Parthenon and the Mona Lisa.
The Divine Proportion tool displays a nonprinting pattern of triangles and spirals on your painting, which is a visual representation of the divine proportion. You can use this pattern as a guideline for composing the major focal points in your painting. You can crop existing artwork to make it better fit the composition of the divine proportion.
The example above shows artwork that aligns with the Divine Proportion. Note that the major focal points in the painting align with the triangles and spirals shown using the Divine Proportion tool.
To show the Divine Proportion guide
- Choose Canvas menu > Compositions, and then choose Show Divine Proportion.
The example above shows the Divine Proportion guidelines superimposed over a canvas.
After you've displayed the Divine Proportion guide, you can crop your artwork to make it better fit the guideline. Cropping your canvas can bring the focal points in your artwork into closer alignment with the Divine Proportion guide.
The example above shows the image after it has been cropped to align with the Divine Proportion guide.
To crop an image
- In the toolbox, click the Crop tool.
- Drag inside the image to define the rectangular area you want to keep.
You can adjust the triangle by dragging a corner or any of its edges. - When you are ready to execute the crop, click inside the triangle.