Texture, Symmetry, and Gestalt

The symbol for this texture assignment is of a crown with an evil face and devil's pitchfork. It symbolizes the evil of greed. I used the soft texture of the flowers in opposition to the symbol's meaning and the coins to symbolize greed. The bottom of the crown is fire and the textures that are used reflect the aspects of flames. It looks very hot and smoky. To make the symbol stand out from the background, I decided to use black and dark gray shades for the symbol and textures with light and medium gray shades for the background. having the symbol very dark makes it pop out and not get lost in the chaos of the different textures in the background. The textures in the background still need some work because they look very block-ish and do not have a good flow yet for a viewer's eye to move around the composition.
The principles of gestalt that I am using are repetition and grouping. Some of the textures that are being repeated through out the composition are the coins, flowers, and leaves. The principle of grouping can be seen with the flowers. I cut out flowers and put them in the lower left hand corner where the water is. Also, I cut out coins and put them in the symbol. The viewer will be able to spot these images and group them to the textures they will find in the symbol and in the background. Grouping can be seen with the square images to the right of the crown as well. The square shape of the bricks can be grouped with the square shape of the pattern next to it.