Dominance gives a sense of order by drawing the eye to certain reference points in the picture.  If there are several shapes in a picture, one will dominate.  It there are many colors, one will be more important. 

Artists Create Dominance by:
1) Making more of something.  If an artist wants a rough texture to dominate, for example, he will make more of the surfaces appear to be Rough.
2) Making Something Larger. To make a particular shape stand out in a picture, an artist can make it appear a lot bigger than the other shapes.
3) Making Something Brighter. Even a small shape will stand out as dominant if it's more brightly colored than the shapes around it.
4) Giving something more Value Contrast.  Darker objects stand out among light and lighter objects stand out among dark.
 

Balance:
Gives a sense of comfort by making one part of the picture equal another.  A formal or  Symmetrical balance is one with an even distribution of shapes that would produce a mirror like image if the picture were vertically divided into two halves.  an Informal or Asymmetrical balance results from an irregular distribution of shapes--for example, a large shape placed closer to the center of a picture balances a small shape placed closer to the edge.  Colors can also be balanced visually: smaller areas of bright color balance with larger areas of weaker ones.

From Kathleen T. Horning. From Cover to Cover. New York: HarperTrophy, 1997.  p.103-104.
 
 

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