Art Elements and Design
Principles
Art Elements
• Art Elements are the basic visual symbols
in the language of Art.
• Art Elements include Line,
Positive/Negative Space, Shape/Form,
Value, Texture, Colour and Depth
• Art Elements help to convey the Visual
Message of the Art Piece
Function of Art elements
• Help to Convey the Visual Message of the artist ie what
the art piece is about or what the artist is trying to say
about a subject by using art.
• Art elements, usually working with design principles, help
to do this by …
• Helping to convey Mood (Emotional Function)
• Helping to isolate the Focal Point by acting as entry
points or helping to create contrast (Compositional
Function)
• Helping to Unify or Pull together the composition
Mood of Stress
Create a Focal point
Art Elements
used to Unify a
Composition
What’s a Focal Point?
• What your eye is drawn to more than any other
area in the art piece. It helps to explain the
story.
• How can you tell if it’s the focal point?
• The art piece cannot exist without it.
• It is usually in an area of emphasis or contrast.
• Your eye has been led there by entry points or
directional leads which guide the viewer’s eye.
Entry points are usually other art elements or
design principles.
Focal Point
• The focal point is the
most important part of
the picture.
• The picture cannot make
sense without it. It helps
to tell the story of what
the image is about.
• The focal point lies in an
area which is
emphasized, usually by
some kind of contrast.
Entry points lead the
viewer’s eyes to the focal
point.
Line
• Lines can be real eg railway tracks or a horizon or
implied.
• Real lines can have a particular mood associated with
them. For example, Horizontal lines help to convey a
mood of calmness or serenity.
• Vertical lines can suggest height
• Diagonal lines can suggest energy.
• All of these lines can act as effective entry points leading
to a focal point.
• Lines can also be suggested or implied.
For example, the direction of someone’s gaze or a series of
objects can function as an implied line.
Horizontal lines
• Create a mood of peacefulness &
serenity.
Vertical lines
• Create a feeling of
height.
• Symbolizes stability,
strength,
permanence, dignity,
formality.
Line as
Entry
Point
Diagonal Lines
• Creates a feeling of
energy, activity,
movement &
excitement.
Implied
Line
Positive/Negative Space
• Space answers questions about how a subject interacts with
his/her/its environment.
• Space tells us about the subject’s mass, proportion and relation.
• Mass = the amount of space an object fills up ie how big or heavy it is
• Proportion = How one mass of a subject compare to another and also
how various parts of a single subject fit together.
• Relation = How subjects interact with each other ie how close, how
far apart, similar or different.
• Which subjects appear more important, dominant or attractive or
appear to belong together.
• Does the space imply a connection or isolation of the subject?
Negative Space Implying Closeness and
Connection
Negative Space Implying Isolation
Mass & Proportion
Negative Space & Relation
Shape/Form
• Shape = when line begins and ends at the same point.
• A shape has length and width eg circle, triangle, square ie like a
geometric plane)
• Shape has a definable area which stands out from the space around
it or adjacent to it ie negative space, because of a definite boundary
created by a difference in value, colour, texture or content.
• Shape + Depth = Form ( or Volume) eg Sphere, Pyramid, Cube,
Cylinder
• Shape helps to convey the nature of a subject ie heavy, light, small,
beautiful, ugly
• Shapes may be simple/ complex, realistic/distorted,
geometric/freeform/abstract
• Every change to the position of a shape changes their relationship to
other shapes.
• Compositions may be defined according to a shape
Shape
Value
• Value is the lightness or darkness of the
subject.
• Our visual perception is influenced by light
because it not only helps us to identify
information about the subject (eg size,
shape, texture) but also our emotional
reaction to the subject because value
helps to convey mood.
Value as High or Low Key
• Value can be measured on a scale with
nine increments, in addition to pure white
and pure black.
• The lightest increments on the top half of
the scale are called high key, the darker
increments are called low key.
High Key
• High key (above middle grey in value) gives
the illusion of openness, airiness and
happiness.
High Key
Low Key
•
•
•
Low key value ( below middle grey) has a more dramatic and sinister mood.
Space appears claustrophobic.
Compositions appear smaller and more confined than usual.
Functions of Value
• Value helps us to
define a subject by its
texture. We perceive
texture by how
shadows and
highlights fall on a
particular surface
Value Creates Contrast
• Value is relative, in other
words it will appear lighter
or darker depending on
the value of the
surrounding negative
space. A middle grey
value will appear darker
against a lighter
background and lighter
against a dark
background.
Relative Value
Value Indicates Space & Distance
• Subjects
which appear
in the
foreground
have more
contrast ie
differences in
value, subjects
in the
background
will have less
tonal contrast
ie have similar
or close
values
Value Shows Changes in Space
• Value helps to describe positive/negative
space and to give the illusion of dimensions
Chiaroscuro
Artists such as
Caravaggio
illuminated their
subjects as if by a
spotlight, the
background
negative space is
almost entirely in
darkness.
Texture
• Texture is the look or feel of a surface. This is portrayed by how a)
light reflects from a surface and b) touching the surface.
• An understanding of texture is based on both senses of touch and
sight ie texture enables the eye to “touch” the subject.
• Functions: Helps to create visual interest ie makes the picture more
interesting.
• Works as an entry point ( our eyes link common texture, notice
contrasting textures).
• Provides information about the subject eg age, condition etc.
• NB Flattened texture = pattern.
`
Texture plays an important part in revealing
information, particularly in pictures of people.
It provides clues as to a person’s age and
lifestyle. The furrowed brow of an old farmer
has a very different appearance to the
smooth skin of the baby.
•
Texture is sensitive to shifts in lighting, particularly the time of day
and the angle of the light. Late afternoon and early morning light
provides the most information about the subject as light is striking
from an angle.
Depth & Linear Perspective
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
There are several ways to indicate depth in a picture plane.
1. Overlapping, The overlapped subject appears farther away.
2. Closer subjects are lower in the picture plane.
3. Closer subjects are in higher tonal contrast ie difference between values
of positive and negative space.
4. Closer subjects show more detail. Subjects further away show less
detail.
5. Closer subjects are brighter in colour. Subjects further away are less
saturated. In a natural landscape, aerial perspective or a
violet/blue/grey haze appears in the distance of the background.
6. Closer objects appear larger.
Overlapping Depth
Closer Subjects are Lower in the Picture
Plane
Closer subjects are in
higher tonal contrast ie
difference between
values of positive and
negative space.
Closer subjects
show more
detail. Subjects
further away
show less detail
Saturation
• Closer subjects are brighter in colour. Subjects further away are
less saturated. In a natural landscape, aerial perspective or a
violet/blue/grey haze appears in the distance of the background
Closer objects appear larger.
• Linear Perspective:
•
Most lines are Vertical,
Horizontal or Orthogonal are
drawn to a single vanishing
point.
•
The vanishing point is the
apparent meeting point of all
lines that are parallel to the
ground.
Linear Perspective.
The houses become smaller as
they recede toward the
horizon, and even the clouds
appear smaller as the viewer
gazes into the far distance.
Vanishing point.
• Converging lines
appear in both
exterior and interior
structures.
Depth and
Height.
The columns appear
to become thinner
the farther they rise
up, which creates a
strong feeling of
height.
Colour
Colour can be identified by hue,
value & saturation
Hue = colour in its purest form
eg Orange
Value = the relative lightness or
darkness of the colour ( eg
violet /low value, yellow/high
value)
Saturation = relative
brightness/dullness of the
colour
Colour Hue
Colour &
Value
High Key
Colour & Value Low Key
Colour & Saturation
• Complementary
Colours
• Colours that are directly opposite
each other on the color wheel.
• These colour are known as
complementary colours. Think of
Christmas (green/red), Easter
(violet/yellow) and orange/blue.
Direct Contrast
This is a perfect
example of
complementary
colours. The red of
the poppies, and
the green of the
grass
Design Principles:
• The design principles include contrast,
balance, repetition, pattern, movement,
emphasis, rhythm and unity.
• Design principles rely on the art elements
to work, in much the same way a verb
requires a noun to complete a thought or
action.
• . For example we can create contrast of
line, shape, value, texture, space, depth
and colour.
Contrast
• In literature we notice the hero because of
the villain. The same works for art,
contrast helps to draw attention to an area
of emphasis eg a focal point, as well as
make the picture/art work more interesting.
Varieties of contrast
• In addition to contrast created by using the art elements there
are many other ways to create contrast. See the list below:
• Contrast
Harmony
• Instability
Balance
• Asymmetry
Symmetry
• Complexity
Simplicity
• Fragmentation
Unity
• Transparency
Opacity
• Depth
Flatness
• Sharpness
Diffusion
Contrast
Scale
The size of an object in a picture is
often difficult to gauge when the
object is framed in isolation. This
is because we perceive the
dimensions of unfamiliar things in
relation to the size of the known
objects that surround them.
Pattern, Repetition &
Rhythm
Pattern is all about repetition of a
particular element, usually a
shape, but sometimes a form,
texture, or color. It is generally
repetition without variation.
The important point about
pattern is that it attracts the eye:
once you see a pattern, it is hard
to take your eyes off it.
Repetition
• Repetition means “ to use again”. In music we repeat
notes, in design we repeat art elements such as shape,
line, value, space, texture and colour. Remember, our
mind likes to join together similar things eg it likes to join
or connect similar shapes. Therefore to repeat or echo
an art element is to make your composition visually
stronger.
• Repetition can occur individually or in groupings where
there may be changes in colour, changes in interval or
changes in patterning.
Repetition
• Repeating
shapes.
Rhythm
• Rhythm is repeating a shape or
form/space/value with variation. In other
words, the image does not look like wall
paper but the shape etc evolves or
changes.
Balance
Balance is one
of the principle
of art which
describes how
artists create
visual weight.
Symmetrical Balance
Symmetrical (formal) balance means both sides of
an imaginary vertical line are the same. Each side
has the same amount of visual weight.
Asymmetrical
Balance
Asymmetrical
(informal) balance
means each side of an
imaginary line are
different yet equal.
There is more visual
weight to one side.
Radial Balance
Radial balance means lines or shapes grow
or radiate out from a center point.
Movement
• Compositional movement can be achieved
through repetition, pattern, contrast or
using art elements eg lines. In
compositional movement the viewer’s
eyes are led throughout the composition to
the focal point.
• The more interesting the compositional
movement, the more the viewer’s eyes
move around the picture and the more it is
remembered.
Compositional Movement
Physical Movement
Unity
• Unity is when a composition appears
pulled together or unified. Usually there is
some common denominator or element
which is used in different ways so that the
artist’s visual message or mood is clear.
Unity