Form and Visual Ordering
The evolution of
Form
Art tools and media produced by the hand of the artist:
The Elements of Art
Line
Shape
Value
Texture
Color
The Principles of Organization
Are employed according to
Harmony (repetition and rhythm)
Variety (contrast, elaboration)
Balance (symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial)
Proportion (size and scale)
Dominance and Subordination
Movement
Economy
creating
Space and Unity
Vocabulary List
Visual Elements
Line: contour, cross contour, gesture,
expressive/descriptive, accidental,
hatching/cross-hatching, stipple
Shape and Form:
organic, geometric, rectilinear,
stress/strain, explosion/implosion
Texture and Pattern: invented/imitated,
visual texture (simulated, decorative,
spontaneous, mechanical) tactile texture,
natural, modified natural, organized
(pattern)
Light and Color: light/dark,
value/gradation, density/concentration,
intensity/brightness, chiaroscuro,
depth/flatness, transparency/opacity,
tint/tone/shade
Organization: color wheel, warm/cool,
harmonies, analogous, complementary,
split compliment, triad, tetrad
Optical Effects: simultaneous contrast,
afterimage, luster, iridescence, luminosity
Compositional Attributes –
Principles of Organization
Direction/Movement: horizontal/vertical,
rhythm/harmony, change/fluctuation,
pattern, variation, radiation, optical effect,
dynamic/static, anomaly
Position: figure/ground, high/low,
gravity/weight, dominance/subordination,
balance (symmetrical/asymmetrical)
Space: open/closed, foreground/middleground/background, size/scale, linear and
aerial perspective, negative/positive,
tense/relaxed, ratio/proportion
dominance/subordination,
golden mean (4 to 9 ratios)
Interrelationships of Shape and Form:
overlapping, touching, detachment,
compression, union
Conceptual Ideas
Representation:
realistic/figurative/objective,
abstraction/distortion, non-objective/nonrepresentational
Function: objective/subjective,
intuitive/expression
Meaning/Content: specific/ambiguous,
self-referential, beauty/deconstruction,
symbolic/metaphoric, sublime, myth,
social/political appropriation, iconography
COLOR WHEEL
Hue: designates the common name of a color and indicates its position in the color wheel.
Primary Colors: red, yellow, blue - use these colors to mix all other hues.
Secondary Colors: orange, green, violet - result when two primary hues are mixed.
Tertiary Colors: Y-g, B-g, B-v, R-v, R-o, Y-o - result when a primary hue and a secondary
hue, next to each other on the color wheel are mixed.
Complementary Colors: Two colors directly opposite to each other on the color wheel,
when mixed together they neutralize or gray each other (R-G, B-O, Y-V).
Analogous Colors: Colors closely related in hue, usually adjacent to each other on the color
wheel and have a harmonizing effect.
Warm Colors: all colors on the left, plus yellow (warm colors tend to advance).
Cool Colors: all colors on the right, plus violet (cool colors tend to recede).
Tint: color plus white, i.e. pink or baby blue.
Shade: color plus black.
Intensity: to change the intensity of a color with out changing the hue,
mix in a small amount of the exact complement.
Gray: mix equal amounts of two complementary colors.
Brown: mixing any triad will give you brown, use less or more or any one color get a
brown that leans toward a specific color, i.e. red-brown.
To mix: Start with the weakest color, then add in small amounts of the stronger color.
Yellow = Hansa Yellow Light + Cadmium Yellow Medium
Yellow Green/Green/Green Blue = Hansa Yellow + Phthalo Blue
Blue = Colbalt + Phthalo Blue
Blue Violet/Violet = Colbalt + Deep Violet
Red = Cadmium Red Medium + Deep Violet
Red Orange/Orange/Yellow Orange = Cadmium Red M. + Cadmium Yellow M.