Elements of Art
and
Principles of Design
Elements of Art
The building blocks or ingredients of art.
They structure and carry the work.
Elements of Art
Line
Form
Color
Space
Value
Texture
Shape
LINE
Pablo Picasso
A mark with length and direction. A continuous
mark made on a surface by a moving point.
LINE
May be vertical, horizontal or diagonal,
curved, straight, zigzag, or show emotion.
LINE
LINE
Contour lines- outline
the edges of forms or
shapes
Gestural linesindicate action and
physical movement
COLOR
Consists of Hue
(another word for
color), Value (lightness
or darkness) and
Intensity (brightness).
Henri Matisse
Alexander Calder
COLOR
Color has three properties:
1. HUE: this is the name of
the colors
2. VALUE: refers to the
lightness or darkness of
a hue.
3. INTENSITY: refers to the
purity of the hue or
strength of a color
Neutral Colors
These colors are made by adding a complimentary color
(opposite on the color wheel) to a hue. Neutralized hues are
called tones.
Tints and Shades
Tints – adding the color white to lighten a hue
Shades – adding black to darken a hue
Warm and Cool Colors
Warm – red, orange, yellow
Cool – green, blue, violet
VALUE
The lightness or darkness of a color.
MC Escher
Pablo Picasso
VALUE
High Range in Value
Low Range in Value
SHAPE
2-dimensional and it encloses space
Joan
Miro
SHAPE
Shapes can be geometric or organic.
GEOMETRIC: square,
triangle, rectangle, rhombus,
circle, cone
ORGANIC: free form shapes,
shapes in nature; for example:
leaves, trees, animals
SHAPE
Organic vs. Geometric
The appearance of a 3
dimensional object which is
encloses and holds volume
Jean Arp
Lucien Freud
Shows an object in space, the mass or positive space it
occupies.
For example, a triangle, which is 2-dimensional, is a shape,
but a pyramid, which is 3-dimensional, is a form.
Form can be 2D
Form can be 3D
SPACE
The distance or area between, around, above,
below, or within things.
Foreground, Middleground and Background (creates DEPTH)
SPACE
Positive (filled with something) and Negative (empty areas)
TEXTURE
The surface quality or "feel" of an object, its
smoothness, roughness, softness, etc.
TEXTURE
Textures may be actual or implied.
TEXTURE
Implied – texture that has been
simulated in drawing and
painting on a smooth surface
Actual – texture that you can feel
with your sense of touch
You should now have
7 Elements of Art Pages
turn your book over and start
from the other side……
Principles of Design
The ways in which the Elements of Art
are organized are referred to as the
Principles of Design.
They are concepts that affect content
and message.
Principles of Design
Balance
Variety
Emphasis
Proportion
Rhythm
Movement
Unity
BALANCE
Alexander Calder
The way the elements are
arranged to create a feeling of
stability in a work.
Symmetrical Balance
Leonardo DaVinci
The parts of an image are organized so
that one side mirrors the other.
Asymmetrical Balance
When one side of a
composition does not reflect
the design of the other.
James Whistler
Radial Balance
Slice it like a pizzaEach piece will be the
same
EMPHASIS
The focal point of an image,
or when one area or thing
stand out the most.
Jim Dine
Gustav Klimt
EMPHASIS
The part that catches your attention first.
EMPHASIS
Can be created through the use of many different
elements and principles like…
CONTRAST
PROPORTI
COLOR
ON
RHYTHM
A regular
RHYTHM
repetition of
RHYTHM
elements
to
produce
the
look
RHYTHM
and feel of
RHYTHM
movement.
RHYTHM
Marcel Duchamp
RHYTHM
The repetition of lines, shapes, or colors to
create a feeling of movement.
MOVEMENT
The motion created in a work of art.
Often uses the principle of rhythm to achieve this.
The feeling of action or
directional flow
Vincent VanGogh
UNITY
When all the
elements and
principles work
together to create
a pleasing image.
The feeling of
wholeness or the
parts belonging
together.
Johannes Vermeer
The use of
differences and
change to
increase the
visual interest
of the work.
VARIETY
Marc Chagall
VARIETY
The use of different
lines, shapes, and
colors in a piece of
work.
PROPORTI
ON
The comparative
relationship of
one part to
another with
respect to size,
quantity, or
degree; SCALE.
Gustave
Caillebotte
Proportion
…size / scale
…with color
PROPORTI
ON
Review- What principles do you see?
Proportion
?
Balance- Symetrical
Rhythm
Movement
Proportion
Emphasis
Please hand in your
P & E Book
when your done !
&
Write your name on it!!!
When returned to you, keep all your
P & E Book
in your
Art bag
You can study from it for your midterm and final exams.