elements of art & principles of design presentation

ARDI 1200 Creativity & the Visual World

The Elements of Art &The Principles of Design

The Elements of Art

Line is the most basic building block of formal analysis. Line can be used to create more complex shapes or to lead your eye from one area in the composition to another. Line is the path of a moving point through space or a mark drawn by a tool such as a pencil moving across a surface. Lines can be thick, thin, wavy, straight, horizontal, etc.

Tobey: Calligraphy in White

Shapes are created when lines are combined to form a square, triangle, or circle. Shapes can be organic (irregular shapes found in nature) or geometric (shapes with strong lines and angles such as circles, triangles, and squares).

Picasso: The Three Musicians

Forms are three-dimensional shapes with length, width, and depth. Balls, cylinders, boxes, and pyramids are forms.

Hepworth: Assembly of Sea Forms

Space is the area between and around objects. Increasing or decreasing the amount of space around an object affects the way we view that object. Space can be implied, as in a painting, or real, as in a sculpture. Space can be negative or positive.

Rousseau: New York City Snow Scene

Color & Value differentiates and defines lines, shapes, forms, and space. Even black and white images have a huge number of different shades of gray. The “value” of color refers to the lightness or darkness of a color or object.

Renoir: Fruits from the Midi

Texture is the surface quality that can be seen and felt. Textures can be rough or smooth, soft or hard. Textures are often implied. For instance, a drawing of a rock might appear to have a rough and hard surface, but in reality is as smooth as the paper on which it is drawn.

Raoult: The Old King

The Principles of Design

Balance is created in a work of art when textures, colors, forms, or shapes are combined harmoniously. Balance can be symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial.

Winslow Homer: The Carnival

Rhythm & Movement is the way a viewer's eye is directed to move through a composition, often to areas of emphasis. Movement can be created by lines, contrasting shapes, or colors within the artwork and in addition, the repetition of lines, shapes, or colors create the feeling of movement.

Marcel Duchamp: Nude Descending Staircase

Variety & Emphasis is created in a work of art when the artist contrasts colors, textures, or shapes to direct your viewing towards a particular part of the image. Variety creates interest through use of different lines, shapes, and colors in a work of art. Contrast is the use of several elements of design to hold the viewer's attention and to guide the viewer's eye through the artwork.

De Toulousse Lautrec: At the Moulin Rouge

Proportion is created when the sizes of elements in a work of art are combined harmoniously. Proportion refers to the size relationships of one part to another. Scale refers to size measured against a standard reference, like a person.

Fernando Botero: A Family 

Harmony & Unity is created when the principles of analysis are present in a composition and in harmony (a pleasing relationship with the elements in the artwork). Color, shapes, patterns, and textures are just some examples of elements that can be harmonious. Some images have a complete sense of unity, while some artists deliberately avoid formal unity to create feelings of tension and anxiety.

Van Gogh: Starry Night

The EndThe End