Elements of Art and Principles of Design

ELEMENTS OF ART & PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
Elements of Art:
1. COLOR
Color (hue) is one of the elements of art.
Artists use color in many different ways.
The colors we see are light waves absorbed
or reflected by everything around us. In
nature, a rainbow is white light that is
broken apart by the moisture in the air.
People discovered that white light can be
broken apart using tools like prisms or
spectroscopes.
The colors of the visible light spectrum are red, orange, yellow, green,
blue, indigo and violet.
White light consists of all of the colors mixed together. The color of an
object depends on how it absorbs and/or reflects light. If an object
absorbs all of the light wavelengths, it will appear black. If it reflects all
of them, it will appear white. If an object absorbs all wavelengths except
red, for example, it will look red.
Color has three properties:
1. Hue the name of a color, such as red, blue, or yellow.
2. Value the lightness or darkness of a color.
3. Intensity the brightness or dullness of a color.
Colors are arranged in a circular format on a color wheel. Red, yellow, and blue are the
primary colors. Violet, green and orange are the secondary colors.
Artists make use of different types of color schemes to create different effects.
Complementary colors opposite of one another on the color wheel
Monochromatic different values of a single color
Analogous colors that are side by side on a color wheel and share a hue
Warm red, yellow, orange
Cool blue, green, violet
2. VALUE
Value is the lightness or darkness of a color. You can get
different values of a color by mixing its shades (adding
black to a color) and tints (adding white to a color). A
tone is created when gray is added to a color.
3. LINE
Line is one of the elements of art. You can find lines
everywhere you look.
Line can vary in width, direction, and length.
There are many different kinds of lines. Here are some
common lines:
Horizontal lines lines that run parallel to the
ground, appear to be at rest.
Vertical lines lines that run up and down, seem
to show dignity, formality, and strength.
Diagonal lines lines that signal action and
excitement.
Zigzag lines lines that are made from combined diagonal lines, can create a
feeling of confusion or suggest action.
Curved lines lines that express movement in a graceful, flowing way.
4. SHAPE
Shape is one of the elements of art. When lines meet, shapes are formed.
Shapes are flat and two-dimensional - height and width. Some shapes are geometric,
such as squares, circles, triangles, rectangles, and ovals and using created using a ruler or
drawing tool. Other shapes are organic or irregular and free-form.
These are geometric shapes.
Organic shapes look like things from nature.
5. FORM
Form is one of the elements of art. Forms are three-dimensionalthey have height,
width and depth. Shapes are flat; forms are not.
Here are some common forms:
6. TEXTURE
Texture is one of the elements of art. Texture is the way something feels when you touch
it actual texture; examples, rug, clothes, wood, etc. Artists also create the illusion of
texture in artworks such as paintings, drawings and prints implied texture; created with
elements such as pattern and line.
7. SPACE
Space is one of the elements of art. Space is an empty place or surface in or around a
work of art. Space can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, negative and/or positive.
You can easily see the positive and negative space in this sculpture.
Artists also create positive and negative space in two-dimensional artworks.
Positive space the shapes or forms
Negative space the empty spaces between the shapes or the background
Principles of Design:
1. BALANCE
Balance is one of the principles of art which describes how artists to create visual weight.
Artists think about how to make their works balanced by using elements such as line,
shape, or color. There are several ways to balance an artwork:
Symmetrical (formal) balance means both sides of an imaginary line are the same.
Asymmetrical (informal) balance means each side of an imaginary line is different yet
equal.
Radial balance means lines or shapes grow from a center point.
2. CONTRAST
Contrast is one of the principles of art which creates excitement and interest in artworks.
Two things that are very different have a lot of contrast. White and black have the
greatest contrast. Complementary colors also have high contrast.
Artists use high contrast to make something show
up. In Wheatfields with Ravens, Vincent van
Gogh used high contrast colors to make the
yellow wheat fields stand out against the dark
blue sky.
Artists may choose low contrast for a softer look, as Claude Monet did in this painting of
a bridge.
3. PATTERN
Pattern is one of the principles of art. Artists create pattern by repeating a line, shape or
color over and over again.
Lines create patterns on the headdress of the Golden Effigy of King Tutenkhaman.
In "Water Lilies," Claude Monet repeats the pattern of water lilies floating on the pond.
4. RHYTHM
Rhythm is one of the principles of art. Visual rhythm makes you think of the rhythms
you hear in music or dance. Artists create visual rhythm by repeating art elements and
creating patterns.
In Okazaki, Ando Hiroshige's bridge supports create
a rhythm that leads your eyes through the landscape.
5. EMPHASIS
Emphasis is one of the principles of art. Artists use
emphasis to make certain parts of their artwork stand out
and grab your attention. The center of interest or focal
point is the place the artist draws your eye to first.
In this painting, "The Letter," Mary Cassatt emphasized the
envelope by painting it white against the dark patterns of
the woman's dress. She also placed the envelope in the
center of the painting to draw your eye to it.
6. UNITY
Unity is one of the principles of art. Unity is the feeling that everything in the work of art
works together and looks like it fits.
Gustave Caillebotte used shape to create unity.
Repetition of shape and color can make an artwork
unified.
7. VARIETY
Variety is one of the principles of art. Variety occurs when an artist creates something
that looks different from the rest of the artwork. An artist may use variety to make you
look at a certain part or make the artwork more interesting.
Jasper Cropsey painted a large tree to create
variety in his landscape, "In the Valley."

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ELEMENTS OF ART & PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Organic shapes look like things from nature.

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