UNIT 3 THE ELEMENTS OF ARTS

Overview

This lesson provides thorough knowledge of the elements of the arts.

THE ELEMENTS OF ART

All art, whether two-dimensional like a painting or three-dimensional like a sculpture, contains one or more of
the seven elements of art. These elements are the basic building blocks of making art.
So how exactly does an artist use the elements? Working as an artist and creating an artwork is similar to
being a chef and cooking a meal. The chef uses a list of ingredients combined together in certain amounts to
produce a unique recipe. The artist uses art elements and combines them in different ways to create a unique
piece of art. The elements of art are like the ingredients in a recipe. Sometimes artworks contain only one or
two elements. Sometimes they have all the elements of art. One thing is certain, however. There would be
absolutely no art without the seven elements of art.
Elements of art are stylistic features that are included within an art piece to help the artist communicate. The
seven most common elements include line, shape, texture, form, space, colour and value, with the additions
of mark making, and materiality. When analyzing these intentionally utilized elements, the viewer is guided
towards a deeper understanding of the work.

Line

Lines are marks moving in a space between two points whereby a viewer can visualize the stroke movement,
direction and intention based on how the line is oriented. Lines describe an outline, capable of producing
texture according to their length and curve. There are different types of lines artists may use, including, actual,
implied, vertical, horizontal, diagonal and contour lines, which all have different functions. Lines are also
situational elements, requiring the viewer to have knowledge of the physical world in order to understand
their flexibility, rigidity, synthetic nature, or life.

Shape

A shape is a two-dimensional design encased by lines to signify its height and width structure, and can have
different values of colour used within it to make it appear three-dimensional. In animation, shapes are used to
give a character a distinct personality and features, with the animator manipulating the shapes to provide new
life.[1] There are different types of shapes an artist can use and fall under either geometrical, defined by
mathematics, or organic shapes, created by the artist. Simplistic, geometrical shapes include circles, triangles
and squares, and provide a symbolic and synthetic feeling, whereas acute angled shapes with sharp points
are perceived as dangerous shapes. Rectilinear shapes are viewed as dependable and more structurally
sound, while curvilinear shapes are chaotic and adaptable.

Form

Form is a three-dimensional object with volume of height, width and depth. These objects include cubes,
spheres and cylinders. Form is often used when referring to physical works of art, like sculptures, as form is
connected most closely with three-dimensional works.
Color

Color is an element consisting of hues, of which there are three properties: hue, chroma or intensity, and
value. Color is present when light strikes an object and it is reflected back into the eye, a reaction to a hue
arising in the optic nerve. The first of the properties is hue, which is the distinguishable color, like red, blue or
yellow. The next property is value, meaning the lightness or darkness of the hue. The last is chroma or
intensity, distinguishing between strong and weak colors. A visual representation of chromatic scale is
observable through the color wheel that uses the primary colors.

Space

Space refers to the perspective (distance between and around) and proportion (size) between shapes and
objects and how their relationship with the foreground or background is perceived. There are different types of
spaces an artist can achieve for different effect. Positive space refers to the areas of the work with a subject,
while negative space is the space without a subject. Open and closed space coincides with three-dimensional
art, like sculptures, where open spaces are empty, and closed spaces contain physical sculptural elements.

Texture

Texture is used to describe the surface quality of the work, referencing the types of lines the artist created.
The surface quality can either be tactile (real) or strictly visual (implied). Tactile surface quality is mainly seen
through three-dimensional works, like sculptures, as the viewer can see and/or feel the different textures
present, while visual surface quality describes how the eye perceives the texture based on visual cues.

Value

Value refers to the degree of perceivable lightness of tones within an image. The element of value is
compatible with the term luminosity, and can be "measured in various units designating electromagnetic
radiation". The difference in values is often called contrast, and references the lightest (white) and darkest
(black) tones of a work of art, with an infinite number of grey variants in between. While it is most relative to
the greyscale, though, it is also exemplified within coloured images.

The importance of the Elements of Arts

The elements of art are sort of like atoms in that both serve as "building blocks" for creating something. You
know that atoms combine and form other things. Sometimes they'll casually make a simple molecule, as when
hydrogen and oxygen form water (H2O). If hydrogen and oxygen take a more aggressive career path and
bring carbon along as a co-worker, together they might form something more complex, like a molecule of
sucrose (C12H22O11).

The 7 Elements of Art

A similar activity happens when the elements of art are combined. Instead of elements such as hydrogen,
oxygen, carbon, in art you have these building blocks:

1. Line
2. Shape
3. Form
4. Space
 5. Texture
6. Value
7. Color

Artists manipulate these seven elements, mix them in with principles of design, and compose a piece of art.
Not every work of art contains every one of these elements, but at least two are always present.

For example, a sculptor, by default, has to have both form and space in a sculpture, because these elements
are three-dimensional. They can also be made to appear in two-dimensional works through the use of
perspective and shading.

Art would be sunk without line, sometimes known as "a moving point." While line isn't something found in
nature, it is absolutely essential as a concept to depicting objects and symbols, and defining shapes.

Texture is another element, like form or space, that can be real (run your fingers over an Oriental rug, or hold
an unglazed pot), created (think of van Gogh's lumpy, impasto-ed canvases) or implied (through clever use of
shading).

Color is often the whole point for people who are visual learners and thinkers.
Why Are the Elements of Art Important?

The elements of art are important for several reasons. First, and most importantly, a person can't create art
without utilizing at least a few of them. No elements, no art—end of story. And we wouldn't even be talking
about any of this, would we?

Secondly, knowing what the elements of art are enables us to:

1. describe what an artist has done

The elements of art are both fun and useful. Remember line, shape, form, space, texture, value and color.
Knowing these elements will allow you to analyze, appreciate, write and chat about art, as well as being of
help should you create art yourself.

You can describe a work of art using its seven elements.