Lesson Introduction to the Elements and

1 Principles of Organization in the Arts

This lesson will serve as a guide for the students to understand the elements and
principles of the arts. Knowing the elements of art is the means by which one gains
aesthetic sensitivity. Each element has expressive properties that contribute the
meaning.

What I Need To Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you
appreciate and produce different form of Arts. This will also help you critique artworks
based on the elements and principle of art in order for you to better understand them.
Your adept at analysis will help you appreciate the richness, and beauty of art which
will motivate you to create artworks of your own. The scope of this module permits it to
be used in many different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse
vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence
of the course.

The module is divided into here lesson, namely:

Lesson 1 – Introduction to the Elements and Principles

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. demonstrates an understanding of the different elements of art, how they are seen
in the everyday, and how they create meanings

2. evaluates the different elements seen in everyday objects and their meanings

3. identifies different elements and principles of organization in the arts, its potential
to express one’s feelings and ideas, and to create meanings in everyday objects

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 What I Know

PRETEST

Let’s see how much you know about this pre-test. Let’s get started!

Modified Matching Type

Direction: Identify the following words if they are the elements of art or
principles of design. Write your answer in the corresponding column. Answer it on
your notebook.

color unity pattern form texture

balance line space shape rhythm
value emphasis variety contrast

Elements of Art Principles of Design

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 Lesson Introduction to the Elements and
1 Principles of Organization in the Arts
Arts and Design Form: Art and Design
The elements of art and principles of design are the fundamental pieces that make
up an artwork. Most works of art will make use of many or all of the elements and
principles of art. We often judge art by ow effectively the artist used these design
fundamentals even before we learn about.

What’s In
Help yourself express artistic thoughts freely and creative. Make
a doodle within the frame below with variety of lines that you know, you have
invented and imagined.
You may use you preferred drawing tool, either pencil (of any grade) or
pen (of any point type) or a combination of both.

Share your experience about your doodle work.

1. What are the other objects or shapes formed in your doodle?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. How do you feel about your doodle?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

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 What’s New
Picture Analysis

“Fishermen”, Ang Kiukok

Describe the artist’s use of line, shapes, color

Line:____________________________________________________________________________

Shapes: ________________________________________________________________________
Color:___________________________________________________________________________

What are the other elements present in the artwork? Descreibe them.
- _______________________________________________________________________
- _______________________________________________________________________

-_______________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
How do these elements convey meaning or create an impact?

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

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 What Is It

Art is generally understood as any activity or product done

by people with a communicative or aesthetic purpose- something that expresses
idea, an emotion or more generally, a world view.

ELEMENTS OF ART & PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Elements of Art
What if you had the keys to the artistic Kingdom? With each of these
essential for making art, that is exactly what you have. Understanding and
applying the building blocks of art (the elements and principles of art) is what
takes an artist from beginner to master.
In order to understand, deftly critique and practice
Element of art are stylistic features that are included within an art piece to
help the artist communicate.
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.

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 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

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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.

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These are geometric shapes. Organic shapes look like things from
nature.

5. FORM
Form is one of the elements of art. Forms are three-dimensional—
they 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.

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 Actual Texture Implied Texture

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

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Principles of Design
The principles of design are the rules a designer must follow to create an
effective and attractive composition. The fundamental principles are as
follows:
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.

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 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.

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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.

Jasper Cropsey painted a large tree

to create variety in his landscape,
"In the Valley

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.

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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.

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 What’s More

Look + Think + Talk About It

Artwork # 1.

“Tres Marias”

Artwork by: Allysa Esponilla,

3 ft x 4 ft.
Acrylic on canvas,
2020

Regional Lead for the Arts in Angono-

SHS Arts and Design

1. Describe the colors in this artwork.

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. How do the colors in this artwork make you feel?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

3. What color schemes did the artist use?

__________________________________________________________________________________

Artwork # 2.

“ Lord of the Skies”

Artwork by: NIňa Dominique Santos

2 ft x 3 ft.
Oil on canvas,
2020

Regional Lead for the Arts in Angono-

SHS Arts and Design

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1. How is the value used in this artwork?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

2. How did the artist use value to show emphasis?

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

3.How does value create mood or emotion in the artwork?

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

Artwork # 3

“ARdere Vigere”

Artwork by: Juliiana Del Rosario

3 ft x 4 ft.
Acrylic on canvas,
2020

Regional Lead for the Arts in Angono-

SHS Arts and Design

1. How did this artist show movement?

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

2. Name two or more elements of art the artist utilized to create movement?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

3. How does movement created mood, or emotion in the artwork?

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

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 What Have I Learned
Copy and complete the sentences below. Choose the correct word
from the box. Write your answer on your notebook.

balance line space shape rhythm

creating color unity pattern form
value emphasis blocks understanding variety
contrast texture

The interplay between ______________and _________________of art provide a

language with which to discuss and analyze work of art. The elements of art
include: _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______. The principles
of design are ______________, ______________, ______________, ______________,
______________,______________, ______________.
The elements and principles of art are the building _________of ____________
and _____________ art that expresses and moves us.

What I Can Do
A. Using the internet or magazines, students will find pictures
that illustrate each of the elements listed below. For each picture, write the
definition of that element under it. Each element will be given 20 pts. each.
(Make sure that the design element word is written or typed in big bold
letters)

• SPACE
• LINE
• COLOR
• FORM
• TEXTURE
• SHAPE
• VALUE

B. Using magazines or the internet, students will find pictures that

demonstrate the principles of design. Each principle is to be on a separate
sheet of paper and should include the following:
• A picture
• The word in big bold letters
• A explanation for why the picture portrays the principle

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The following are the principles that should be completed:
• Symmetrical Balance
• Asymmetrical Balance
• Emphasis
• Repetition
• Unity
• Variety
• Contrast
• Scale and Proportion

This activity should have a total of 8 pages/pictures. Each completed page

will be worth 10 pts. Remember that presentation is everything and each
page should be neat and attractive! See Example below.

EMPHASIS
This picture portrays emphasis because
all furniture is arranged around the
fireplace which is the main focus.

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 Assessment
Match Column A with Column B. Write the letter of the correct answer.

COLUMN A COLUMN B

1. It is the way the elements are arranged to create A. Balance

a feeling of stability in a work

2. It exists as an illusion in the graphic arts but in B. Color

sculpture and architecture it is present.

3. It is the quality which gives a color its name. C. Hue

4. It is the use of differences and change to D. Line

increase the visual interest of the work.

5. It is an enclosed area defined and determined by E. Shape

other art elements

6. It is the product of light of different wavelengths F. Space

reflected off objects. It relies on light

7. It is a continuous mark made on a surface by a G. Texture

moving point

8. It is the surface quality or "feel" of an object, its H. Unity

smoothness, roughness, softness,

9. It is the lightness or darkness of a color. I. Value

10. It is seen when all the elements and principles J. Variety

work together to create a pleasing image.

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