Module 4:

ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF ARTS

Introduction
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 (or the elements
and principles of art as they are often called) is what takes an artist from beginner to master.

In order to understand, deftly critique, and practice your chosen art form, you need to know
the key concepts that it is built upon. Familiarity with elements of art like color and line and principles
of art. With your knowledge of these, you will always be able to find the joy and excitement that can
surround art…and for art lovers there is nothing more appealing than that.

Learning Objectives
• Identify the elements and Principles of art
• Analyze the various elements of arts present in visual, auditory and combined arts

Presentation of Content
1.1 THE SEVEN ELEMENTS OF ARTS
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:
a. line- a mark with length and direction. A continuous mark made on a surface by a moving point.

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b. shape- an enclosed area defined and determined by other art elements; 2-dimensional

c. Form-A 3-dimensional object; or something in a 2-dimensional artwork that appears to be 3-

dimensional. For example, a triangle, which is 2-dimensional, is a shape, but a pyramid, which is 3-
dimensional, is a form

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d. Space- the distance or area between, around, above, below, or within things.

e. Texture- the surface quality or “feel” of an object, its smoothness, roughness, softness, etc. Texture
may be actual or implied.

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f. Value- the lightness or darkness of a color.

g. Color- consist of hue (another name of color), Intensity (brightness), and value ( lightness or
darkness)

Why elements of arts are important?

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The elements of arts 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 arts are enable us to:
1. describe what an artist has done
2. analyze what is going on in a particular piece
3. communicate our thoughts and findings using a common language

1.2 principles of designs in arts

Understanding art can appear intimidating to the untrained eye. However, there are several simple
key principles of art, and once you understand these, the vast pleasure of art-viewing
art, understanding the functions of art and correlating the purpose and definition of art begins to open
up before you

I.PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
• THE ORGANIZATION OF THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS OF THE VISUAL ARTS IS
GOVERNED BY DIFFERENT PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

1) Balance

Balance refers to the weight of objects and their placement in relation to each other.

Parts of the design are equally distributed to create a sense of stability. There can be physical as well as
visual balance.

It’s a sense of stability you might feel from elements in alignment. This can take three forms:
symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial.

Symmetrical balance refers to the exact mirroring of objects across an axis (i.e. an invisible line on the
page).

Asymmetrical balance is the opposite of this – when objects do not mirror each other perfectly,
shifting the balance to one side or the other of the axis.

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This is often done to highlight an object in relation to another. Radial balance is when objects are
distributed all around a central point.

Let’s take a look at one of the most famous buildings in the world -- the TajMahal. While there are
numerous reasons the TajMahal is aesthetically-pleasing, one reason is its symmetrical balance, which
evokes a sense of traditionalism and stability.

Image courtesy of livescience.com.

Now, let’s take a look at another famous piece of artwork -- The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh.
This painting, unlike the Taj Mahal, is asymmetrical in nature -- and yet, it’s still balanced and
strategic in design.

Image courtesy of Moma.org.

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Looking at the TajMahal and The Starry Night, you can see the profound beauty of both types of
balance in design. But for the purposes of every day design, which one should you use? What’s the
real difference?

Here, we’ll define asymmetrical and symmetrical balance, and compare the two, so you can choose
properly for your own creative purposes.

Let’s take a look at an (admittedly very basic) example of symmetrical balance:

Not quite the TajMahal, but it’ll do.

Let’s take a look at an example of asymmetrical balance:

It’s important to note asymmetrical balance is still strategic -- placing shapes haphazardly around a
page won’t create a compelling composition. To create a successful asymmetrical design, you still need
to figure out how to balance out the image.

Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, for instance, uses a notable visual, the sun, in the top right, and
balances it out with a dark cypress tree in the bottom left. It would not be a successfully asymmetrical
balance if van Gogh put both the sun and tree on the right side of the page.

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Asymmetrical vs. symmetrical balance

Asymmetrical balance is when you have two dissimilar sides of a design and have positioned visual
weight unequally, and yet you’ve still achieved a sense of balance. It evokes a sense of modernism and
movement. Symmetrical balance, on the other hand, is when you have two identical sides of a design
with equal weight on either side of a central point of axis. It evokes a sense of formality and structure.

2) Proportion

Proportion is the size of objects in relation to each other, or within a larger whole.

This could be natural (e.g. a nose which fits onto a face the way you would expect it), exaggerated (e.g.
a nose that is vastly over or undersized), and idealized, in which parts have the kind of perfect
proportion that you just don’t see occurring naturally.

Sketches of the Human Head, Leonardo da Vinci, c.1489-90, pen and

ink,Coston Stock / Alamy Stock Photo

3) Emphasis

What is Emphasis in Art?

Emphasis is a principle of art which refers to the use of visual elements to draw attention to a certain
area, usually a focal point, in an artwork.

There are many ways you could go about using emphasis in your art. Usually, it involves contrasting
different elements against each other. For example, a bright, red object will stand out amongst a dull
gray background. Or a straight line amongst curved lines. Or a round object amongst circular objects.

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What Should You Emphasize?
Before you try to use emphasis in your art, you need to ask yourself what am I going to emphasize? It
would be counter-productive to draw attention to unimportant areas in your painting.

Consider what your focal point is and what you are trying to communicate through your painting.
What is your big idea?

Take the painting below by John Singer Sargent for example. The focus of the painting is clearly the
Parisian beggar girl. Notice how Sargent used emphasis for the girl's extended hand; hard edges and
that burst of red around her forearm draw your attention towards this area. Her face, on the other
hand, is left vague and ambiguous. This works in favor of Sargent's big idea for the painting—her
begging hand is more important than her identity.

John Singer Sargent, A Parisian Beggar Girl, 1877

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Master Painting Examples of Emphasis in Art
In the painting below, Giovanni Boldini used thick paint and saturated color to emphasize the flowers
in the vase. Notice how the background is nothing but a thin stain of color.

Giovanni Boldini, The Rose in Vase of Sassonia

Emphasis is an extension of these first two principles: it is when contrast, placement, size, color, or
other features are used to highlight one object, area, or other elements of the artwork.

This is used to draw attention – a focal point – or accentuate a feature.

4) Variety/Contrast

Variety is a sense of the difference between elements of an artwork – the opposite of unity, or
harmony. 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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5) Harmony- is visually satisfying effect of combining similar and related elements.

This might be similar colors, shapes, sizes of objects, etc. It’s about repetition and a relationship
between elements. This creates a sense of connection between the objects, creating a sense of flow.

Harmony is one of the most important aspects when it comes to principles of art

6) Movement

This indicates the direction your eye takes as you view the work – in what order does your eye travel?
If the emphasis is used, this often means you start with this element first and travel away from it.

The movement inherent in the image is important, as it tells you a story through the use of lines
(whether they are literal or implied).

7) Rhythm

This can also be thought of as a kind of relationship between patterned objects.

Rhythm is often the use of regular, evenly distributed elements – they could occur in slow, fast, smooth
or jerky intervals, and this tells you something about the feelings invoked.

Like listening to an upbeat pop song versus a slow ballad, the arrangement of notes creates a kind of
pattern you naturally respond to. The important part is recognizing the relationship between the
objects.

8) Scale

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It might sound similar to proportion, but they differ slightly: scale is about the size of objects but in
relation to what you’d expect them to be in reality.

If an object occurs in a natural scale, then the object is the size we would expect to find it.

Diminutive refers to an object being smaller than expected, and monumental is when the object is
much larger.

9) Unity

Not to be confused with harmony, unity is the overall cohesion of the work.

You might achieve this through any kind of grouping of objects.

Any kind of similarity will help to strengthen the sense of unity you feel when looking at a series of
objects.

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10) Repetition/Pattern

This is the pattern itself.

A combination of shapes, colors, or other elements recurring across the composition.

Objects might be repeated such that they slowly get smaller, or slowly change color – where the
pattern starts and stops is important! Patterns usually evoke feelings of security and calm.

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In all, these ten principles of art combine and contrast to create the effects we respond to visually. By
breaking down the elements, we begin to understand more about the intention or meaning of art.

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