• Elements of art are the

parts.

• The building blocks or

ingredients of art.

• They structure and carry

the work
• Principles of design are
concepts.

• They affect content and message.

• Balance
• Emphasis & Focal Point
• Contrast
• Movement
• Variety
• Pattern & Repetition
• Unity
• Harmony/Gestalt
• A line is defined as a mark with length and direction, created by a point that
moves across a surface. A line can vary in length, width, direction, curvature,
and color.
Contour, Diagonal, Broken, Curved, Outline, Implied,
Vertical, zigzag, Horizontal, Wavy, Slanted, Continuous,
Solid, Narrow, Bold
Expressive Lines tend to be found in nature
and are very organic
Other lines that are very measured, geometric,
directional and angular are called
Constructive lines. They tend to appear to
be man-made because of their precision.
Jasper Johns, 0-9 (continuous line)
Gesture drawing
 line

Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm

LINE

Andy Goldsworthy
Keith Haring
Shape is an enclosed space defined
by other elements of art. Shape is 2-
Dimensional
 The 2 types of shape

Geometric shapes have smooth even edges

and are measurable. The include the square,
the circle, the triangle and the rectangle.
Fernana Leger, The
City
Organic shapes have more complicated
edges and are usually found in nature.
Leaves, flowers, ameba, etc.
Matisse, from the series “Jazz”
Picasso, Three Musicians
FORM
 Form
A Form is a shape that has become 3-
Dimensional (3-D) Form has HEIGHT,
WIDTH and DEPTH--which is the 3rd
dimension.Depth shows the thickness of the
object. Forms are NOT flat like shapes are!
 Turning Shapes into Forms
A triangle becomes a cone or a pyramid

A square becomes a cube

 Turning Shapes into Forms
A rectangle can become a box or a cylinder

In order to turn a circle into a sphere, you

must shade it. You can’t add another side to
it!
MC Escher, Self Portrait
 Vincent Van Gogh, Shoes

Tamara de Lempicka
Portrait of Ira P. 1925
 An element of art that refers to luminance or
luminosity – the lightness or darkness of a color.

Value is an especially important element in works of art

when color is absent. This is particularly likely with drawings,
printmaking, and photographs

Kathe Kollwitz,
Self portrait
 Value
In order to have a successful drawing, you will need
to show a full value range, which means that
there are very light areas, middle tones, and very
dark areas. This is a way of giving a work of art
Contrast.
In drawing value
can be added
several ways:
 Ways value can be added:
Cross-hatching is when you use irregular lengths of
parallel lines
that cross over each
other diagonally. The
closer together the
lines are placed, the
darker the value.
 Ways value can be added
Stippling is the use of dots to create shade. This is
accomplished by
placing dots very
close together to
create dark values
and farther apart
to create lighter
values.
 Ways value can be added
Soft shading is when you use your pencil to
create soft gradual movements from one
value to the next using full value range.
 Chuck Close Edward Weston, Pepper
(made w/ thumbprints!) (photograph)
Texture is the way the surface of an object
actually feels.
such as roughness, smoothness, or
softness.
In the artistic world, we refer to two types of
texture---tactile and implied
Actual texture can
be felt while
simulated textures
are implied by the
way the artist renders
the surface area

Oppenheim
Fur-lined cup
 Tactile (or Real) Texture
Tactile (or Real) Texture is the way the
surface of an object actually feels.
Examples would be sandpaper, cotton balls,
tree bark, puppy fur, etc.
 Implied Texture
Implied Texture is the way the surface of an
object looks like it feels. This is the type of
texture that artists use when they draw and
paint. Textures may look rough, fuzzy,
gritty, or scruffy, but can’t actually be felt.
 Albrecht Durer
Rhinocerus

Golsdworthy
 Jasper Johns, Target
(primary colors)

Delauney
Color can add interest and reality to artwork. The use of a 12-
step color wheel will help us understand color more
effectively. When light is reflected through a prism, colors
can be seen

These colors are: Red, Yellow, Orange, Green, Indigo, Blue

and Violet
Remember the anagram: ROY G BIV
 Color Wheel
A long time ago, artists decided that these
colors would be more useful to them if they
were placed in a wheel fashion. This
became known as the color wheel
Primary Colors
 There are 3 primary colors:
Red, Yellow and Blue

These colors are primary for 2 reasons:

1. They can’t be mixed to be made
2. They make all the other colors on the color wheel
When you mix 2 primary colors together, you
get a secondary color. For example:
Red and Yellow=Orange

Red and Blue=Violet

Yellow and Blue= Green

When you mix a primary and a secondary color together
you get an intermediate (or tertiary) color For example:

Red and Orange= Red-Orange

Yellow and Green=Yellow-Green
Blue and Green=Blue-Green
Red and Violet=Red-Violet
Yellow and Orange=Yellow-Orange
Blue and Violet=Blue-Violet
 Color Schemes
Color is divided into groups based on the way they
are placed on the color wheel:
3-4 colors “next-door-neighbors” to each other
creates an analogous color scheme
 Color schemes
2 colors that are directly opposite each other
(going across the center) creates a
complimentary color scheme
 Color Schemes
A Split-Complimentary color scheme is a
complimentary color and the two colors on
either side of its compliment.
 Color Schemes
A Triadic color scheme uses 3 colors that are
equally spaced apart on the color wheel
 Color Schemes
When you use only one color plus its tints and
shades, you are using a monochromatic
color scheme

A tint is a color plus white

A shade is a color plus black
 Colors have temperatures
Colors can convey emotion and feelings too.

Have your ever felt “blue?”

Been “green’ with envy?
Called a “yellow” coward?

It is important that artists understand the effects of

color when they are trying to get the viewers of
their art to feel a particular way.
 Color Temperatures
Warm colors are those that have Reds,
Yellows and Oranges. Warm colors seem to
advance (or come forward) in an artwork.

Cool colors are those that have Blues, Greens

and Violets. Cool colors seem to recede (or
go back into) an artwork.
 Wassily Kandinsky
Piet Mondrian
 Warm Colors
• Colors that are often described as being
higher in temperature
• Reds, oranges, yellows
• Associated with fire and sun
• Optically, appear to advance
• Stimulating and passionate
Ex. Warm
 Cool
• Colors that are often described as being
lower in temperature
• Greens, Blues, and Violet
• Associated with water, sky, and spring
• Optically, they appear to recede
• Calming and depressing
Ex. Cool
 Color and Mood

Van Gogh, the Night Cafe

Picasso, the Old Guitarist

Shapes and forms are made by the space around and within them. Space is often
called three-dimensional or two- dimensional.

MC Escher
 Space
Space is basically divided into 3 parts: Foreground, Middle Ground and
Background

Generally, the background area is considered to be the upper 1/3 of the picture
plane. The middle ground area is considered to be the middle 1/3 of the
picture plane. The foreground area is considered to be the lower 1/3 of the
picture plane.
 Space
Space can be shallow or deep depending on
what the artist wants to use. Shallow space
is used when the artist has objects very
close to the viewer.
 Space
Deep Space
may show
objects up
close but
objects are
shown far
away
too.
 Space
Objects may overlap as well. When objects are
overlapped it is obvious that enough space had to
be in the picture to contain all the objects that have
been included
Perspective is also a way of showing space in a
work of art. Perspective is when the artist uses a
vanishing point on the horizon and then creates a
sense of deep space by showing objects getting
progressively smaller as they get closer to the
vanishing point.
Positive and Negative space is a way that an
artwork is divided. When planning a work
of art, both areas must be examined so that
they balance one another. Drawing items
running off the page and zooming in on
objects are ways to create visual interest
within a work.
 Space
Positive space is the
actual object(s) within
the artwork
Negative Space is the
area in and around the
objects. It is the
“background” and it
contributes to the
work of art---you can’t
have positive space
without negative space
Positive space is filled by a shape or form. Negative space surrounds a
shape or form.
What we use to organize
the
Elements of Art,
or the tools to make art.
• THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE
VISUAL WEIGHT OF
OBJECTS IN A WORK OF
ART. COLOR, SIZE,
TEXTURE
 Balance
Balance is a sense of stability in the body of work.
Balance can be symmetrical (formal) or assymmetrical (informal)

Wayne Thiebaud, Around the Cake (formal balance)

Symmetrical/Formal Balance

Diane Arbus, Twins

 Symmetrical Balance

Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper 1495-1498

Asymmetrical Balance

Edgar Degas (informal balance)

Asymmetrical Balance
 When elements are changed in scale, color, or form.

Stuart Davis

Andy Warhol
Movement adds excitement to your work by showing action and
directing the viewers eye throughout the picture plane.

Edward Munch, the Scream

 Umberto Boccioni,
Unique forms of continuity in space Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending Staircase
 Emphasis & Focal Point
Emphasis - Any forcefulness that gives importance to some feature or features of an
artwork; something singled out, stressed, or drawn attention to by means of contrast,
anomaly, or counterpoint

Focal Point = portion of an artwork's composition on which interest or attention centers

David Hockney
 Emphasis & Focal Point

Barbara Kruger Rene Magritte

Dominance & Subordination
The part of a composition that is emphasized, has the
greatest visual weight, the most important, powerful, or
has the most influence.
 Pattern & Repetition
Involves multiples of the same element. Repeated elements can vary in size, color, or axis
placement. Repeated elements can create a pattern. The use of repetition may be applied to
all Visual Elements. Motion can be created by repetition.

William Morris
Arts and Crafts Movement
Pattern & Repetition

Chuck Close, Self Portrait, detail

 A large difference between two things,
such as light and shadow, color and black/white

Andy Warhol
David, the Death of Marat
Economy
 Unity & Harmony
The quality of wholeness or oneness (Gestalt) that is achieved through the effective use of
the elements and principles of design.

Claude Monet
Haystacks
 Cezanne

Wayne Theibaud
Van Gogh “Starry Night”
What Elements and Principles stand out?
What Elements and Principles stand out?

Goya, “The 5th of May”

What Elements and Principles stand out?

Gauguin
What Elements and Principles stand out?