ELEMENTS OF

VISUAL ARTS
Mr. Joseph Soriano Dauag | Faculty Member | Isabela State University
 ELEMENTS OF VISUAL ARTS

• The artist utilizes the mediums and puts together elements to create a
work of art.
• The medium is the physical means through which he can come up with a
work of art, and the elements are its quantities or properties.
• An element of art can be achieved through the use of a particular medium.
To create color, for example, the artist uses and mixes pigments.
 The elements of visual arts are:
line, color, texture, perspective, space, form, and
volume
 01.

LINE
 1. LINE
• Through lines, as in painting or sculpture, the artist represents figures
and forms.
• Lines always have direction. They are always moving.
• They may be straight or curved.
• Man has learned that certain emotional states find expression in
definite positions. He associate the emotions with lines.
• A straight line is the basic framework of many forms, but it lacks
softness and flexibility. However, straight line suggests efficiency,
simplicity, and strength. It depicts flexibility, buoyancy, and grace.
This line moves in one direction only. It may either be horizontal,
vertical, or diagonal.
 a. Horizontal Lines
• These are lines of repose and serenity.
• They express ideas of calmness and quiescence.
• These are found in reclining persons, in landscapes, calm bodies
of water and in the distant meeting of the earth and sky in what
is commonly called the horizon.
 b. Vertical Lines
• Lines that denote action.
• They suggest poise, balance, force, aspiration, exaltation,
and dynamism.
• These lines are seen in a man standing straight, tall tree,
and in statues of saints and heroes give an impression of
dignity.
• They also tend to express as well as arouse emotions of
exaltation.
 c. Diagonal Lines
• Suggests action, life, and movement.
• They give animation to any composition in which they appear.
• Almost every object in action assumes a diagonal line.
• A running person makes a diagonal line with his body and legs.
• The degree of an action is shown by the angle the diagonal makes in
relation to the ground.
 d. Curved Lines
• Suggest grace, subtleness, direction, instability, movement, flexibility,
and grace.
• They are never harsh or stern since they are formed by a gradual change
in direction.
• They tend to impart these qualities to any work where they are
 e. Crooked or Jagged Lines
• Express energy, violence, and struggle.
• This has three groups: (a) lines which follow or repeat one another; (b)
Lines which contrast with one another; and (c) transitional lines which
modify or soften the effect of others.
 02.

COLOR
 2. COLOR
• Of all the elements of visual arts, color has the most aesthetic appeal.
Delight in color is a universal human characteristic.
• Color is a property of light. When light goes out, color goes with it.
• The light of the sun contains all the colors of the spectrum: violet, indigo,
blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. These colors are so blended that they
yield no appearance of color.
• White, gray and black have no color quality. They are called neutral
colors.
 Three Dimensions of Color

HUE INTENSITY VALUE

 A. HUE
• Hue is the dimension of color that gives color its name.
• When we say the flower is yellow, we are naming its hue.
• Color name such as red, blue, green, violet, and yellow indicate hue.
• Blue, Red, and Yellow are the primary hues. If these primary hues are
mixed in equal parts, the secondary hues are produced.
• The secondary hues are orange, green, and violet.
Ex. Orange= red + yellow
Green= yellow+ blue
Violet= blue + red

• Colors may either be warm or cool.

WARM HUES
• Red, orange, yellow are the warm hues.
• They are associated with objects like the sun, fire, and other sources of heat.
• They tend to impart warmth to any composition in which they are used.
• They are conspicuous, cheerful, stimulating, vivacious, joyous, and exciting.
• They are suggestive of impetuous, or instinctive action.
• They are called advancing colors because they have an effect of advancing or coming towards
you.

COOL HUES
• The cool colors are those where blue predominates like green, blue-green, blue, and blue-violet
• They cause surfaces covered with them to appear to recede.
• They suggest distance.
• They are calm, sober, restful, and inconspicuous.
RED
• The color of fire, blood, is the warmest, most vigorous, and most exciting
of the colors.
• It stands for passion and energy.

YELLOW
• the color of light, is the most brilliant, cheerful, and exultant of the colors.
• It suggests cheerfulness, magnificence, life, and splendor.
• It serves the balance the warm colors like red and orange.

GREEN
• The color of vegetation and symbolizes life and freshness.

VIOLET
• Represents shadows and mysteries
BLACK
• Despair, death, and pain.

ORANGE
• Suggests appettite and warmth.

BLUE
• The color of the sky and of deep and still water, is the
coolest and the most tranquil of the colors.
• It arouses the feelings of peace and quietness.
 B.VALUE
• Value, sometimes, is called chiaroscuro, refers to the lightness or darkness of a
color.
• It is a quality which depends on the amount of light and dark in color.
• They give the expression of depth and solidity and lend form to paintings.
• An understanding of values will help the artist use colors to the best advantage.
• It will offer important suggestions for the arrangement of color values in interior
decoration.
Example:
The floor should be the darkest in the room, the walls should be lighter, and the ceiling must
be the lightest. If the color of the floor is lighter than the wall, it will not give the feeling of
being a solid foundation
B.VALUE
 B.VALUE
 TINTS- values above the normal
Examples: 1. Pink is a tint of red
2. Sky blue is a tint of blue

 SHADES-are values below the normal

Examples: 1. Navy Blue is shade of blue

 Note:
The value of a hue can be changed.
We raise hue by adding more light so that it reflects more light and lower it
by reducing the light it can reflect.
B.VALUE
 C. INTENSITY
• Refers to brightness or darkness of a color.
• It gives color strength.
• Two colors may be both blue but one is more intense than the
other. When it is dulled, it is said to be partly neutralized.
• The more black or white is added, the weaker the intensity
becomes.
 COLOR HARMONIES

There are two kinds of color harmonies:

1. RELATED COLOR HARMONIES
2. CONRASTED COLOR HARMONIES
 1. RELATED COLOR HARMONIES
• Monochromatic harmony is made up of several tones of one hue, like for instance
orange, tan, brown, and other tones from the orange family. These are the simplest and
easiest to use. Different tones of the same hue all have something in common, so it is
easy for them to agree.
 1. RELATED COLOR HARMONIES
• Adjacent or neighboring harmony, two or three neighboring hues on the color circle
are used together. Tones of green, yellow, and orange can produce a delightful
harmony. They have something in common because there is yellow in green and in
orange.
 2. CONRASTED COLOR HARMONIES
• Colors which lie directly opposite each other in the color circle.
• Red and green, orange and blue, and violet and yellow are
complementary colors. They contrast with each other strongly;
therefore, they are more difficult to use harmoniously than the related
color combinations.
PSYCHOLOGY OF COLORS
 PSYCHOLOGY COLORS
• Colors are known to have varied psychological and emotional
connotations.
Examples:
 Black- associated with death and gloom
 White- stands for purity and innocence
 Blue- deemed as the color of heaven
 Red- associated with blood, signifies anger, provokes fear, and impels people
to action
 Orange- helps a person be assertive
 Green- color of nature, promotes the feeling of well-being. It implies happy
and restful association and natural abundance.
 PSYCHOLOGY COLORS
• It is wise for the artist to remember these psychological connotations when
choosing color for his work.
Example:
Architects are known to use different color relationships for a church and for a
reception room in order to create the right mood among the observers.
MEANINGS OF COLORS
CONVEYED BY THE ROSE
 Meanings of Colors Conveyed by the Rose
• Rose is a flower worthy of mention for the varied psychological and
emotional connotations each of its colors takes.
• It is the universal flora of love but one should know first the meanings
conveyed by each of the colors before sending one. On the next slide
is Sarian J.'s article entitled "The Language of Roses‘:
 "The Language of Roses”
Red is for 'I love you'; pink conveys a 'Thank you', white says 'you are heavenly;
coral speaks of desire.

If you are harboring a secret affection for a special girl, it would be more
appropriate to send her white roses. White roses denote secrecy and several
other meanings such as innocence, purity, reverence, and humility.
 "The Language of Roses”
Most people think that pink is the color of love. It is not exactly so when it comes
to roses. Deep pink roses convey gratitude and appreciation. It is most
appropriate for those who would like to say "thank you." " The lighter pink, on the
other hand, expresses sympathy. They also stand for grace and gentility.
 It is the red roses that say "I love you." They also mean courage and fortitude.
Yellow roses represent joy and freedom. If you combine the red and yellow
together, they stand for jovial and happy feelings.
Coral or orange roses, on the other hand, speak of enthusiasm and desire.
If you want to convey the message of unity, better send red and white roses
together.
If you want to tell your sweetheart that you are ready to settle down, do not send
her the usual three roses. Send her only two because this means mutual love
and affection.
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
OF COLOR VALUES
 Psychological Effects of Color Values
• The effects of color values are similar to those in dark-and-light. Light
values or tints make the size of objects appear larger because these
values reflect light. Therefore, they are more advancing than dark
hues. An individual seems to look larger in light colored clothing.

• Light hues also seem to recede when seen from above, as in a ceiling.
Hence, rooms can be made to appear higher by painting the ceiling
with light colors. In perspective, distant objects appear to have light
values because these values suggest distance or background.
 Psychological Effects of Color Values

• Store goods on display must be so arranged that those with low or dark
values are below and those with light or high values are above, to give an
impression of stability.
 03.

TEXTUR
E
 3. TEXTURE
• An element that deals more directly with the sense of touch.
• It has to do with the characteristic of surfaces which can be rough
or smooth, fine or coarse, shiny or dull, plain or irregular.
• This is best appreciated when an object is felt with the hands.
• This is found in all the visual arts. A painting, a building, or a piece
of sculpture have textures which can be felt and described in a
variety of ways. This is due primarily to differences in medium.
 3. TEXTURE
• In architecture, the varied feels of wood, concrete, and metal determine
the texture of the building.

• The Sculptor can also produce differences in texture in his works. He can
leave marks on the surfaces of a statue or he can polish it to give it a shiny
and smooth texture. Together with the other elements, texture can
contribute to the total effect of the finished work of art.
 3. TEXTURE
• In Painting, texture is exhibited through the representation of the skin,
clothes, jewelry, furniture, and others. A group of painters, including
Cezzane, Picasso, and others emphasized texture by purposely making
portions of the paintings rough.
 3. TEXTURE
• Texture gives unevenness to a surface which causes the color of the
surface to be broken into gradations
• Texture is very real to the sculptor and architect because wood,
stone, brick, concrete, and metal feel differently. To the painter,
texture is an illusion. He must make an object look the way it would
feel when one touches it.
 04.

PERSPECTIVE
 4. Perspective
• Perspective deals with the effect of distance upon the
appearance of objects, by means of which the eye judges
spatial relationships.
• It enables us to perceive distance and to see the position of
objects in space.
• There are two kinds of perspective: linear perspective and
aerial perspective. To get depth or distance, an artist uses
both linear and aerial perspective.
 TWO KINDS OF PERSPECTIVE
A. Linear Perspective
• The representation of an appearance of distance by means of converging
lines. The tracks of a railroad appear to the viewer as seeming to rise and
meet in the distance.
• Linear perspective involves the direction of lines and the size of objects.
Painters usually show the effect of space and distance by using converging
lines and diminishing size. Objects appear smaller as they recede into the
distance. People or objects at the background of a painting seem to be
shorter than those in front.
 TWO KINDS OF PERSPECTIVE
A. Linear Perspective
 TWO KINDS OF PERSPECTIVE
B. Aerial perspective
• The representation of relative distances of objects by gradations of tone
and color. Objects become fainter in the distance due to the effect to the
atmosphere. Objects appear to be lighter in color, objects become grayer,
details are dissolved, contrast is diminished, and the outline more vague
as they recede into the distance or into the atmosphere. dimensional
surface.
 TWO KINDS OF PERSPECTIVE
B. Aerial perspective
 05.

SPACE
 5. SPACE
• Space refers to the distances or areas around, between, and
within components of a piece. Space can be positive or
negative, open or closed, shallow or deep, and two-
dimensional or three-dimensional.
 06.

FORM
 6. FORM
• Form applies to the overall design of a work of art.
• It describes the structure or shape of an object. Form directs the
movements of the eyes.
• Since form consists of size and volume, it signifies visual weight.
• Every kind of form has its own aesthetic effect.
• All the visual arts are concerned with form.
 6. FORM
• Triangles, circles, and rectangles are favorite designs used by painters.
Tables, buildings, picture frames, and furniture are usually composed of
cubes or rectangular solids. Oranges, electric bulbs, lakes, and domes
are shaped as spheres. Trees, mountains, and flowers are cones. The
trunk of trees, human arms or legs, and pencils are cylinders.

• Architecture is also concerned with shapes of planes, openings, and

silhouettes of building forms.
 6. FORM
Forms are classified into: regular forms, irregular forms, centralized
forms, linear forms, radial forms, clustered forms, and grid forms.

REGULAR FORMS
• Regular forms are those whose parts are related to one another in a
consistent, orderly manner. They are generally stable and symmetrical in
about one or more axes. Prime examples of regular forms are platonic
solids. Regular
• Forms can still retain their regularity even when transformed
dimensionally or by the addition or subtraction of elements.
 07.

VOLUME
 7. VOLUME
• The term volume refers to the amount of space occupied in three
dimensions.
• It therefore refers to solidity or thickness.
• We perceive volume in two ways: by contour lines, outlines or shapes of
objects, and by surface lights and shadows.