Elements of Art and Principles of Design

Elements of Art
and
Principles of Design
Elements of Art
The building blocks or ingredients of art.
They structure and carry the work.
Elements of Art
Line Form
ColorSpace
ValueTexture
Shape
LINE
Pablo Picasso
A mark with length and direction. A continuous

mark made on a surface by a moving point.
LINE
May be vertical, horizontal or diagonal,

curved, straight, zigzag, or show emotion.
LINE
LINE
Contour lines- outline

the edges of forms or
shapes
Gestural lines-
indicate action and
physical movement
COLOR
Consists of Hue
(another word for
color), Value
(lightness or darkness)
and Intensity
(brightness).
Henri Matisse Alexander Calder

COLOR
Color has three properties:
1. HUE: this is the name of

the colors
2. VALUE: refers to the
lightness or darkness of
a hue.
3. INTENSITY: refers to the
purity of the hue (called
“chroma”)
Neutral Colors
These colors are made by adding a complimentary color
(opposite on the color wheel) to a hue. Neutralized hues are
called tones.
Tints and Shades
Tints – adding the color white to lighten a hue
Shades – adding black to darken a hue

Warm and Cool Colors
Warm – red, orange, yellow
Cool – green, blue, violet

VALUE
The lightness or darkness of a color.

MC Escher Pablo Picasso
VALUE
High Range in Value Low Range in Value
SHAPE
Joan
An enclosed area defined and determined Miro
by other art elements; 2-dimensional.

SHAPE
Shapes can be geometric or organic.
GEOMETRIC: square, ORGANIC: free form shapes,
triangle, rectangle, rhombus, shapes in nature; for example:
circle, cone leaves, trees, animals
SHAPE
Organic vs. Geometric
FORM
A 3-dimensional object; or
something in a 2-
dimensional artwork that
appears to be 3-dimensional.
Jean Arp
Lucien Freud
FORM
Shows an object in space, the mass or positive space it

occupies.
For example, a triangle, which is 2-dimensional, is a shape,
but a pyramid, which is 3-dimensional, is a form.
FORM
Form can be 2D
Form can be 3D
SPACE
The distance or area between, around, above,
below, or within things.
Foreground, Middleground and Background (creates DEPTH)

SPACE
Positive (filled with something) and Negative (empty areas)

TEXTURE
The surface quality or "feel" of an object, its

smoothness, roughness, softness, etc.
TEXTURE
Textures may be actual or implied.

TEXTURE
Implied – texture that has been
simulated in drawing and Actual – texture that you can feel
painting on a smooth surface with your sense of touch
What we use to organize the Elements
of Art, or the tools to make art.
They are concepts that affect content
and message.
BalanceRhythm
Emphasis
Unity
Contrast
Variety
Movement
Proportion
&
BALANCE
The way the elements are

arranged to create a feeling of
stability in a work.
Alexander Calder
Symmetrical Balance
The parts of an image are organized so

Leonardo DaVinci that one side mirrors the other.
Asymmetrical Balance
When one side of a

composition does not reflect
the design of the other.
James Whistler
EMPHASIS
The focal point of an image,

or when one area or thing
stand out the most.
Jim Dine Gustav Klimt
EMPHASIS
The part that catches your attention first.

EMPHASIS
Can be created through the use of many different
elements and principles like…
CONTRAST
PROPORTI ON
COLOR
Contrast
Salvador Dali
Ansel Adams
A large difference between two things to
create interest and tension.
Contrast
…with proportion/scale
…with color
RHYTHM
A regular repetition
of elements to
RHYTHM
produce the look RHYTHM
and feel of RHYTHM
movement.
RHYTHM
RHYTHM
and
MOVEMENT
Marcel
Duchamp
MOVEMENT
The motion created in a work of art.

Often uses the principle of rhythm to achieve this.
RHYTHM
The repetition of lines, shapes, or colors to

create a feeling of movement.
Vincent VanGogh
UNITY
When all the

elements and
principles work
together to create
a pleasing image.
The feeling of
wholeness or the
parts belonging
together.
Johannes Vermeer
The use of
differences and
change to
increase the
visual interest
of the work.
VARIETY
Marc Chagall
VARIETY
The use of different

lines, shapes, and
colors in a piece of
work.
PROPORTI
ON
The comparative
relationship of
one part to
another with
respect to size,
quantity, or
degree; SCALE.
Gustave
Caillebotte
PROPORTI
ON

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Elements of Art

A mark with length and direction. A continuous

May be vertical, horizontal or diagonal,

Contour lines- outline

Henri Matisse Alexander Calder

1. HUE: this is the name of

Shades – adding black to darken a hue

Cool – green, blue, violet

The lightness or darkness of a color.

by other art elements; 2-dimensional.

Shows an object in space, the mass or positive space it

Foreground, Middleground and Background (creates DEPTH)

Positive (filled with something) and Negative (empty areas)

The surface quality or "feel" of an object, its

Textures may be actual or implied.

The way the elements are

The parts of an image are organized so

When one side of a

The focal point of an image,

The part that catches your attention first.

The motion created in a work of art.

The repetition of lines, shapes, or colors to

When all the

The use of different

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