Elements

of

and

Principles

Art and Design

The building blocks and how we use them

LINE

Isthepathofamovingpoint.

SHAPE
A two-dimensional enclosed area

Geometricshapes

have clear edges and angles

ex. Square, circle, triangle

OrganicShapes

areirregularshapesor
shapesfoundinnature

Positive & Negative

Space
around a shape(s)

Positive - area that objects occupy

Negative - area around objects

which is negative space?

FORM
Athreedimensional
geometricalfigure

Versusshape,whichis
twodimensional,or
flat

COLOR

Highsaturation

Lowsaturation

Achromat
ic
No color
Using only
black, white
and greys to
create art

QuickTime and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Monochromatic
Using ONE color,
and various values of
that color to create art

Warm Colors
Reds, Pinks, Yellows, Oranges
Think fire

Cool Colors
Greens, Blues, Purples
Think water

Complementary Colors
Colors that appear directly across from one another on the

Orange &
Blue
Green &
Red
Yellow
&Violet

VALUE

The lightness and darkness of a color or

tone

The way in which shapes are

arranged
can create

TEXTURE

SPACE

Distanceorareaaround,between,behinda3Dobject

In2Dartworks,
useofperspective
addsanillusionof
visualspace

ReviewoftheElements
LINE

COLOR
SHAPE
FORM

VALUE

TEXTURE
SPACE

PRINCIPLESOFART

Whatwedowiththeelementsofdesign
Proportion
Variety
Balance
Movement
Rhythm/Repetition/Pattern
Emphasis
Unity/Harmony
Contrast
Theunderlinedprinciplesaretheoneswe,asaK12ArtDepartment,havechosentoemphasize.

BALANCE

Equalizingthevisualforces,orVisualweight

CentralAxisdividinglinethatworkslikethepointofbalanceonascale
(canbeverticalorhorizontal)

Symmetrical:
twosidesidentical;mirror
image
Radial:
whentheelementsofadesign
comeoutfromacentralpoint
Asymmetry(Informal):
balanceofunlikeelements,b/c
twoobjectsmayhavesamevisual
weightasalargersingularobject

TypesofBalance

Formal:
occurswhenequalorvery
similarelementsareplacedon
oppositesidesofacentralaxis

MOVEMENT
Howyoureyemovesthroughouttheartwork

WaytoCreateMovement
Overlapobjects
Aligningtoedgestoproduceafeelingofcontinuous
movement
Strongsenseofform
Createapathbetweenobjects
Emphasizing/Exaggeratingelements
Placingcenterline(horizonline)highinthepicture
Blurryoutlines
Multipleimages

RHYTHM/REPETI
TION
repeatinganobjectorartelement
createsPatternandRhythm

Whatisamotif?

EMPHASIS

Emphasisofanareaorfocalpoint:
Firstpartoftheworkthat
grabsyourattention

WaystocreateEmphasis:
Contrastofelements
Isolationofobjects
Location(centering)

CONTRAST
Dealswiththedifferenceoftheartelementsused

Blackversuswhite

Orangeversusblue(complementarycolors);
warmversuscoolcolors

UNITYandHARMONY
Harmony:createsunitybystressingthe
similaritiesofseparatebutrelatedparts.
Color,Repetitionofshapes,Spacing

Unity:qualityof
onenessof
wholenessthatis
achievedthrough
theeffectiveuseof
theelements

OtherImportantTerms:
Composition:theselectionandarrangementof
elementsofartanddesign

Design:arrangingyourelementsinaworkthatis
nonobjectiveorabstract

Medium:whatanartworkismadeoforhowitis
made

Subjectmatter:whatanartworkisOF
RuleofThirds:notcenteringyoursubject