Line

• identifiable path created by a point moving in space

• one-dimensional
• often outline and define the edges of a form
• suggests direction and movement, depth and texture
• leads your eye around a composition
• can communicate information through its character and direction

Types of Line and their Meanings

1. Horizontal lines

• suggest a feeling of rest, serenity, quiescence, inactivity, relaxation, death/repose,

informality, passivity, calmness/tranquility, stability, contemplation
• help give a sense of space
• imply infinity or the continuation of a landscape beyond the picture plane
• found in reclining persons, in landscapes, calm bodies of water and in distant meeting of
the earth and sky (horizon)

2. Vertical lines

• communicate a sense of height, integrity/dignity/uprightness, formality, order, discipline,

poise, alertness, balance/equilibrium, firmness/strength and forcefulness/assertiveness
• tend to express as well as arouse emotions of exaltation, solemnity and inquietude
• seen in a man standing straight, a tall tree, and statues of saints and heroes giving an
impression of dignity

3. Diagonal lines

• suggest a feeling of action/movement, energy/dynamism, tension, passion/emotion,

instability/insecurity/uncertainty, aspiration/goal or impending collapse
• can also indicate depth/directionality through perspective
• pull the viewer visually into the image

4. Jagged lines

• imply danger, torture, pain, difficulty, discomfort, physical/psychological menace,

confusion, disturbance, quick motion, conflict, violence, lightning, battle/war, and sudden
death
5. Curved lines

• suggest grace, movement, flexibility, buoyancy, joyousness, feeling/emotion,

sensuality/eroticism, impulse/spontaneity, beauty/charm, softness/delicateness and play
• never harsh or stern since they are formed by a gradual change in direction

Other Types of Line

1. Actual line

• points are connected and continuous

2. Implied line

• points are discontinuous

Shape
• is an enclosed space. When a line crosses itself or intersects with other lines to enclose a
space it creates a shape.
• an area or a plane with distinguishable boundaries (usually lines)

Shape vs. Form

• Shape is two-dimensional.
• Form is three-dimensional shape.
• Sometimes, the two terms can be used interchangeably.

Types of Shape and their Meanings

1. Natural / Organic shapes

• resemble those we see in nature such as shapes of men, animals, or trees

• may sometimes be called biomorphic shapes which are free flowing, often assymetrical

2. Abstract / Amorphous shapes

• irregular and loose

• simplified versions of natural shapes

3. Geometric shapes

• mathematically devised, regular and precise

• have measured angles or curves
• have two types:
o Rectilinear - with straight edges
 Triangle/Pyramid –stability equilibrium
danger
power
aspiration
energy

masculine (pointing up), feminine/womb (pointing down)

strength
aggression
dynamic movement

 Square/Cube/Rectangle/Hexagon/Octagon/Other polygons with equal

number of sides

rational order and logic

firmness
stability
rule of law
containment
security

 Star

fame
glory/honor
brightness
guidance
dream/aspiration

o Curvilinear - with curved edges

 Circle/Sphere

perfection
eternity
oneness
connection
community
wholeness
endurance
movement
safety
 perfection
feminine
warmth
comfort
sensuality
fulfillment
all cycles: the seasons, life and death, etc.
the self
the universe
timelessness
protection
gold or money
nothing/emptiness

 Heart- love
 Oblong
 Cylinder
 Cone

Other Types of Shape

1. Positive shape

• foreground
• In a drawing or painting, positive shapes are the solid forms in a design such as a bowl of
fruit. In a sculpture, it is the solid form of the sculpture.

2. Negative shape

• background
• In a drawing, it is the space around the positive shape or the shape around the bowl of
fruit. In sculpture, it is the empty shape around and between the sculptures.

Color
• is the byproduct of the spectrum of light, as it is reflected or absorbed by objects,
received by the human eye and processed by the human brain

Hue

• the name of a color and its position in the color wheel

Color Wheel

• (also referred to as a color circle) is a visual representation of colors arranged according

to their chromatic relationship. Begin a color wheel by positioning primary hues
equidistant from one another, then create a bridge between primaries using secondary and
tertiary colors.

Saturation

• purity/intensity/strength of a color

Color Classifications

• Primary
o red, yellow and blue

o In traditional color theory, these are the 3 pigment colors that can
not be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All
other colors are derived from these 3 hues.
• Secondary
o green, orange and violet (purple)
o made by mixing two primary colors
• Tertiary
 o combinations of primary and secondary colors

• Warm
o the plus side of the color wheel (from red through orange to yellow)
o produce excitement and cheerfulness
o convey emotions from simple optimism to strong violence
o for neutrals: black, brown, tan, gold, and beige are considered warm

• Cool
o the minus side of the color wheel (from green through blue to violet)
o associated with weakness and unsettled feelings
o tend to have a calming effect
o cold, impersonal, antispectic colors, comforting and nurturing
o for neutrals: white, ivory, silver, and gray are somewhat cool

• Complementary
o colors opposite each other in the color wheel
o Because they are opposites, they tend to look especially lively when used
together. When you put complementary colors together, each color looks brighter
and more noticeable.
• Analogous
o colors adjacent each other in the color wheel
o tend to look pleasant together because they are closely related

• Neutrals or Achromatic colors

o don't usually show up on the color wheel
o include black, white, gray, and sometimes brown and beige
o sometimes called “earth tones”
o help to put the focus on other colors or serve to tone down colors that might
otherwise be overpowering on their own

• Tint
o hue + white
• Shade
o hue + blackmbolisms

• Red
• Yellow
• Orange

• Pink
o sweet, nice, romance, playful, delicate, joy, love, warm
• Gold
o riches, extravagance, bright, traditional
• Blue
• Green
 • Purple

o royal, precious, romantic, sacred, mourning, penance, power, artistry

o denotes knowledge of the spiritual in conscious existence
• Lavender
o grace, elegance, delicate, feminine
• Turquoise
o feminine, sophisticated, retro
• Black
o conservative, mysterious, sophisticated, ignorance, despair, gloom, death,
mourning
• Gray
o formal, conservative, sophisticated, weight, solidity, neutrality
• Silver
o sleek, glamorous, rich
• White
o purity, innocence, softness, peace, simplicity
• Ivory
o quiet, pleasant, understated elegance
• Brown
o earthiness, wholesomeness, simplicity, friendliness, humility, confidence
o fertile, organic, practical, that which is not pretty in itself but out of which beauty
can grow
• Beige
o conservative, relaxing, dependable, flexible

Value
• lightness or darkness of a surface/color
• conveys the mysterious as well as the dramatic as light and dark become conflicting
forces translated onto the symbolic plane
• sets the mood of the work, and, along with color, expresses subjective feeling and inner
states of mind
Types of Value and their Meaning

1. light

• positive symbolism

2. medium

• neutral symbolism

3. dark

• negative symbolism

Value Contrast

• relative differences in value

• may be high or low

Chiaroscuro

• a composite word made up of the Italian chiaro "clear," and oscuro "dark"
• method of gradually shifting from light to dark through a successive gradation of tones to
create the illusion of a curved surface

Texture
• surface character of a material that can be experienced through touch or the illusion of
touch
• produced by natural forces or through an artist’s manipulation of the art elements
• adds variety and contributes to the illusion of depth in a work of art

Types of Texture

1. Actual / Tactile

• quality of a surface that is experienced through the sense of touch

• most evident in the work of three-dimensional artists

2. Simulated / Visual
 • quality of a surface that is experienced through the sense of sight
• an illusion which makes an object look the way it would be when touched
• are seen in two-dimensional art such as photographs, paintings or drawings, where
objects seem to have the actual textures of fur, velvet, grass and the like

Texture Terms

• smooth/fine
• rough/abrasive/coarse/rugged
• shiny
• dull/matte
• slick/slippery
• sticky
• wet
• dry
• hard
• soft
• silky
• satiny
• velvety
• sandy
• furry
• feathery
• slimy
• oily
• gritty
• porous
• irregular
• warm
• cold
• jagged/spiky/sharp
• clear
• blurred

Impasto

• technique of building-up paint on a surface to create actual texture

Movement
• the process of relocation of objects in space over time
• the design element that operates in the fourth dimension - time
• the component of a composition that implies or gives the sensation of activity or action
 Types of Movement

1. Actual / Literal
2. Simulated / Compositional

• Achieved through lines

o slow
o fast
o changing
o inactive
o uneven
o leaping
o crawling
o shaking
o rolling
o flowing
o rising

• Achieved through color

o advancing
o receding
o expanding
o contracting

Space
• an extent or expanse of a surface or three-dimensional area
• the area between things or inside of something

Types of Space
synonymous to positive and negative shapes
1. Positive space

• is the main area or object of focus in an artwork

2. Negative space

• is best described as “everything else”

Techniques in Creating 3D Space

1. Overlapping planes
 • where objects appear to be on top of one another, each closer to the observer than the
next

2. Variation in size

• Largeness of size indicates nearness and a diminishing size as distance.

3. Positioning on the picture plane

• Objects found at the bottom of the frame are closer to the observer.
• Farther distances are indicated by the positions of the objects higher in the picture plane.

4. Variation in color

• Warm and bright colors give the illusion that they are closer to a viewer than the cool
colors.
• Figures are painted in the foreground using warm colors, and those in the background in
cool colors.

5. Showing Perspective

6. Shading