CHILDREN OF FATIMA SCHOOL, INC.

LESSON 1.4: THE ELEMENTS OF ART

Most Essential Learning Competency

After studying this lesson, the learners will be able to:

a. identify the elements of art;

b. develop commitment to excellence when doing an art form; and
c. make an art form using the elements of art.

Prior Knowledge
Directions: Cross-out all the elements of arts in the box below.

W G H K O Y F B H L
W E V T T T T B N I
S H A P E R E D K N
P Q L U Q L N S L E
A A U Y A K M A K E
C Z E T D F O R M C
E X O T E J E R G O
E V J W R Y S F D I
D G K F T T H C A G
P H R J Y I A H Q H
J O I I Y O P U E P
T E X T U R E U U H
E S R G W L A P Y O
A D F J K R Z A R I
Q W E R Y U O P Y G

LESSON PROPER
What are the Elements of Art?

All art forms, may they be two-dimensional like a painting or three-dimensional like a
sculpture, share a common denominator – they have at least one or two elements of art. These
elements are the building blocks of art-making; meaning, they serve as vital “ingredients” or tools
that would best complete an art form. These elements of art are as follows; space, line, shape &
form, color, value, and texture. Let us more be familiarized with each element as we dig deeper in
our discussion.

Space as an Element of Art

Space is the area between and around objects. It can also be defined as a void, an emptiness
which can either be positive or negative. The positive space refers to a space enclosed in a shape,

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while the negative space is the space around the shape. In visual art, when we create the
feeling or illusion of depth, we call it space.

Line as an Element of Art

Line is a mark with greater length than width. It is the extension of a point, a short or long
mark drawn or curved on a surface. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal; straight or
curved; thick or thin.

Shape and Form as Elements of Art

When the ends of a line meet, they form a shape. A shape can also be defined as a closed
line or a figure separate from its surrounding area. It can either be geometric (angular) or
organic (curvy). On the other hand, form is slightly similar to shape. It is also an enclosed line
and a figure separate from its background. But, remember that a shape is two-dimensional,
while from is three-dimensional. For instance, the square is an example of a shape; the cube is
the form. The circle is a shape; the sphere is a form.

Color as an Element of Art

Color is light reflected off of objects. Color has three main characteristics: hue(the name of
the color, such as red, green, blue, etc.), value (how light or dark it is), and intensity (how bright
or dull it is).
 White is pure light; black is the absence of light.
 Primary colors are the only true colors (red, blue, and yellow). All other colors are
mixes of primary colors.
 Secondary colors are two primary colors mixed together (green, orange,violet).
 Intermediate colors, sometimes called tertiary colors, are made by mixing a primary
and secondary color together. Some examples of intermediate colors are yellow
green, blue green, and blue violet. Complementary colors are located directly across
from each other on the color wheel (an arrangement of colors along a circular
diagram to show how they are related to one another). Complementary pairs
contrast because they share no common colors. For example, red and green are
complements, because green is made of blue and yellow. When complementary
colors are mixed together, they neutralize each other to make brown.
Color creates a mood or tone such as red for passion or love; blue for peace or sadness;
and yellow for gaiety and innocence. It can also have different meanings, depending on
one’s culture.

Value as an Element of Art

In visual arts, value is the degree of darkness and lightness of a color. It varies from dark to
bright, depending on its intensity. Like color, value suggests an atmosphere of mood, also found
in the other art forms (e.g., strong contrast suggests strong emotional response).

Texture as an Element of Art

Texture is the surface quality that can be seen and felt. Textures can be rough or smooth,
soft or hard. Textures do not always feel the way they look; for example, a drawing of a
porcupine may look prickly, but if you touch the drawing, the paper is still smooth.
These elements are the basic tools of expression in any art form. They can be found in nature or
in a man-made environment. Artists use, arrange, and manipulate them to express feelings or mood
to convey their message to the viewers, listeners, or readers.

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ENRICHMENT
ACTIVITY
Draw it Out!
Directions:  Using the space provided, follow the set of instructions below.

1. First, draw a circle on the page in front of you. A compass, protractor, or even the
bottom of a can will be able to help you. Make sure you leave some space around the
circle though, as you’ll need to have some extra room for drawing the sun’s spiky-
looking rays.

2. Next step, giving your cartoon sun some "rays" is pretty straight forward. Before you
actually draw the rays, you first need to make sure that you have some sort of pattern to
follow. This way, you can keep them looking relatively the same size, length and distance
apart. So, just like the numbers on a clock, go ahead and mark off the twelve different
positions around the circle. These dots will be your guide for drawing in the rays.

3. From each dot to one beside it, draw a "U" that so that they are connected. Once
you’ve got your first "U" drawn, go ahead and do the same thing all the way around.

4. To give your sun some real depth, it really helps if you draw in another layer of
rays. And just like you did by marking off the numbers on a clock, do the same
thing here. Between each two points from the first layer of rays, mark a new
point, but make it so that these rays are slightly longer. Then, go ahead and draw them
in.

5. Completing your drawing is the color. Put some colors that best suit your sun. Make
sure to use variations of colors to add some value in it.

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GENERALIZATION
The elements of art are all around you all the time – from the moment you wake up till you
go to sleep. Familiarizing yourself with them will make you more conscious that they are part of the
environment and everyday living. Being aware of the elements educates your senses and enriches
your lives. Hopefully, after this lesson, they will be stored in your memory and you shall be able to
retrieve them when you find cause for them and when you start creating your own pieces of art.

To help you out in memorizing the Elements of Art, here is an acrostic:

S - Space
L - Line
S - Shape
F - Form
C - Color
V - Value
T - Texture

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VALUING
Commitment to Excellence

Write it Out!
Directions: Briefly answer the question below.

Question: How will the knowledge of the Elements of Art be of any help in order for you to
show excellence in expressing yourself through arts? _______________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________.

TRANSFER OF
Directions: Look inside your schoolbag and around your classroom for tools. On the space
provided, use these tools in creating the elements of art. For example, you may use a ballpen to
draw a shape and you may use sand and glue for texture. Create as many art elements and use as
many tools as you can. Afterwards, label the elements that you have created.

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EVALUATION

Directions: Match the terms on Column A with their corresponding meaning on the Column B.
Write the letter of your answer on the space provided before each number.

Column A Column B
1. Texture a. It is a mark moving in a space between two points whereby a
viewer can visualize the stroke movement, direction and intention
based on how it is oriented.
2. Line b. It is a two-dimensional design encased by lines to signify its
height and width structure.
3. Value c. It is an element consisting of hues, of which there are three
properties: hue, chroma or intensity, and value.[
4. Color d. It is a three-dimensional object with volume of height, width
and depth.
5. Space e. It refers to the degree of perceivable lightness of tones within an
image.
6. Shape f. It refers to the perspective (distance between and around) and
proportion (size) between shapes and objects and how their
relationship with the foreground or background is perceived.
7. Form g. It is used to describe the surface quality of the work, referencing
the types of lines the artist created.

REFLECTION

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REFERENCES

Angelica Bernavides- Perez, M.A. (2006). Philippine Contemporary Arts: Expressions and
Experimentations. Brilliant Creations Publishing, Inc.
© 2011 J. Paul Getty Trust. Understanding Formal Analysis from
https://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/elements_art.pdf
How to Draw a Cartoon Sun from https://how-to-draw-cartoons-online.com/cartoon-sun.html

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