Big Oak Wilderness School

Elements of Visual Perception

There are five (5) elements of visual perception. However, as you read, remember that
although we are studying each element as a separate individual entity, they are part of
a greater whole.

1. Line or Edge

Very few lines exist in nature. There are however, edge, outline or contour (all
meaning roughly the same thing). Lines of flow, visual movement, and rhythm are
often invisible to the eye but can be "seen" nonetheless. Lines have certain built-in
feelings and associations... Most of us can find adjectives to describe various kinds of
line; when we do, these words suggest that some kind of meaning resides in the lines.

Exercises:

 Find lines which are expressive, which convey a sensation in and of itself.
 Can you see music and rhythm in line?  Can you sing it?

Look for:

 auras
 relationship between edge, volume and space
 invisible or implied lines
 visual movement
 interrelationship of lines

Questions:

 What does line tell you about the way a tree grows?
 What does it tell you about its personality?

2. Shape

Shape is an area that stands out from the space next to it or around it because of a
defined boundary or because of a difference of value, color, or texture.
Shapes contain certain meanings within themselves, some readily recognizable, others
more complex and less clear. Some common meanings ascribable to squares, for
instance, are: perfection, stability, solidity, symmetry, self-reliance, and monotony.
Every visual experience is embedded in a context of space and time. Just as the
appearance of objects is influenced by that of neighboring objects in space, so also is
it influenced by sights that preceded it in time.

The dots within the squares illustrate:

 shape relationships
 energy fields
 positive/negative space
 tensions
 balance

Exercises:

 Follow the interplay between shapes. Look for counterpoint, dance, rhythm,
theme variations, tensions, conflict, and balance.
 See shapes as alive.
 Form follows function. Look at an object and study how its shape or shapes are
directly a product of function.
 Walk through an area and watch the interplay of shapes. Note the relationship
between three-dimensional shapes and the two-dimensional images of those
shapes. Experience your own shape in relation to the shapes around you.

3. Color

Color is the visual response to the wavelengths of sunlight identified as red, green,
blue, etc.; having the physical properties of hue, intensity (or saturation), and value.
Color perception seems to involve the one hundred million rods and six and a half
million cones in the retina at the back of the eye.
We are able to hear a single tone, but we almost never (without special devices) see a
single color unconnected and unrelated to other colors. Colors present themselves in
continuous flux, constantly related to changing neighbors and changing conditions. In
no reliable sense can we speak of color "as it really is"; it is always determined by its
context. The same color in two different contexts is not the same color. This means
that the identity of a color does not reside in the color itself, but is established by
relation.

Exercises:

 Look at the many colors; just look, do not name.

 Try to find as many colors as possible within a single color.
 Look at color combinations. See how adjacent colors affect or change each
other. Remember that all color is relative and exists in context.
 What moods and emotions do colors convey to you? Find a color that produces
strong emotion. Play it out. Stay with the emotion as long as possible. Analyze
the experience but only do so after the initial impact is gone. Is it even possible
to bring rational thought to the experience?
 Obtain a color wheel and experiment with the colors in various lighting.

4. Value

Value is the relative degree of light and dark. There are several types of light:

 direct
 reflected:    (primary, secondary, tertiary, etc.)
 absorbed
 translucent
 symbolic
 inner
 divine