Semester 1

Elements of Design

Lines
Line is the most fundamental of all the elements of design. It is the starting
place for most artistic creation whether one is starting a fine drawing or painting
or even sketching ideas for a sculpture. Most of these designs begin with line.
So what is line?

A can be defined as the path of a dot, point etc. through space and that is
always more long than thick. Lines are not all the same, especially in art.

Types of Lines
 Vertical lines: are straight up and down and perpendicular to horizontal
lines
 Horizontal lines: are straight up and down and perpendicular to vertical
lines
 Diagonal lines: are lines that straight in any direction except vertical or
horizontal
 Zigzag lines: are a series of diagonal lines joined end to end
 Curved lines: are lines that bend in any amount of degree; they may be
gently wavy to tightly wound spirals

Variations of Lines
Lines come in many varieties. They may:

 be long, short or anything in between

 be thick, thin
 be smooth or rough
 be continuous, implied, dotted, dashed
 change direction
 change in degree of curve (curved Lines)
  be any of the above combined

Some ways Artists use line

 to outline; a starting place for many drawings or paintings
 to suggest moods or emotion; lines can appear calm, nervous, angry, etc.
 to lead the viewers eye through a work of art
 to create lightness or darkness; lines placed close together appear darker
than those placed further from each other
 to create texture; roughness or smoothness

Common types of line drawings

 contour line drawing; drawings that use a fairly continuous line to
represent the edges and surface detail of shape or objects being drawn
 gestural line drawing; drawings that use quick pencil strokes (or other
drawing instruments) to capture a scene. gestural drawings imply action
and movement
 hatched and cross hatched line drawing; drawings that consist or
parallel lines (hatching) or crossing parallel lines (cross-hatching) drawn
to create changes in lightness and darkness and texture.

Directions of Lines

Horizontal lines suggest a feeling of rest or repose

because objects parallel to the earth are at rest. In
this landscape, horizontal lines also help give a
sense of space. The lines delineate sections of the
landscape, which recede into space. They also
imply continuation of the landscape beyond the
picture plane to the left and right. 
A Storm on the
 
Mediterranean Coast,
 
Claude-Joseph Vernet,  

1767    

Vertical lines often communicate a sense

of height because they are perpendicular to the
earth, extending upwards toward the sky. In this

Saint Bavo, Haarlem, Pieter Jansz. Saenredam,

 
1634
church interior, vertical lines suggest spirituality, rising beyond human reach
toward the heavens.

 
 

Horizontal and vertical lines used in

combination communicate stability and solidity.
Rectilinear forms with 90-degree angles are
structurally stable. This stability suggests
permanence and reliability.

 
Cabinet, French, about  
 
1785  

Diagonal lines convey a feeling of movement.

Objects in a diagonal position are unstable.
Because they are neither vertical nor horizontal,
they are either about to fall or are already in
motion. The angles of the ship and the rocks on the
shore convey a feeling of movement or speed in
this stormy harbour scene.
A Storm on the
 
Mediterranean Coast,
 
Claude-Joseph Vernet,  

1767  

The curve of a line can convey energy. Soft,

shallow curves recall the curves of the human body
and often have a pleasing, sensual quality and a
softening effect on the composition. The edge of
the pool in this photograph gently leads the eye to
the sculptures on the horizon. 
 

Pool, Saint-Cloud,  
Eugène Atget, 1915–  
 
1919
Optical Illusion

An optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by

the visual system and characterized by a visual percept that (loosely said)
appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide variety; their
categorization is difficult because the underlying cause is often not clear but a
classification proposed by Richard Gregory is useful as an orientation.
According to that, there are three main classes: physical, physiological, and
cognitive illusions. A classical example for a physical distortion would be the
apparent bending of a stick half immerged in water; an example for a
physiological paradox is the motion after effect (where despite movement
position remains unchanged).
The motion after effect (MAE) is a visual illusion experienced after viewing a
moving visual stimulus for a time (tens of milliseconds to minutes) with
stationary eyes, and then fixating a stationary stimulus. The stationary stimulus
appears to move in the opposite direction to the original (physically moving)
stimulus.