ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF ART
REGULAR FORM
ELEMENTS OF VISUAL ARTS
Refer to which the artist uses as symbols
(symbolic), pictures (pictorial), and an
expression to visualize and communicate
his variety of feelings and ideas.
LINE
contour or outline of an object. It also
represents the edges of an object. As an
element of art, it is always associated with
the emotional state of man.
TYPES OF LINES
Straight lines – give the feeling of
simplicity, directness and sometimes
monotony.
Horizontal lines – express calmness,
quietness, peace and repose.
Vertical lines – express dignity, stability,
majesty, uprightness, strength, life and
reverence.
Oblique, slant or diagonal lines - indicate
motion or action, support, stability and
vulnerability.
Broken lines – suggest disorder, violence
and power.
Light lines – give the feeling of delicacy
and refinement.
Heavy lines – give the feeling of strength
and sturdiness.
Curved lines – suggest grace, feminity,
variation and movement.
Parallel lines – suggest equality.
IN TERMS OF DRAWING:
RECTILINEAR - Pure straight Lines
CURVILINEAR- pure curve lines
IRREGULAR LINES- Combination of
straight and curve lines
FORM
shape, structure, and area of an object.
Like line, it also represents the feelings or
thoughts of the artist. Form in art varies in
types, size and effect or meaning.
forms having definite shape. These include
square, triangle, rectangle, circle and
oblong.
SQUARE - Its sides connote monotony and
lack in variation. This is the reason why in
art it is not a good shape especially for
border or boundary.
CIRCLE - Simplicity, continuity and
monotony.
RECTANGLE - It is a good shape for
decorative and structural design. It
expresses stability, close set, dignity and
uprightness.
TRIANGLE - It has the expression of
repose and dignity.
NATURAL FORM
forms found in nature like the shapes of the
leaves, animals, trees, mountains and the
human body.
GEOMETRICAL FORMS
forms with three-dimensions. These include
prism, pyramids, cones, cylinder, sphere
and cubes.
FORMS ACCORDING TO SIZES:
LARGE FORMS
give the impression of spaciousness and
superiority.
SMALL FORMS
Suggest inferiority and crowding.
TEXTURE
 quality or character of the area or
surface produced by the form. Its
aesthetic value of texture lies first of all
in the fact that it makes the gradation
of color possible.
 Give a surface unevenness which
causes the color of the surface to be
broken into gradations of light and
shade giving it a charm of its own.
TYPES OF TEXTURE
Rough or Coarse textures
suggest strength, endurance and
cheapness.
Smooth or Fine textures
imply excellently finished, delicateness and
costliness.
VALUE SECONDARY COLORS
amount of light, shade or dark-and-light in These are formed through the combination
an object. Its aesthetic value lies on the of two primary colors.
reason that subjects or objects of art are GREEN (yellow + blue),
seen because of its presence. ORANGE (yellow + red)
VIOLET (blue + red).
THREE PRIMARY VALUES:
The extremes in value are black and white:
the highest value is white and the lowest,
black. Black is the absence of light while
white is its presence. The step half-way or
the middle value is called gray.

COLOR
hues with their various values and TERTIARY COLORS
intensities. visual perception of light being combination of two secondary colors.
reflected from a surface of an artwork. In Violet + Orange = Russet 
the most basic classification, colors can be Orange + Green = Olive 
divided into three groups: Violet + Green = Slate
primary,secondary, and tertiary. Refers to
the quality or kind of light that reflects from
the surface of the object. Colors are seen
because of value or light.

3 PROPERTIES OF COLOR
HUE is the dimension of color that gives
color its identity or name. Color names such QUARTERNARY COLORS
as red, yellow, blue and others indicate the mixture of two tertiary colors.
color characteristic called hue. Russet + Olive = Buff 
Slate + Russet=Plum
VALUE – denotes the lightness and Olive + Slate = Sage
darkness of a color. Colors can be made
darker by making the pigments thicker or
adding black or adding a little of its
complement. Colors can be made lighter by
adding water or oil or white.

INTENSITY OR CHROMA – denotes the

brightness or dullness of a color, its
strength or weakness, its purity or impurity.
A color can be made intense by adding
more pigment of the same hue, by placing
beside it its complement or opposite or by
surrounding it with the same hue but of
lower intensity.
INTERMEDIATE / INTERMEDIARY
mixture of equal amounts of primary and
secondary colors.
yellow – orange, red-orange, red-violet,
blue-green, blue - violet and yellow
green.

CLASSIFICATION OF HUE

PRIMARY COLORS
RED, YELLOW and BLUE. These are
called primary colors because all other
colors are produced by combining any of
the two colors
COMPLEMENTARY / OPPPOSITE
form a natural balance in the color wheel.
Example of Complementary colors are:
red and green, blue and orange and violet
and yellow.
MANNER OF PRESENTING HUES
COLOR WHEEL
manifests the primary, secondary,
intermediary as well as the complementary
colors.
COLOR TRIANGLE
Manifests the primary, secondary, tertiary
quarternary and the intermediary colors as
well. It can also be a substitute to color
wheel.
COLOR AND THEIR EFFECTS
“A serious study of the symbolism of colors
will show the correct concept of color
interpretation. This will also develop the
proper application and use of colors in
everyday life.”
BLACK
darkest and the dullest of the colors. It is
only considered a color when mixed with
other color. It suggests despair, gloom,
death and mourning.
BLUE
Color of the sky and the deep. It gives the
impression of vastness and infinity. It is a
symbol of tranquility, calmness, and peace.
GRAY
impression of weight, solidity and neutrality.
GREEN
color of vegetation and still water. It is a
symbol of growth, freshness and hope.
ORANGE
symbolizes deliciousness and sweetness.
PINK
Symbolizes love
RED
It typifies fire, blood, danger, festivity,
bravery, war, passion, energy, vitality and
warmth.
VIOLET
It suggests shadows, mourning, penance,
royalty and power.
WHITE
stands for simplicity, clarity, purity, peace,
cleanliness and innocence.
YELLOW
symbolizes life, joy, sunshine, cheerfulness,
warmth, splendor, royalty and hospitality.
BROWN
suggests humility and confidence.
PERSPECTIVE
deals with the effect of distance upon the
appearance of objects, by means of which
the eye judges spatial relationship. It
enables us to perceive distance and to see
the position of objects in space.
TYPES OF PERSPECTIVES
LINEAR PERSPECTIVE
representation of an appearance of
distance by means of converging lines. This
has to do with the direction of lines and with
the size of objects.
AERIAL PERSPECTIVE
relative distances of objects by gradations
of tone and color.
SPACE & PLANE
Space is the bounded or boundless
“container” of collection of objects. In art,
space is regarded as bounded by and
susceptible to aesthetic and expressive
organization.
Plane – is a space limited only to painting
and other related arts, since they are two-
dimensional arts. Generally, they only
occupy a surface.
SCULPTURE
PROCESS OF CREATION
Many art critiques believe that the reason
why humanities have fewer sculptors than
painters is because not all artists could be
pitted in wood or stone. Moreover, being a
sculptor needs sustained physical effort to
transform one’s imagination to reality.
CARVING
a subtractive process; it involves removing
unwanted portions of the raw material to
reveal the form that the artist has
visualized. Wood, stone and ivory are the
materials employed in this process.
MODELING
an additive process. It means building the
form, using highly plastic material such as
clay or wax. This results in a type of
creative spontaneity. The additive process
permits the artist to rework his material and
introduce details as he sees fit.
CASTING
a complex process. It uses bronze and
other metal for it to materialize. It begins
with the production of a negative mold.
Then the artist covers the original model
with a mold in such a way that a faithful
negative reproduction is created.
FABRICATION
employs methods of joining or fastening,
such as nailing, stapling, soldering and
welding. In this process, the artist builds his
form piece by piece. He may even combine
different materials together
ELEMENTS OF MUSIC
It is art form whose medium is sound and
silence. The word derives from Greek
word ,"mousike" means art of the Muses.
8 ELEMENTS OF MUSIC
 DYNAMIC
 FORM
 HARMONY
 MELODY
 RHYTHM
 TEXTURE
 TIMBRE
 TONALITY
DYNAMIC
Dynamics refers to the volume of a piece of
music. Music can be described as loud, or
soft, or There could be gradual changes
from loud to soft, or soft to loud, depending
on the performer's interpretation of the
music.
FORM
The Form or Structure of a piece refers to
the order and arrangement of the different
parts. Music vocabulary such as
introduction, verse, chorus, bridge, solo, in
and outro are common Music terms that
can be used to describe most rock or pop
music.
HARMONY
The simple definition of musical harmony is
the sound created when two or more
pitches are performed at the same time to
form a chord. In modern music, the
harmony often comes from instruments like
the guitar and piano. Other pitched
instruments like the bass contribute and
support the harmony by providing a basis of
support for both the melody and the chordal
accompaniment.
MELODY
Melody is a series of pitches that make a
tune., it is the binding agent that holds all
the elements of music together in a piece of
music. The melody is the part that people
remember and will sing along to when
listening.
RHYTHM
Rhythm in music includes several different
aspects, and some prefer to use the term
duration. A simple definition of this musical
term is to describe how long or short a
sound is.
TEXTURE
Number of instruments or voices that
contribute to the overall density of the
music.
TIMBRE
Timbre in music refers to the unique sound
quality of an instrument. Timbre can also be
described using the term tone color. Just
like in a painting and the use of different
color creates different images, the "color" of
an instrument is like painting sound for our
ears to hear. Every instrument and voice
have their own unique sound, and it is this
quality that makes a piece of music unique.
TONALITY
Tonality in music refers to the overall sound
of the music. Is the music mainly
pleasant sounding (consonant) or
unpleasant sounding (dissonances the
music in a major, minor key? Often a lot of
world music has a tonality based on an
unusual scale like the medieval modes, or
Indian raga.
ELEMENTS OF FICTION
STORY ELEMENTS
PLOT
The sequence of events in any narrative is
referred to as the plot of the story. It usually
has a beginning, middle, and end.
CONFLICT
A Conflict Is The problem or struggle that a
story's character must overcome. A conflict
may internal, which is a struggle that takes
place inside a person's mind. It may also be
external, which takes place against an
outside force.
TRAITS
Readers understand a character's traits
based on what a character does, says, or
how s/he is described in the story.
SETTING
The setting is the backdrop against which
the story takes place--it is the "where" and
"when" of a narrative.
CURIOSITY
Characters are the living beings in a story.
ANTAGONIST AND PROTAGONIST
ANTAGONIST – villain or the opponent of
the main character.
PROTAGONIST – hero or the main
character of the story.