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Elements and Principles of Design
Elements and Principles of Design
As you study visual art, and the world around you, you will notice that these
Elements and Principles never appear by themselves.
Let’s practice looking!
You were
CORRECT!
What principle(s) do you see used in these pictures?
A glass skyscraper
A plaid scarf
A flying bird
If you said:
Unity, Pattern,
Proportion
Movement,
Rhythm
Or in a spiders web
The manufactured world provides
examples too
Lines formed by wires: Edges of buildings:
In artworks, straight lines generally suggest directness or clarity while curving lines
imply gentleness or movement. Vertical lines can give an artwork strength while
horizontal lines convey calmness and tranquility. Diagonal lines convey action and
energy—think of a lightening bolt or a falling tree. Very thick lines appear strong
while a thin line appears weak or delicate. Fuzzy lines imply softness while smooth
lines imply harder surfaces. Repeated lines can create patterns, textures and even
rhythms.
Lines can also be implied or real.
Objects farther away are placed higher on the picture plane and are less detailed
e
Buildings are
overlapped to
create an illusion
of space
Value
Value refers to the lightness and darkness of a color.
Value is commonly known as “shading” of an
object.
A value scale, such as this one, can show
the full range of a color. This is
accomplished by adding black to a color to
make shades or adding white to a color to
make tints.
There are literally thousands of colors; from bright to dull (intensity) and
light to dark (value). Colors are powerful; they can make objects seem
to glow, to come forward and recede, or to appear bigger or smaller.
Colors can also be symbolic, with meanings that change from culture to
culture. A color can symbolize an object or thing such as blue for water
and green for grass and the leaves of trees or it may symbolize an
emotion or idea, such as red for love, yellow for fear and blue for
sadness. A trained artist is familiar with all of these options and can
select and combine colors to create a desired impression or to evoke a
certain mood.
Color
Color is a property of light. When we say an object is red, we
mean that its surface absorbs certain wavelengths of light that
we call red, we identify the object as red in color. If all
wavelengths of light are absorbed, we identify the color
as black, if all wavelengths of color are reflected, we see
white.
And when you mix a primary and a secondary color together you
get an Intermediate color (I). These are yellow-green, yellow-
orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet and blue-green
Color Schemes
When two colors are located directly across from each other
on the wheel, they are referred to as complementary colors.
What creates
unity in this
picture?
Variety
Variety generally accompanies unity in a work of
art; it adds visual interest by giving the eye
different things to focus on. Artists create variety
by including shapes, textures, lines, etc in many
sizes and/or contrasting colors.
Yarn Paper
Photography Drawing
Ink Photography
3-Dimensiona Media include:
Clay Wood
Glass Metal
Stone Metal
Plaster Paper
Art Processes: both art methods and the media used for
visual communication in a variety of art forms
Drawing Painting
Printmaking Photography
Textiles Ceramics
Sculpture Architecture