I N G C O M P E T E N C Y :

MOST ESSENTIAL LEARN E S , E L EM E N T S

N C E P T T H A T A R T P R OC E S S
1. DISCUSSES T H E C O U S E O F N E W
IL L A P P L Y E VE N W IT H T H E
AND PR I N C IP L E S T
TECHNOLOGIES.
N D P R IN C I P L E S A P P L IE D IN
A I N S T H E E L E M E N T S A
2. EXPL COMMERCIAL ART.
K TO 12 BEC CG:
1. A6PL-IA
2. A6PR-IB
THE E L EM EN T S O F A R T S
ARTS 6 LESSON 1
ELEMENT 1 - LINE
•LINE IS THE MOST BASIC ELEMENT OF ART. WITHOUT LINE THE OTHER
ELEMENTS COULDN’T EXIST SO LET'S START HERE AND THEN WE WILL
GRADUALLY GO MORE ADVANCED.

•A LINE CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS A MOVING DOT. IF THE DOTS OVERLAP, IT’S A

SOLID LINE, IF THEY DON’T IT’S A DOTTED LINE. A LINE HAS A BEGINNING AND
AN END AND BY ITS EXISTENCE, CREATES AN EDGE.
ELEMENT 1 - LINE
STRAIGHT LINE CURVED LINE

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
ELEMENT 1 - LINE
ZIGZAG LINE DIAGONAL LINE

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under
CC BY-SA
ELEMENT 1 - LINE
HORIZONTAL LINE VERTICAL LINE

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-SA
ELEMENT 2 - SHAPE
•WHEN A LINE MEETS UP TO ENCLOSE A SPACE, A SHAPE IS
FORMED.

•SHAPES CAN BE:

•GEOMETRIC OR ORGANIC.
ELEMENT 2 - SHAPE
GEOMETRIC SHAPE ORGANIC SHAPE

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

ELEMENT 3 - FORM
•FORM IS THE NEXT STEP UP FROM SHAPE AS WE NOW ADD DEPTH
TO IT TO CREATE A THREE DIMENSIONAL FORM.

•A SQUARE (SHAPE) VS A CUBE, A TRIANGLE VS A CONE ETC. ETC.

FORM ENCLOSES VOLUME I.E. HEIGHT, WIDTH AS WELL AS DEPTH.
FORM
ELEMENT 4 - SPACE
•SPACE IS WHAT LIES BETWEEN, AROUND OR WITHIN AN OBJECT.

•TO SHOW SPACE IN A 2-DIMENSIONAL MEDIUM THE ARTIST

MUST USE TECHNIQUES TO CREATE THE ILLUSION OF SPACE
BETWEEN ITEMS THAT ARE IN REALITY ON A FLAT SURFACE.
ELEMENT 5 - VALUE
•VALUE IS HOW LIGHT OR DARK SOMETHING IS.

•THERE IS A SCALE OF LIGHT AND DARK FROM PURE WHITE

THROUGH TO PITCH BLACK. THE VALUE OF A COLOUR DEPENDS
ON HOW LIGHT OR DARK IT IS COMPARED TO THE VALUE SCALE.
ELEMENT 6 - COLOUR
•COLOUR IS CREATED WHEN LIGHT IS REFLECTED INTO THE VIEWER’S EYE.

•IN ART, COLOURS ARE ARRANGED ON A COLOUR WHEEL. THE COLOUR WHEEL WAS
DEVELOPED BY ISAAC NEWTON WHO TOOK THE COLOUR SPECTRUM AND BENT IT INTO A
CIRCLE.

•THE COLOUR WHEEL SHOWS PRIMARY COLOURS, (COLOURS THAT CAN’T BE MIXED),
SECONDARY COLOURS (MADE BY MIXING TWO PRIMARIES) AND TERTIARY COLOURS (MADE
BY MIXING A PRIMARY AND SECONDARY COLOUR).
ELEMENT 6 - COLOUR
•COLOUR THEORY HELPS THE ARTIST TO MIX DESIRED COLOURS FROM PRIMARY COLOURS. IT’S ONLY A
THEORY AND CAN’T BE PROVEN BUT IT IS NEVERTHELESS USEFUL TO THE ARTIST. COLOUR THEORY IS
BASED ON THE COLOUR WHEEL, COLOUR VALUE AND ON WHICH COLOURS WORK WELL TOGETHER -
ALSO CALLED COLOUR SCHEMES.

•THERE ARE VARIOUS COLOUR SCHEMES WHICH DEFINE THE PRIMARIES. THE MOST COMMON IS THE
RED, YELLOW, BLUE MODEL. ANOTHER POPULAR SCHEME USES CYAN, MAGENTA AND YELLOW AS THE
PRIMARIES. THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER AND EACH WORKS WELL IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS.

•COLOUR IS DESCRIBED BY ITS HUE – RED, GREEN ETC. (HUE THE NAME WE GIVE A COLOUR.)
ELEMENT 7 - TEXTURE
•ACTUAL TEXTURE IS THE WAY AN OBJECT FEELS TO THE TOUCH.

•DRAWING OR PAINTING TEXTURE ON A 2–DIMENSIONAL, FLAT SURFACE IS A

CHALLENGE FOR ARTISTS. THE ARTIST MUST INSTEAD CONVEY THE ILLUSION OF THE
ACTUAL TEXTURE TO THE VIEWER ON THE FLAT SURFACE.

•HOW THIS IS DONE IS BY THE CAREFUL USE OF VALUE AND SPECIFIC MARKS /
BRUSH STROKES WHICH THEN MIMIC THE ACTUAL TEXTURE.
ELEMENT 7 - TEXTURE
•EVERY TEXTURED SURFACE REFLECTS LIGHT IN A VERY PARTICULAR
WAY.
•THINK OF THE DIFFERENCE IN TEXTURE BETWEEN A CHROME BALL AND
A CONCRETE BALL. THE ARTIST, THROUGH CAREFUL OBSERVATION
AND THE USE OF LIGHT AND DARK VALUES, RECREATES THIS ACTUAL
TEXTURE VISUALLY ON THE PICTURE PLANE.
 CONCLUSION
• I THINK YOU WILL AGREE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN USING MANY OF THE SEVEN
ELEMENTS THROUGHOUT YOUR ARTWORKS WITHOUT EVEN REALISING IT.

• NOW THAT YOU ARE HOWEVER AWARE OF THESE ELEMENTS, YOU CAN LOOK OUT FOR
THEM AS WELL AS LOOK OUT FOR WAYS TO INCORPORATE MORE OF THEM INTO
YOUR ARTWORKS.

• THIS WILL ADD EXTRA DEPTH, DIMENSION, TEXTURE AND INTEREST TO YOUR
ARTWORKS, TAKING THEM TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
SOURCE:
HTTPS://ONLINEARTLESSONS.COM/TUTORIAL/7-ELEMENTS-OF-ART/