ELEMENTS

OF VISUAL
ARTS
1)LINE
2)SHAPE
3)COLOR
4)TEXTURE
5)SPACE
LINE
It is a man’s own
invention. The artist uses
lines to imitate or to
represent objects and
figures on a flat surface.
Direction and
Movements
in LINE
 Lines may move in
several directions. When
the line continues in only
one direction, we call it a
straight line.
 HORIZONTAL
LINE
It creates an impression
of SERENITY and PERFECT
STABILITY.
VERTICAL LINE
It creates an impression
of POISED and STABILITY.
DIAGONAL LINE
It implies ACTION.
 CURVED LINE
A curved line results
when there is gradual
change of direction, hence
it shows fluidity.
ANGULAR LINE
It is when the change in the
direction is ABRUPT, which
creates TENSIONS and an
impression of CHAOS,
CONFUSION, or CONFLICT.
 SHAPE
It is the form of an
object or its external
boundary, outline, or
external surface
CLASSIFICATION
OF SHAPES
Natural Shapes
Abstract Shapes
Non-objective Shapes
Geometric Shapes
Natural Shape
are those we see in
nature, such as shapes of
men, animals, or trees.
 Abstract Shape
  It is derived from a visual
source, but it is so
transformed that it bears
little visual resemblance
to that source.
 It is formed after the
artist has drawn out the
essence of the original
object and made it
subject of his work.
Non-Objective Shape
It does not originate in any
recognizable shape or object. 
They are similar to abstract
shapes but they do not
represent any idea or
object.  
Geometric Shape
It is a geometric information
which remains when location,
scale, orientation and reflecti
on are removed from the
description of a geometric
object.
 TEXTURE
It is used to describe either
the way a three-dimensional
work actually feels when
touched, or the visual "feel"
of a two-dimensional work.
 It is the feel,
appearance, or
consistency of a surface
or a substance
 COLOR
It is derived from light,
whether natural, like
sunlight, or artificial, like
fluorescent light.
 It is a series of wave
lengths which strike our
retina. Under a weak
light we see some color,
but under a bright light
we see more color.
Any object has a color
quality called
pigmentation, which
enables it to absorb
some of the colors and
reflect only one.
 Physical
Properties of
Color
1) HUE
2) VALUE
3) INTENSITY OR
SATURATION
HUE
It is the quality which
gives a color its name.
VALUE
It is adding neutrals, such
as black or white, to any
hue (e.g. blue or red)
results in changing the
quantity of light it reflects.
INTENSITY OR
SATURATION
It is the strength of the
color’s hue. It refers to
the quality of light in
color.
Hues become less intense
(dull) when pigments are
mixed with them.
When we add white, the
color becomes lighter in
value and therefore losses
its intensity
When black is added, the
intensity diminishes as the
value darkens. When gray
is added, the result will be
a variation in intensity
without any change in
value.
Primary Colors
colors that cannot be formed
from mixtures because they
are in a sense pure colors.
These colors are Red, Blue
and Yellow. A mixture of all
these results in gray.
Secondary Color
colors that are formed
out of the combination of
two primaries.
 Thus, we derive orange
from mixture of yellow
and red; green from
yellow and blue; and
violet from blue and red.
Intermediate
Colors
it is a mixture of a
primary and secondary
color.
Complementary
Colors
colors that are opposite
to each other in the color
diagram, such as blue is
the complement of
 Uses of Color
Color may give spatial
quality to the pictorial field.
Color may create a mood
and symbolize ideas and
express personal emotions.
Color has the ability to
arouse sensations of
pleasure because of a
well-ordered system of
tonality.
MEANING OF
COLORS
Red
It is the color of energy,
passion, action, ambition
and determination. It is
also the color of anger
and sexual passion.
 Orange
  It is the color of social
communication and
optimism. From a negative
color meaning it is also a
sign of pessimism and
superficiality.
Yellow 
It is the color of the mind
and the intellect. It is
optimistic and cheerful.
However it can also suggest
impatience, criticism and
cowardice.
 Green
  It is the color of balance
and growth. It can mean
both self-reliance as a
positive and possessiveness
as a negative, among many
other meanings. 
Blue
  It is the color of trust
and peace. It can suggest
loyalty and integrity as
well as conservatism and
frigidity. 
Indigo
  It is the color of
intuition. In the meaning
of colors it can mean
idealism and structure as
well as ritualistic and
addictive.
Purple
  It is the color of the
imagination. It can be
creative and individual or
immature and
impractical.                         
Pink
  It is unconditional love
and nurturing. Pink can
also be immature, silly
and girlish.
 Magenta
  It is a color of universal
harmony and emotional
balance. It is spiritual yet
practical, encouraging
common sense and a
balanced outlook on life.
 Brown
  It is a friendly yet
serious, down-to-earth
color that relates to
security, protection,
comfort and material
wealth.
 Gray
  It is the color of
compromise - being neither
black nor white, it is the
transition between two non-
colors. It is unemotional and
detached and can be
indecisive.
Silver
  It has a feminine energy;
it is related to the moon
and the ebb and flow of the
tides - it is fluid, emotional,
sensitive and mysterious.
Gold
It is the color of success,
achievement and triumph.
Associated with abundance
and prosperity, luxury and
quality, prestige and
sophistication, value and
elegance.
 It implies affluence,
material wealth and
extravagance.
 Black
  It is the color of the hidden,
the secretive and the
unknown, creating an air of
mystery. It keeps things
bottled up inside, hidden
from the world.
 White
  It is a color at its most
complete and pure, the
color of perfection. The
color meaning of white is
purity, innocence,
wholeness and completion.
 SPACE
It exists as an “illusion” in
the graphic arts but in
sculpture and architecture
it is actually present.
 TWO BASIC
TYPES OF SPACE
a) Decorative Space
b) Plastic Space
Decorative Space
It is limited by two-
dimensional art by the
height and width which
has no significant depth.
Plastic Space
It is the term applied to
the third dimension
(depth) which is a matter
of illusion in the case of
painting.
PRINCIPLES OF
DESIGN
1) Harmony; 2) Variety
3) Rhythm; 4) Proportion
5) Emphasis and
Subordination;
and 6) Balance
DESIGN
It is the overall visual
structure of a work of art. It
is a means by which the
artist makes comprehensible
the ideas he wishes to
express and communicate.
HARMONY
In the visual arts, it refers to
the adaptation of the visual
elements to each other, the
agreement between the
parts of a composition
which result in unity.
 It is achieved by the
repetition of
characteristics which are
similar in nature, such as
shape, size and color.
VARIETY
It is the use of a quality or
an element which contrasts
with or is slightly different
from those that surround it
prevents sameness.
RHYTHM
In the visual arts, it is a
continuance, a flow, or a
feeling of movement
achieved by the repetition
of regular visual units.
PROPORTION
It deals with the ratio of
one part or another and of
the parts to the whole.
 Ratio implies a
comparison between
parts. It is expressed in
size, number and
position.
 EMPHASIS AND
SUBORDINATION
They are the principles
that concern the giving
of proper importance to
parts and the whole.
 It involves the
differentiation between
the more important and
the less important.
BALANCE
It is a feeling of equality in
weight, attention, or
attraction of the various
elements.
SYMMETRICAL
BALANCE
It is achieved by the use of
identical compositional
units on either side of an
imaginary vertical axis
ASSYMETRICAL OR
OCCULT BALANCE
It is when the visual units on
either side of the axis are
not identical but are placed
in position so equated as to
produce a “felt” equilibrium.
MUSIC
 It is composed of tones
and silences organized in
such a manner as to
convey the emotions
and ideas conceived by
the composer.
The composer organizes
his materials by means of
visual notations on a sheet
of paper which is read by
musicians, the result is not
itself the work of art as in
the case of the painter
who puts his ideas on the
canvas through lines,
colors, and other
elements, which then
become a painting to be
apprehended.
The composer’s work must
be interpreted by another
artist – the performer. It is
the composer’s work come
to life; he makes it possible
for the listener to hear or
apprehend the composition.
Music is called temporal
because it does not occupy
space but moves through
time. The music is played,
and while the audience
listens, tones and silences
follow one another so that
the ear apprehends
different tones all the time
that the music is unfolding.
The listener then must have
or must develop a “tonal
memory” of what has been
so that at the end of the
 performance or the
listening session, he will
be able to see the
relationships of the
different parts of the
composition.
 MUSIC
APPRECIATION
It is the acquired ability
to listen music
intelligently.
1) that the ability to
appreciate music is not
inborn; and
2) that it may be acquired
by anyone who makes
up his mind to do so.
 SOUND
It is produced by
vibrations. We can begin
and understand and
appreciate music by trying
to understand the material
which the composer deals
 When the vibrations are
regular, TONES or musical
sounds are produced.
When the vibrations are
irregular, NOISE results.
FOUR QUALITIES
OF SOUNDS
1)Timbre
2) Pitch
3) Intensity
4) Duration
TIMBRE
It refers to the quality which
enables us to distinguish one
sound from another, an
instrument from one another, a
friend’s voice or singer’s voice
from that of another.
PITCH
It refers to the relative
highness or lowness of a
tone. It is the result of the
frequency of vibrations: the
faster the vibrations, the
higher the pitch
DURATION
It refers to the length of
time which sound
occupies – how long a
sound is heard.
INTENSITY
It refers to the loudness or
softness of a sound. This
results from the pressure or
force which is used to cause
the vibrations that produce a
sound.
THE ELEMENTS
OF MUSIC
1) Rhythm; 2) Melody;
3) Harmony; 4) Tone
color; 5) Texture;
6) Form
RHYTHM
It refers to the
distribution of notes in
time, that is the
arrangement of long and
short notes, and their
accentuation.
 As music moves through
time, when music is
played or sung, we feel
regular pulsations which
are called beats.
 MELODY
It consists of a series of
tones of varying pitches
sounded in succession. It
is a pitch added to the
rhythm.
 The terms tune, air,
theme, motif and melodic
line all mean the same
thing as melody.
HARMONY
It is the simultaneous
sounding of tones.
TONE COLOR
It is the result of
tempo, dynamics, and
the timbre of the
medium or mediums.
Dynamics refers to the
changes from loud to soft
in a musical composition,
as well as to all the
process involved in
changing from one to the
other.
Tempo refers to the speed
at which music may move.
Timbre refers to the
quality which enables us to
distinguish one sound from
another
TEXTURE
Musical texture refers to
the characteristic
disposition and
relationship between
melody and harmony.
FORM
It is when a composer
assembles his materials
on the basis of an
overall plan or design.
LITERATURE
 TWO CATEGORIES
OF LITERATURE
1)Imaginative Literature
or Literature of Power
2)Non-Fiction or
Literature of Knowledge
IMAGINATIVE
LITERATURE
It interprets human
experience through the
presentation of fictitious
persons and incidents or
situations
and not through actual
truths about particular
events or abstract
relations between ideas
and reality.
Examples:
Novels, Short stories,
Poems, and Plays
NON-FICTION
It interprets actual facts,
experiences, ideas, or
events, and make us
appreciate the
strangeness, the humor,
or the tragedy inherent in
or connected with them,
and at the same time
satisfy our need for factual
information or our desire
to understand the ideas.
Examples:
Essays and Biographies
LITERARY TYPES
1) Fiction
2) Poetry
3) Essay
4) Drama
 Fiction
Novel or Short Story
It presents characters,
events, and ideas through
narration. A novel portrays
people in certain setting
and situation,
who become involved in
that situation through
their own actions.
Novel VS. Short
Story
Novel is a more
extended work, more
characters in a more
complicated situation.
While in short story,
implies only on the
existence of complex
relationships in a highly
condensed presentation
of character and
situation.
 ELEMENTS OF
FICTION
1) Character; 2) Plot; 3)
Setting 4) Theme; 5)
Language and Style; 6)
Point of View
Character
 Fictional character is
a person in a narrative work
of arts such as
a novel, play, television
series or film.
 Characters are primarily
responsible for the
illusion of “life” in a work
of fiction.
PLOT
It consists of events that make up
a story, particularly as they relate
to one another in a pattern, in a
sequence, through cause and
effect, how the reader views the
story, or simply by coincidence.
 A plot "insures that you
get your character from
point A to point Z.” One is
generally interested in how
well this pattern of events
accomplishes some artistic
or emotional effect.
 An important element of
plot is conflict – the
presence of two opposing
forces. These forces
consist of the main
character (or characters)
and whatever prevents him
from accomplishing
something or attaining an
objective which he has set
up for himself.
SETTING
It refers to the time and
location of the action. It
provides the background
to the events and the
actions of the characters.
THEME
It is the thought content,
the fundamental issues
which the story deals
with.
LANGUAGE and
STYLE
The writer constructs his
work out of some kind and
material, and this material
is called language or the
words that make it up.
 Style is a characteristic
manner of expression, the
habitual manner in which
a person expresses
himself.
POINT OF VIEW
It is the point from
which the characters,
action, and events are
seen.
 Kinds of Point of
View
1) First Person Point of View;
2) Dramatic or Objective
Point of View; 3) Omniscient
Point of View; 4) Third
Person Limited Omniscience
First Person
Point of View
The story employs the “I”
who narrates the events and
describes the characters and
the relationships which they
have with one another.
 Dramatic or
Objective Point of
View
It tries to approximate
the play or drama in the
presentation of a story.
 Characterization is
achieved through the
dialogue between the
characters and through
their actions.
Omniscient Point
of View
It allows the description
of the inner thoughts and
emotions of any and all
the characters of the
story.
 Third Person
Limited Omniscient
The story is narrated
without an implied narrator,
but the consciousness, the
feelings, and ideas of only
one or few of the characters
are explained.
POETRY
It is a form
of literature that
uses aesthetic and
rhythmic qualities
of language.
It requires careful use and
manipulation of language
as a tool and a material for
expressing or evoking
emotions and ideas, poetry
may also have a discernible
story or situation.
ELEMENTS OF
POETRY
1) Connotation; 2)
Figurative Language; 3)
Imagery; 4) Sound and
Rhythm
CONNOTATION
It is the additional
meanings of a word
which have emotional
significances.
The poet has to be precise
in his use of words not
only for what they name
or identify, but also for the
emotional meanings or
attitudes which they carry.
FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE
Poetry uses the words in
such a way that they mean
something other than what
they usually mean when we
use them in an ordinary
IMAGERY
It means the pictures or
images which a poet makes
us see by means of simile or
metaphor, and includes
appeals to other senses as
well.
SOUND AND
RHYTHM
Poet chooses words
not only for what they
mean but also for how
they sound.
 Part of the meaning of a
poem is carried by the
sound of words, since the
sound affects our
responses and thus helps
evoke or suggest certain
moods or feelings.
 ESSAY
It is derived from the
French word essai which
means “to attempt” or
“to try.”
 It was first used by
Montaigne (first
essayist) to describe his
compositions.
 It combines instruction
with entertainment, for
the author presents his
reader with a discussion
or exploration of ideas and
experiences.
ELEMENTS OF
THE ESSAY
1) Theme or Content; 2)
Style; 3) Form and
Structure
Theme or Content
An essay may have as
theme those experiences
and events which the
author wants to recreate
or interpret for his reader.
The author may write his
thoughts and opinions
about these experiences
or events in the form of
propositions or
hypothesis about them.
Style
The style and structure of an
essay is limited only by the
writer’s personality and the
topic he is writing about. It is
for this reason that the essay
is often called the “open
form”
Form and
Structure
It refers to the way in
which all parts of the essay
are connected to one
another to achieve a certain
impression or effect,
and the arrangement or
sequence of details or
facts and the transitions
between them.
 Formal and
Familiar Essays
Familiar (informal) essay
is more subjective and
personal than the formal
essay.
 Its organization is often
disguised or hidden, so
that the unfolding of
ideas seems unplanned
and spontaneous.
 In the formal essay,
theme and ideas are
systematically made
through logical argument ,
supported by generalized
facts and statistics.