BIG IDEA: The Elements and Principles of Design can be LEARNED,

STUDIED and PRACTICED.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How does an understanding of the Elements
and Principles of Design enhance the visual art experience?

THE ELEMENTS
AND PRINCIPLES
OF ART
LESSON OBJECTIVES
 Students will:
 Recognize art as a representation of culture and thereby a
primary resource when studying history
 Develop a basic understanding of art history from prehistoric to
Neoclassic art
 Develop art criticism skills
 Consider HOW artists make art by learning the basic
vocabulary of art criticism: the elements and principles of
design
 Consider WHY artists make art by looking at art as a form of
visual communication
 Analyze their own personal reaction to art works
THE ELEMENTS OF
ART

The building blocks

or ingredients of art.
 LINE
A mark with length and direction. A continuous mark made on a
surface by a moving point.

Gustave Caillebotte
Ansel Adams
 Line can be DECORATIVE
Or IMPLIED….

Pablo Picasso
 CO L O R
Consists of Hue (another
word for color), Intensity
(brightness) and Value
(lightness or darkness).

Alexander Calder

Henri Matisse
ARTISTS USE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OF
COLOR DEPENDING ON THE EFFECT
THEY ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE…

Color Vocabulary
•Primary
•Secondary
•Tertiary
•Analogous
•Complimentary
•Neutral
•Warm/Cool
VALUE

The
lightness
or
darkness
of a color.

MC Escher Pablo Picasso

 SHAPE
An enclosed
area defined
and
determined by
other art
elements;
2-dimensional.

Organic

Geometric
Joan
Miro
 Gustave Caillebotte

Usually shapes from nature are said to be ORGANIC and man made shapes
are more GEOMETRIC
 FORM
A 3-dimensional object or something
in a 2-dimensional artwork that
appears to be 3-D

For example, a triangle, which is 2-

dimensional, is a shape, but a pyramid,
which is 3-dimensional, is a form.

Jean Arp Lucien Freud

 S PA C E
The distance or area between, around, above, below, or
within things.

Foreground, Middle ground and

Robert Mapplethorpe
Background (creates DEPTH)

Claude Monet Positive (filled with something)

and Negative (empty areas).
 TEXTURE

The surface quality or "feel" of an object, its smoothness,

roughness, softness, etc. Textures may be actual or implied.
Cecil
Buller
 THE ELEMENT SONG!!
Sung to the tune of “Baa Baa Black Sheep!

Line, shape and color

Value , form and space
Texture, texture
Are the elements in place?
THE PRINCIPLES OF
ART
7
What we use to organize the
Elements of Art
 B A L A NC E
The way the
elements are
arranged to
create a feeling
of stability in a
work.

Alexander Calder
 Symmetrical Balance

The parts of an image are organized so

that one side mirrors the other.
Leonardo
DaVinci
Asymmetrical Balance

When one
side of a
composition
does not
reflect the
design of the
other and yet
still has equal
weight.

James Whistler
EMPH ASIS
The
focal
point of
an
image,
or when
one area
or thing
stands
out the
most.

Jim Dine Gustav Klimt

CONTRAST

Salvador Dali
A large difference between two
things to create interest and
tension. CONTRAST creates
Ansel Adams EMPHASIS
 REPETITION
REPETITION
REPETITION
REPETITION
REPETITION
creates
MOVEMENT
And
RHYTHM
A regular repetition of elements
to produce the look and feel of
movement or to MOVE the
Marcel viewers eye around the artwork.
Duchamp
 Repetition,
Movement, Rhythm
continued…
Where there is a sense of
movement in an art
work, created by a
repetition of elements
rhythm is created –
almost like we can hear a
repetitive beat of music
when we look at a
painting….

Vincent VanGogh
UNITY/HARMONY

When all the

elements and
principles work
together to create a
pleasing image.

Johannes Vermeer
 A sense of unity
can occur even in
artworks that use
more VARIETY.
The use of
differences
increases the visual
interest of the work
and can actually
add to the harmony

Marc Chagall
 The PROPORTIO
N
comparative
relationship of
one part to
another with
respect to size,
quantity, or
degree;
SCALE.

Gustave
Caillebotte
 Playing with
SCALE
Artists sometimes
deliberately use
unnatural
proportions or
scale to create a
mood, message or
special effect.
PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS ARE NOT THE ONLY ARTISTS
WHO USE THE ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN.
GRAPHIC ARTISTS USE THESE “RULES” OF ART TO DRAW
OUR ATTENTION TO WHAT THEY WANT TO SELL…
PRIMITIVE CULTURES WHO WERE NEVER TAUGHT HOW TO
“MAKE” ART STILL SHOW EVIDENCE OF THE ELEMENTS AND
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN. THEY ARE UNIVERSAL….
 YOUR ASSIGNMENT: PERSONALIZING YOUR ART
JOURNALS
 Individualize! Personalize! Add
pizazz! To your Art Journal!
 Your cover must include:
 Your NAME and ROLL
NUMBER
 a composition that features ALL
of the 13 elements and
principles of design
 Personalize through image choice,
color design and embellishments
 Neatness counts!
 In your journal, write a 1-2 page
explanation of your design,
describing your use of the elements
and principles
 You may come into my art room to work
DURING LUNCH!.
 You may use any of the following to create
your design:
 Paint, marker or pencils
 Collaged pictures from newspapers,
magazines, internet, personal collections
 Scrapbook papers, buttons, glued
embellishments
 A mix of different media
 You will be graded on your ability to
demonstrate your understanding of the
elements and principles of design, your
skillful use of media and neatness!