REVIEW

ELEMENTS OF ART – PRINCIPLES OF ART –ART CRITICISM

ELEMENTS OF ART
The Elements of Art are a commonly used in analyzing an artwork.

It is usually combined with the Principles of Art.

Also known as the building blocks of an art work.

Elements of art also help the viewers to:

• describe what an artist has done

• analyze what is going on in a particular piece
 LINE

Real Line
• are the ones that we draw and the ones that are the most known .

Implied Line
• Is created trough the sense of the line being there.

Line Weight

Thick Lines
• The objects appear coming forward

Thin Lines
• Appear the object receding or going back
Kinds Of Lines

VERTICAL LINES- give us the sense of growth and height.

HORIZONTAL LINES- give us the sense of relaxation and repose.

DIAGONAL LINES- convey the feeling of movement and excitement.

ZIGZAG LINES- create a sense of chaos, can also portray action and excitement.

PARALLEL LINES- create sense of speed

SPIRAL LINES -infinity/never ending movement

CURVE LINE- curve of a line can convey energy. Soft, shallow curves recall the curves of the human
body and often have a pleasing, sensual quality
Shape
• A shape is a closed line or closed contour line
• flat or two-dimensional. Only has width and height.

Form
• a form is a three-dimensional geometrical figure (i.e.: sphere, cube, cylinder,
cone, etc.)
• opposed to a shape, which is two-dimensional, or flat.
TYPES of SHAPE and Form

GEOMETRIC
are mathematically determined

ORGANIC
are shapes seen in nature or vague or abstract shapes
Value
The darkness and lightness of the color.
Space
An element of art which negative and positive are defined.
Color
• The reflected light on an object as seen by the human eye.
• Color adds interest and mood to a work of art.

Primary Color: Red, Yellow, Blue

Secondary Color: Orange, green violet
Tertiary Color: Red- Violet, Yellow Green
3 Properties of Color
Hue = the name of the color
example red, yellow, blue, etc.

Intensity = the strength and vividness of the color.

example color blue as "royal" (bright, rich, vibrant)
or "dull" (grayed).

Value = the lightness or darkness of the color

Tint - created by adding white to a color

Shade -  created by adding black to a color

Tone – created by adding grey to the color

 Color Scheme

Complementary Color – colors that are opposite to each other to the color wheel.

Analogous – Colors that are next to each other in the color wheel.

Triadic Color – Colors that are evenly spaced with each other.
Texture
Refers to the quality of the surface, it can be touch or feel.
Eg. Smooth ,rough etc.
PRINCIPLES OF ART

• The Principles of Visual Art are the set of rules, tools or guidelines
that artist use to organize the elements of art in an artwork.

• It helps put the elements together to achieve beauty.

• Perception of art is governed by different principles of arts and design

that guide the artist in making the art become more beautiful and
interesting to the observers.
 Movement

• Movement is the path our eyes follow when we look at a work of art,
and it is generally very important to keep a viewer’s eyes engaged in
the work.

• Without movement, artwork becomes stagnant.

• Few good strategy to convey movement in an artwork

using diagonal lines

placing shapes so that it extend beyond the boundaries of the picture plane.
using changing values
 Balance
• is arranging elements so that no one part of a work overpowers, or seems heavier than any other
part.

Symmetrical Balance Radial balance Asymmetrical Balance

design elements radiate from the center

The elements within the design are identical to all direction
in relation to a centreline axis.
 Unity

Unity is the wholeness that is achieved through the

effective use of the Elements and Principles of Art.

The arrangement of elements and principles to create a

feeling of completeness.
 Harmony

Harmony in art and design is the visually satisfying effect of

combining similar, related elements. For instance: adjacent
colors on the color wheel, similar shapes etc.

In visual design means all parts of the visual image relate to and
complement each other. Harmony pulls the pieces of a visual
image together.
 Variety

Variety is the complement to unity and harmony, and is needed

to create visual interest.

Without unity and harmony, an image is chaotic and

“unreadable;”

without variety it is dull and uninteresting.

Good design is achieved through the balance of unity and

variety; the elements need to be alike enough so we perceive
them as belonging together and different enough to be
interesting
Contrast

Contrast is created by using elements that conflict with

one another.

Contrast is created using complementary colors or

extremely light and dark values.
Proportion
The comparative harmonious relationship between two or more
elements in a composition with respect to size, color, quantity
etc.

refers to the relative size of parts of a whole (elements within an

object). We often think of proportions in terms of size
relationships within the human body.
 Emphasis
an area or object within the artwork that draws attention and becomes a focal point.

Subordination is defined as minimizing or toning down

other compositional elements in order to bring attention to
the focal point.

Focal point refers to an area in the composition that has

the most significance, an area that the artist wants to draw
attention to as the most important aspect.
ART CRITICISM

• Art criticism is responding to, interpreting meaning, and making critical

judgments about specific works of art.

• Art critics help viewers perceive, interpret, and judge artworks.

• The discussion or evaluation of visual art. Art is criticize in the context of

aesthetics or the theory of beauty.

• A goal of art criticism is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation.
FOUR LEVELS OF FORMAL ANALYSIS
Description : pure description of the object without value judgment analysis, or
interpretation.
• It answers the question, What do you see?

Analysis: determining what the features suggest and deciding why the artist used such
features to convey specific ideas.
• It answers the question, "How did the artist do it?“

Interpretation : Content – What is the artist saying?

• It answers the question, "Why did the artist create it and what does it mean?

Judgment: Judging a piece of work means giving it rank in relation to other works and
of course considering a very important aspect of the visual arts; its originality.
• It answers the question, “Is it a good artwork?”
 Now….
Let’s get ready for the exam…..

In a whole sheet of paper answer the following:

Fill in the Blanks

______________1. Is Used in analyzing an artwork. It is usually combined with the principles or art.
______________2. type of line that is literally drawn and the one that is most known.
______________3. lines that appear to be receding or going back
______________4. Type of shape that that is seen in nature or vague or abstract shapes.
______________5. Helps viewers perceive , interpret, and judge artwork
______________6. Arranging elements so that no one part of a work overpowers, or heavier than any other
part.
______________7. Arrangement of elements and principles to create a feeling of completeness.
______________8. Level of formal analysis that it answers the question “how the artist do it?”
______________9. It is obtained by mixing two primary colors.
______________10. Level of formal analysis that answers the questions what do you see?
______________11.Type of line that created by the sense of line being there.
______________12. Type of line that appears coming forward.
______________13. creates the sense of speed.
______________14. Creates the sense of rest and repose
______________15. what do you call the color that are opposite position in the color wheel. Eg. Blue and
orange.
Modified True or false: Write T if the answer is right. Write the correct answer if the answer is False.
2 points each.

_______1. Variety is achieved when all parts of a composition appear to have equal weight.
_______2. Proportion in an artwork is obtain by repeating colors and shapes and all parts of a design are
working together as a team.
_______3. subordination is another term for center of interest.
_______4. lines, shapes, form repeated over and over in a planned way is Contrast.
_______5. Hue refers to the darkness and lightness of a color.
_______6. smooth in a Example of texture.
_______7. a 3D area having height, weight and depth is shape.
_______8. Creating the look or feeling of action while guiding the viewer’s eye through the composition is
balanced.
_______9. An area measured by height and width is 3D.
_______10. intensity is obtained by adding white to the color.
_______11. the path of moving point is called shape.
_______12. emphasis is all parts of the visual image relate to and complement each other.
_______13. zigzag line creates a sense of growth and height.
_______14. asymmetrical balance is created by using elements that conflict with one another.
_______15. Proportion the comparative harmonious relationship between two or more elements in a
composition with respect to size, color, quantity.
Test. III: Identify and define each elements of art below in 3 minutes. 2
points each.

4._______
1.________ 2.________ 3.______ 5._________
Test IV: Identify what principles of art present or applied
in each picture.
Explain….
1.
2.
3.