Elements of Art & Design

path created by a moving point, mark or object. It is a dot that takes a walk. A line can be straight, swirly, wavy, jagged, dotted, dashed, broken, thick, thin, zig zag, diagonal, vertical, horizontal, curved, bold, parallel or perpendicular.

• Line

• Shape

A two-dimensional (2D), flat enclosed area. When a line crosses over itself it creates a shape. Examples of shapes could be geometric, organic/natural, irregular, circle, square, rectangle, diamond, oval, crescent, heart, triangle, octagon.

• Shape

• Line

The element of art derived from reflected or absorbed light. Color adds interest and mood to a work of art. It is also referred to as "Hue". The primary colors are red, yellow and blue. The secondary colors are created by mixing the primary colors. They are purple (violet), orange and green.

• Color

• Shape

How something feels or looks like it would feel if you could touch it. There are two kinds of texture: Real (how something actually feels, such as a sculpture) and Implied (when an artist paints or draws a texture but it is artificial).

• Texture

• Color

Objects having three dimensions (3D), or height, width, and depth. You can walk around a form. Examples of form can include cubes, cylinders, and spheres.

• Form

• j

The lightness or darkness of an object; the degree of lightness or darkness in a piece of art; or the effect of light and shade on objects in a picture. Value vocabulary includes tint (adding white to make something lighter), shade (adding black to make something darker) and hue (the true color). Shadow, highlight, and light source are also some vocabulary words to consider with this element of art.

• Value

• l

The element of art that refers to the emptiness or area around or within

objects. Positive space refers to the part of the artwork that takes up space.

Negative space is the area around that object. This element of art also refers to the

"parts" of the picture... Foreground, Middle ground and Background!

• Space

• l

is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space. If the design was a scale, these elements should be balanced to make a design feel stable. In symmetrical balance, the elements used on one side of the design are similar to those on the other side; in asymmetrical balance, the sides are different but still look balanced. In radial balance, the elements are arranged around a central point and may be similar.

• Balance

• k

is the part of the design that catches the viewer’s attention. Usually the artist will make one area stand out by contrasting it with other areas. The area could be different in size, color, texture, shape, etc.

• Emphasis

• Movement

is the path the viewer’s eye takes through the work of art, often to focal areas. Such movement can be directed along lines, edges, shape, and color within the work of art.

• Movement

• m