Why should you learn the

Elements and Principles of Art?

Artists use the Elements and
Principles of Art as guidelines
to create wonderful works of
art. Anyone who wants to
create art needs to learn the
elements and principles and
how to use them in order to
better express themselves
through their work.

Elements of Art
The elements of art are the tools artists use to
create art.
1. Line
2. Shape
3. Form
4. Value
5. Space
6. Texture
7. Color

Line
There are many different types of lines.
Line is the path of a moving point.

Example, Do Not Copy-Yours must be Original

Shape

Shape is a two-dimensional area created by connecting lines.

There are different kinds of shapes: geometric and organic.

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Form
Form is a three-dimensional object, such as a cube or ball. Form have height, width
and depth.
Unlike shapes, forms are 3-dimensional.

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Space

Space is the area around,

above, between, inside, or
below objects.

Technique to show space or depth

Overlapping
Intensity and value
Size
Linear Perspective
Focus
Placement

Space can be 2-D or 3-D. Space can be

negative or positive.

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Value
Value is the lightness or darkness of a
color. Tints are lighter values. Shades are
darker values. Do not draw a value scale.

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Color
Color is the visual quality of objects
caused by the amount of light reflected by
them. Another name for color is hue.

Color Scheme
A plan for combining colors in a work of
art.
Primary
Secondary
Intermediate
Warm
Cool
Complementary
Analogous

Secondary Colors

Warm Colors
The colors of red, orange, and yellow are
considered warm colors because they are
the colors of fire. These hues are also said to
advance, meaning they appear to come
forward, making the walls feel closer. Thus,
they can actually make a room feel cozy
when used in decorating.

RED
YELLOW
ORANGE

Intermediate Colors
Intermediate Colors are made by mixing
a primary and a secondary color.
Blue-Green
Yellow-Green
Blue-Violet
Red-Violet
Red-Orange
Yellow-Orange

Cool Colors
Blue, green, and violet are considered
cool colors. When you think of a cool
lake or ice covered pond, you see cool
colors. Because these colors have a
tendency to feel like they are receding (or
backing away from you), cool tones are
often used to paint the walls of a small
room to make the room appear larger.
BLUE
GREEN
VIOLET

Analogous Colors
Analogous (uh-NAL-uh-gus) colors sit
next to each other on the color wheel.
They tend to look pleasant together
because they are closely related.
Orange, yellow-orange, and yellow are
an example of analogous colors. They
are blended nicely in Sunflowers, a
painting by Vincent Van Gogh. How do
you know that these colors are closely
related? They share a coloreach of
them contains some yellow.

Complementary Colors
What is the complementary color of your
favorite color? Please do not draw a color
wheel or rainbow.

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Texture
Texture is the way something feels when
you touch it. Artists create the illusion of
texture.

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Principles of Design
The principles of design are guidelines
which help us to organize the elements
of art.
Emphasis
Balance
Harmony
Variety
Movement
Rhythm/ Pattern
Proportion
Unity

1. Balance (Illustrate)
Balance is a sense of stability in the body of work.
Balance can be created by repeating same shapes
and by creating a feeling of equal weight.

2. Emphasis(Illustrate)
Emphasis in a composition refers to
developing points of interest to pull the
viewer's eye to important parts of the body of
the work.

In this painting, "The

Letter," Mary Cassatt
empasized the envelope
by painting it white against
the dark patterns of the
woman's dress. She also
placed the envelope in the
center of the painting to
draw your eye to it.

3. Proportion(Illustrate)
Proportion or scale
refers to the
relationships of the size
of objects in a body of
work. Proportions gives
a sense of size seen as
a relationship of objects.
such as smallness or
largeness.

4. Pattern(Illustrate)
Pattern is simply the regular repetition of a
line, shape, or color.

5. Rhythm(Illustrate)
Rhythm is a type of movement in drawing
and painting. It is seen in repeating of
shapes and colors. Alternating lights and
darks also give a sense of rhythm.
In Okazaki, Ando
Hiroshige's bridge supports
create a rhythm that leads
your eyes through the
landscape. Rhythm
conveys a sense of motion.

6. Variety(Illustrate)
Variety refers to the differences in the
work. You can achieve variety by using
difference shapes, textures, colors and
values in your work.
Jasper Cropsey
painted a large tree
to create variety in
his landscape, "In
the Valley."

Harmony
Harmony is achieved in a body of work by
using similar elements throughout the work,
harmony gives an uncomplicated look to
your work.

Movement
Movement adds excitement to your work by
showing action and directing the viewers
eye throughout the picture plane.

7. Unity(Illustrate)
Unity is seen in a painting or drawing when
all the parts equal a whole. Your work
should not appear disjointed or confusing.

Gustave
Caillebotte
used shape to
create unity.