Elements of Art and Principles of Design

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Elements of Art and Principles of Design
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The Structures and Purposes of the Art Forms
VISUAL ART

• Of all the art forms (music, dance, drama, visual
  art, and literature), the visual arts have the
  earliest proof of their existence. Visual art is
  a language of images. No matter where you are in
  the world, images can be shared and understood.
  Except for physical disasters or decay, the
  artwork does not change from the time the artist
  completes the work until the person views it in a
  museum or on the walls of a cave. When an
  orchestra plays a Bach Concerto today, the sound
  may not be the same as when Bach wrote it. Modern
  instruments, the ability of the musicians, and
  the interpretation of the conductor change the
  work. The visual arts are without time while
  the performance arts are temporal. You might
  say that with visual art what you see is what
  you get. But you will get much more pleasure
  from viewing great masterpieces if you know the
  purposes, structures and history of the
  artworks.The visual arts can be divided into
  two categories fine arts and applied arts. Fine
  arts focus on how the image or object looks, in
  other words, the aesthetics (gaining pleasure
  from the visual qualities or beauty of an image
  or object). Fine arts include drawing, painting,
  printmaking, sculpture, and photography. Applied
  arts are primarily functional but the artist is
  also concerned with how the object or image
  looks. Applied arts include craft (weaving,
  ceramics, furniture making, jewelry design, etc.)
  and design (fashion design, graphic design,
  industrial design, etc.). Architecture is in a
  class by itself it is a fine art when the
  structure fills an aesthetic need and an applied
  art when the purpose is for utilitarian reasons.
  The two categories, fine art and applied art,
  lead us to look at why man creates works of art.

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Purposes of Visual Arts

• All visual art is created for a specific purpose
  and can have more than one purpose. When an
  artist decides to create an artwork, he considers
  why he is creating it. Here is a list of some
  reasons why art is created  Artistic
  Expression expression or communication of
  emotion, feeling Ceremonial ritual,
  celebration, commemoration Narrative telling
  stories, describing and illustrating experiences,
  communicating ideas or information Functional
  artistic objects used in every day life
  Persuasive advertising, marketing, propaganda

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Art Elements

• The art elements are the building blocks of
  visual art. They are the basic tools artists
  use to create art.
• The seven (7) art elements are
• Line
• Color
• Value
• Shape
• Form
• Space
• Texture.

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Line

• Line is defined as a mark made on a surface by a
  moving point.
• Lines can be actually drawn or painted, or they
  can be suggested or implied. The edge where
  shapes touch or how we connect objects with our
  eyes creates an implied line. If we paint red
  next to blue with no space between them, we see
  a line between the two colors. A line can be
  described based on a wide range of
  characteristics Direction - horizontal,
  vertical, diagonal, curved, or zigzag
  Quality/Variation - thick, thin, rough, smooth,
  long, short, light, dark, etc. Emotion/Feeling
  - graceful, heavy, calm, tense, delicate, bold,
  strong, weak, etc. A thick, dark, vertical line
  can feel strong. A light, thin, curved line can
  feel graceful.

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Color

• Color is what the eye sees when sunlight or some
  other light bounces off an object.
• Hue refers to a color's name, such as "red" or
  "blue." A hue can vary in value (lightness or
  darkness) and intensity (brightness or dullness).
• Colors express emotions and mood.
• Bright, light, warm colors can feel exciting,
  stimulating, friendly.
• Dull, dark, cool colors can feel cold, sad, and
  mysterious.
• The color wheel is made up of twelve colors
  organized in a circle

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Color

• Three primary hues (red, blue, and yellow) are
  mixed in certain combinations to create the
  remaining hues.

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Secondary Colors

• The secondary hues (orange, violet, and green)
  are made by mixing two primary hues together
• Red Yellow Orange
• Blue Red Violet
• Yellow Blue Green

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Intermediate Hues

• The six intermediate hues are made by mixing a
  primary hue with a secondary hue nearest each
  other
• Red Orange Red-orange
• Red Violet Red-violet
• Blue Violet Blue-violet
• Blue Green Blue-green
• Yellow Green Yellow-green
• Yellow Orange Yellow-orange.

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Color Scheme

• Colors can be used together to create pleasing or
  interesting effects. This grouping of colors is
  called a color scheme.
• Monochromatic color scheme - different values of
  a single hue. For example dark blue, medium
  blue, and light blue

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Analogous Color Scheme

• Analogous color scheme - hues that are next to
  each other on the color wheel and are related by
  a single hue. For example yellow-orange, orange,
  red-orange.

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More Color Schemes

• Warm or cool color scheme - hues that we think of
  being or making us feel warm or cool. Colors
  associated with red are considered warm (e.g.,
  red, red-violet, red-orange, orange,
  yellow-orange, and yellow). Colors associated
  with blue are considered cool (e.g., blue,
  blue-green, blue-violet, green, yellow-green, and
  violet).
• Triadic color scheme - three hues of equal
  distance from one another on the wheel, forming
  an equilateral triangle (e.g., red, yellow, and
  blue/orange, violet and green/yellow-green,
  blue-violet, and red-orange/blue-green, red-
  violet, and yellow-orange).

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Value

• Value is the degree of lightness or darkness of a
  hue.
• Adding white to make a light value is called a
  tint (e.g., red white pink).
• Adding black to make a dark value is called a
  shade (red black maroon).
• Value can be changed with a pencil or other
  drawing tool by adjusting how much pressure you
  use.
• Value can also be changed in paint by diluting
  with water or other solvent.

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Shape

• Shape is an enclosed area having an edge or
  outline.
• A change in color or value can define a shape,
  too.
• Shapes are flat, two- dimensional (having only
  length and width).
• Shapes can be geometric or organic
• Geometric shapes have smooth, even edges and are
  based on mathematical formulas (e.g., square,
  triangle, rectangle, circle, oval, etc.)
• Organic shapes have uneven or free- form edges.
  "Organic" means "based on nature" and is used to
  define these types of shapes because most natural
  objects are not geometric.

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Form

• Form is three-dimensional, having length, width,
  and depth.
• Like shapes, forms are either
• geometric or
• organic.
• In two-dimensional artwork, geometric forms can
  be made by either using lines to change a
  geometric shape into a geometric form or by using
  shading techniques.
• Shading techniques (blending, hatching,
  cross-hatching, and stippling) are also used to
  turn organic shapes into organic forms for
  two-dimensional artwork.

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Space

• Space is the perceived distance or area between,
  around, above, below, or within a given area.
• Artworks can be described by
• areas filled by elements/objects (positive space)
  or
• left empty (negative space).
• Artworks can also be created to give the illusion
  of depth or distance.

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Picture Plane

• The picture plane is the area used for the image,
  and it is divided into three sections
• Foreground
• middle ground
• background.
• The foreground is the area lowest on the picture
  plane.
• The middle ground is between the foreground and
  background.
• The background is highest on the picture plane.

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The Illusion of Depth

• Artists can use a variety of techniques on a
  two-dimensional surface to create the illusion of
  depth
• Overlapping - When one object covers part of a
  second element/object, the first appears closer
  to the viewer.
• Size - Large elements/objects appear to be closer
  to the view than small elements/objects.
• Placement - Elements/objects placed in the
  foreground will appear closer to the viewer than
  those placed in the middle ground or background.
  Elements/objects in the background appear
  farthest away.
• Color - Brightly colored (high intensity) objects
  seem closer to you, and objects with dull colors
  (low intensity) will seem farther away. Warm
  colors also tend to advance or appear closer than
  cool colors which recede or appear farther away.
• Detail - Elements/objects in the foreground
  typically have more detail and clear, sharp
  edges therefore, they will appear closer.
  Elements/objects are given less detail and less
  distinct edges as they are placed higher on the
  picture plane therefore, they will look farther
  away.
• Perspective Atmospheric perspective - hazy, low
  intensity color used in landscapes to give the
  illusion of being far away. The air contains dust
  and moisture that creates a haze. As we look at
  objects, they will appear to lighten, fade, and
  blur as they get farther away from us and closer
  to the horizon line.

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Texture

• Texture is the way a surface feels (actual
  texture) or how it looks like it would feel
  (visual texture).
• Texture can be sensed by touch and sight.
• You can describe textures with words such as
  rough, smooth, hard, soft, slick, sticky,
  slippery, abrasive, etc.