The Elements of Art

The Ingredients for a great Composition

What are the elements of art?

The Elements of Art are the “tools” that artists use to make art. They are the basic “foundation” of a good
composition
The Elements of Art are the “tools” that artists use to make art. There are 7 of them:
• Line - A line is a path that a point takes through space. Lines can be thick, thin, dotted or solid. They can make
straight movements, zig-zags, waves or curls. They may be:
I. Horizontal Lines are generally restful, like the horizon, where the sky meets land
II. Vertical lines seem to be reaching, so they may seem inspirational like tall majestic trees or church
steeples
III. Diagonal lines tend to be disturbing. They suggest decay or chaos like lightening or falling trees.
IV. Expressive Lines tend to be found in nature and are very organic
V. Constructive lines are other lines that are very measured, geometric, directional and angular. They
tend to appear to be man-made because of their precision.
• Value - Value is the lightness or darkness of a color. Value makes objects appear more real because it imitates
natural light. When showing value in a work of art, you will need a LIGHT SOURCE. A light source is the place
where the light is coming from, the darkest areas are always on the opposite side of the light. In order to have a
successful drawing, you will need to show a full value range, which means that there are very light areas, middle
tones, and very dark areas. This is a way of giving a work of art Contrast. In drawing value can be added several
ways: Ways value can be added:
1. Cross-hatching is when you use irregular lengths of parallel lines that cross over each other diagonally.
The closer together the lines are placed, the darker the value.
2. Stippling is the use of dots to create shade. This is accomplished by placing dots very close together
to create dark values and farther apart to create lighter values.
3. Soft shading is when you use your pencil to create soft gradual movements from one value to the
next using full value range.
• Texture - is the way the surface of an object actually feels. In the artistic world, we refer to two types of texture-
tactile and implied. Tactile (or Real) Texture is the way the surface of an object actually feels. Examples would be
sandpaper, cotton balls, tree bark, puppy fur, etc.
A) Implied Texture is the way the surface of an object looks like it feels. This is the type of texture
that artists use when they draw and paint. Textures may look rough, fuzzy, gritty, or scruffy, but
can’t actually be felt.
• Shape - Shape is created when a line becomes connected and encloses space. It is the outline or outward
appearance of something. Shapes are 2 Dimensional (2-D) which means there are 2 ways they can be measured.
You can measure its HEIGHT and its WIDTH. There are two basic types of shape.
The 2 Types of Shape:
▪ Geometric shapes have smooth even edges and are measurable. The include the square, the
circle, the triangle and the rectangle.
▪ Organic shapes have more complicated edges and are usually found in nature. Leaves, flowers,
ameba, etc.
• Form - A Form is a shape that has become 3- Dimensional (3-D) Form has HEIGHT, WIDTH and DEPTH--which
is the 3rd dimension. Depth shows the thickness of the object. Forms are NOT flat like shapes are!
Turning Shapes into Forms
▪ A triangle becomes a cone or a pyramid
▪ A square becomes a cube
▪ A rectangle can become a box or a cylinder
▪ In order to turn a circle into a sphere, you must shade it. You can’t add another side to it
• Space - Space is basically divided into 3 parts: Foreground, Middle Ground and Background.
 Generally, the background area is considered to be the upper 1/3 of the picture plane. The middle ground
area is considered to be the middle 1/3 of the picture plane. The foreground area is considered to be the lower
1/3 of the picture plane. Space can be shallow or deep depending on what the artist wants to use. Shallow space
is used when the artist has objects very close to the viewer.
▪ Deep Space may show objects up close but objects are shown far away too.
Positive and Negative space is a way that an artwork is divided. When planning a work of art, both areas
must be examined so that they balance one another. Drawing items running off the page and zooming in on
objects are ways to create visual interest within awork.
 Positive space is the actual object(s) within the artwork
 Negative Space is the area in and around the objects. It is the “background” and it contributes to
the work of art---you can’t have positive space without negative space
Perspective is also a way of showing space in a work of art. Perspective is when the artist uses a vanishing
point on the horizon and then creates a sense of deep space by showing objects getting progressively smaller as
they get closer to the vanishing point.
Objects may overlap as well. When objects are overlapped it is obvious that enough space had to be in
the picture to contain all the objects that have been included
• Color - Color can add interest and reality to artwork. The use of a 12-step color wheel will help us understand color
more effectively. When light is reflected through a prism, colors can be seen. These colors are: Red, Yellow, Orange,
Green, Indigo, Blue and Violet. Remember the anagram: ROY G BIV.
A long time ago, artists decided that these colors would be more useful to them if they were placed in a
wheel fashion. This became known as the color wheel. There are 3 primary colors: Red, Yellow and Blue
These colors are primary for 2 reasons:
• They can’t be mixed to be made
• They make all the other colors on the color wheel
When you mix 2 primary colors together, you get a secondary color.
When you mix a primary and a secondary color together you get an intermediate (or tertiary)
Color schemes - Color is divided into groups based on the way they are placed on the color wheel:
A. 3-4 colors “next-door-neighbors” to each other creates an analogous color scheme
B. 2 colors that are directly opposite each other (going across the center) creates a
complimentary color scheme
C. Split-Complimentary color scheme is a complimentary color and the two colors on either side
of its compliment.
D. Triadic color scheme uses 3 colors that are equally spaced apart on the color wheel
E. When you use only one color plus its tints and shades, you are using a monochromatic color
scheme
▪ Tint is a color plus white
▪ Shade is a color plus black
Colors have temperatures - Colors can convey emotion and feelings too.
• Have your ever felt “blue?”
• Been “green’ with envy?
• Called a “yellow” coward?
It is important that artists understand the effect of color when they are trying to get the viewers
of their art to feel a particular way.
• Warm colors are those that have Reds, Yellows and Oranges. Warm colors seem to advance (or
come forward) in an artwork.
• Cool colors are those that have Blues, Greens and Violets. Cool colors seem to recede (or go
back into) an artwork.