Principles of Art

Meaning of Principle

Principle - a fundamental truth

or proposition that serves as the
foundation for a system of belief
or behavior or for a chain of
reasoning.
Principles of Art
Balance: The balance in a piece of art
refers to the distribution of weight or the
apparent weight of the piece. Arches are
built for structural design and to hold the
roof in place, allowing for passage of
people below the arch and creating
balance visually and structurally. It may be
the illusion of art that can create balance.
Principles of Art
Contrast: Contrast is defined as the
difference in colors to create a piece of
visual art. For instance, black and white is
a known stark contrast and brings vitality
to a piece of art, or it can ruin the art with
too much contrast. Contrast can also be
subtle when using monochromatic colors,
giving variety and unity the final piece of
art.
Principles of Art
Emphasis: Emphasis can be color, unity,
balance, or any other principle or element
of art used to create a focal point. Artists
will use emphasis like placing a string of
gold in a field of dark purple. The color
contrast between the gold and dark purple
causes the gold lettering to pop out,
becoming the focal point.
Principles of Art
Rhythm/Movement: Rhythm in a piece of
art denotes a type of repetition used to
either demonstrate movement or expanse.
For instance, in a painting of waves
crashing, a viewer will automatically see
the movement as the wave finishes. The
use of bold and directional brushwork will
also provide movement in a painting.
Principles of Art
Proportion/Scale: Proportion is the relationship
between items in a painting, for example, between
the sky and mountains. If the sky is more than two-
thirds of the painting, it looks out of proportion.
The scale in art is similar to proportion, and if
something is not to scale, it can look odd. If there
is a person in the picture and their hands are too
large for their body, then it will look out of scale.
Artists can also use scale and proportion to
exaggerate people or landscapes to their
advantage.
Principles of Art
Unity and variety: In art, unity conveys a sense
of completeness, pleasure when viewing the art,
and cohesiveness to the art, and how the patterns
work together brings unity to the picture or object.
As the opposite of unity, variety should provoke
changes and awareness in the art piece. Colors can
provide unity when they are in the same color
groups, and a splash of red can provide variety.
 Principles of Art
Pattern: Pattern is the way something is organized
and repeated in its shape or form and can flow without
much structure in some random repetition. Patterns
might branch out similar to flowers on a plant or form
spirals and circles as a group of soap bubbles or seem
irregular in the cracked, dry mud. All works of art have
some sort of pattern even though it may be hard to
discern; the pattern will form by the colors, the
illustrations, the shape, or numerous other art
methods.
Elements of Art
Elements of art are stylistic
features that are included
within an art piece to help the
artist communicate.
Elements of Art

Color: Color is the visual perception seen

by the human eye. The modern color
wheel is designed to explain how color is
arraigned and how colors interact with
each other. In the center of the color
wheel, are the three primary colors: red,
yellow, and blue.
Elements of Art
The second circle is the secondary colors,
which are the two primary colors mixed.
Red and blue mixed together form purple,
red, and yellow, form orange, and blue and
yellow, create green. The outer circle is the
tertiary colors, the mixture of a primary
color with an adjacent secondary color.
Color contains characteristics, including hue,
value, and saturation. Primary hues are also the
primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. When two
primary hues are mixed, they produce secondary
hues, which are also the secondary colors:
orange, violet, and green.
When two colors are combined, they
create secondary hues, creating
additional secondary hues such as
yellow-orange, red-violet, blue-green,
blue-violet, yellow-green, and red-
orange.
Elements of Art
Value in art is essentially how light or
dark something is on a scale of white
to black (with white being the highest
value and black being the lowest value). It
is widely considered to be one of the most
important variables to the success of a
painting, even more so than your selection
of color (hue).
Saturation: the intensity of color, and when the
color is fully saturated, the color is the purest
form or most authentic version. The primary
colors are the three fully saturated colors as they
are in the purest form. As the saturation
decreases, the color begins to look washed out
when white or black is added. When a color is
bright, it is considered at its highest intensity.
Elements of Art
Form: Form gives shape to a piece of art,
whether it is the constraints of a line in a
painting or the edge of the sculpture. The
shape can be two-dimensional, three-
dimensional restricted to height and weight,
or it can be free-flowing. The form also is the
expression of all the formal elements of art
in a piece of work.
Elements of Art
Line: A line in art is primarily a dot or series of dots.
The dots form a line, which can vary in thickness,
color, and shape. A line is a two-dimensional shape
unless the artist gives it volume or mass. If an artist
uses multiple lines, it develops into a drawing more
recognizable than a line creating a form resembling
the outside of its shape. Lines can also be implied as
in an action of the hand pointing up, the viewer's
eyes continue upwards without even a real line.
Elements of Art
Shape: The shape of the artwork can have
many meanings. The shape is defined as
having some sort of outline or boundary,
whether the shape is two or three
dimensional. The shape can be geometric
(known shape) or organic (free form shape).
Space and shape go together in most
artworks.
Elements of Art
Space: Space is the area around the focal point of
the art piece and might be positive or negative,
shallow or deep, open, or closed. Space is the area
around the art form; in the case of a building, it is
the area behind, over, inside, or next to the
structure. The space around a structure or other
artwork gives the object its shape. The children are
spread across the picture, creating space between
each of them, the figures become unique.
Elements of Art
Texture refers to the surface quality in a
work of art. ... Some things feel just as
they appear; this is called real or actual
texture. Some things look like they are rough
but are actually smooth. Texture that is
created to look like something it is not, is
called visual or implied texture.