The Elements of Art - leesclassblog.weebly.comleesclassblog.weebly.com/.../elements_of_art.pdf · © Art with Mrs. Nguyen THE ELEMENTS OF ART the building blocks of art

© Art with Mrs. Nguyen

THE ELEMENTS OF ARTthe building blocks of art


WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF ART?

The elements of art are the building blocks that we use to create pieces of artwork.

They are:

• Color

• Value

• Line

• Shape

• Form

• Texture

• Space


COLORThe element produced by light reflecting off

of objects.


There are three properties of colour:

1. Hue (the name of the colour- blue, yellow, etc.)

2. Value (the lightness or darkness of the colour)

3. Intensity (how bright or dull the colour is)

PROPERTIES OF COLOR


The colourwheel is a tool artists use to help them identify the relationships

between different colours.

THE COLOR WHEEL


This colourwheel is

organized with the primary

colours in the middle, then

the secondary colours they create when mixed, and

then finally all the coloursarranged.

THE COLOR WHEEL


THE PRIMARY COLORS

The three primary colours are:

• Red

• Yellow

• Blue

These three colourscan be mixed

together in different

combinations to create other

colours.


MIXING SECONDARY COLORS

YellowRed

Orange

+PRIMARY

COLORS

SECONDARY

COLOR

Magical Color

Mixing Bowl



BlueRed

Purple (Violet)

+PRIMARY

COLORS

SECONDARY

COLOR

Magical Color

Mixing Bowl



YellowBlue

Green

+PRIMARY

COLORS

SECONDARY

COLOR

Magical Color

Mixing Bowl


SECONDARY COLORS


Yellow

Green

Blue

Purple

Red

Orange

Blue

Red

Yellow

SECONDARY COLORS


PRIMARY AND SECONDARY COLORS

This colour wheel still has a bunch of

blank spots. That is because it is missing

the intermediate/tertiary

colours. Those are the colours that are created when you

mix a primary colourwith a secondary

colour.


TERTIARY/INTERMEDIATE COLORS


MIXING TERTIARY COLORS

GreenBlue

Blue-Green

+PRIMARY

COLOR

TERTIARY

COLOR

Magical Color

Mixing Bowl

SECONDARY

COLOR



VioletBlue

Blue-Violet

+PRIMARY

COLOR

TERTIARY

COLOR

Magical Color

Mixing Bowl

SECONDARY

COLOR



VioletRed

Red-Violet

+PRIMARY

COLOR

TERTIARY

COLOR

Magical Color

Mixing Bowl

SECONDARY

COLOR



OrangeRed

Red-Orange

+PRIMARY

COLOR

TERTIARY

COLOR

Magical Color

Mixing Bowl

SECONDARY

COLOR



OrangeYellow

Yellow-Orange

+PRIMARY

COLOR

TERTIARY

COLOR

Magical Color

Mixing Bowl

SECONDARY

COLOR



GreenYellow

Yellow-Green

+PRIMARY

COLOR

TERTIARY

COLOR

Magical Color

Mixing Bowl

SECONDARY

COLOR


Yellow

Green

Blue

Purple

Red

Orange

Blue

Red

Yellow

TERTIARY COLORS


COLOR SCHEMES

Color schemes are sets of colours

that are specifically

chosen from the colour wheel to create certain

effects in pieces of art.


COLOR SCHEMES

The following are examples of colour schemes that are very common:

Primary

Secondary

CoolWarm

Complementary

Analogous

Monochromatic

Neutral


PRIMARY COLORS

The primary colours are red, yellow, and blue. If you mix sets of primary colours, you can create secondary colours!

+

+

+

=

=

=


SECONDARY COLORS

The secondary colours are orange, purple, and green. You can make these colours by mixing sets of primarycolours!

+

+

+

=

=

=


ANALOGOUS COLORS

Analogous colour schemes are made up of colours that sit next to each other on the colour wheel. These colours flow well together because they are closely related (sharing at least one colour in common with another). Analogous coloursare pleasant and harmonious.


COMPLEMENTARY COLORS

Complementary colours sit across from each other on the colour wheel. They are considered “opposites” and create a lot of contrast when they are placed next to each other. That means they look brighter and sharp!


WARM COLORS

The warm colours are the hues red, orange, yellow, and all the colours in between. Warm colours are vivid and energetic and tend to advance in space.


COOL COLORS

The cool colours are the hues purple, blue, green, and all the colours in between. Cool colours are very laid back, calm, and appear to recede in space.


MONOCHROMATIC COLORS

Monochromatic simply just means “one colour.” A monochromatic colour scheme is made up of tints, shades, and variations of the same hue.


NEUTRAL COLORS

Neutral colours don’t appear on the colour wheel. They are white, black, gray, and sometimes brown. These colours are very muted and earthy. They are not bright and exciting.

?Pablo Picasso, “Still Life with a Bottle of Rum” (1911)


COMMON COLOR SCHEMES

PRIMARY SECONDARY

COOL

WARM

COMPLEMENTARY

ANALOGOUS

MONOCHROMATIC

NEUTRAL

Red, Blue, and Yellow Purple, Orange, and Green

Colors that sit across from each other on the colour wheel (blue/orange, red/green,

purple/yellow).

RED, ORANGE, AND YELLOW White, Black, Gray, and Brown

Purple, Blue, and Green

Variations of the same hue.

Colors that sit next to each other on

the colour wheel.


EXPRESSIVE COLOR

Color isn’t always used realistically in artwork. Sometimes artists use colourssymbolically to help get an idea, feeling, or mood across to their viewer.

What mood or feeling do you think Pablo Picasso was trying to convey by using this much blue?

Pablo Picasso, “Woman with Bangs” (1902)


Expressive Color

Do you think famous painter Franz Marc thought horses were really blue? Or was he trying to tell us something else?

Franz Marc, “Blue Horses” (1911)


EXPRESSIVE COLOR

Colors can have more than one meaning, so when deciding what the artist/designer was intending for it to imply, you should always look for more context clues!

Is this sign supposed to imply happiness at the idea of slipping and falling?


Red

+Love

Power

Strength

Passion

-Anger

Danger

Warning

Orange

+Courage

Confidence

Friendliness

Success

-Ignorance

Sluggishness

Loud

Yellow

+Bright

Energy

Happy

Creativity

-Irresponsible

Caution

Cowardice

Green

+Growth

Fertility

Freshness

Healing

-Envy

Jealousy

Guilt

Blue

+Peacefulness

Trust

Security

Sincerity

-Sadness

Coldness

Fear

Purple

+Royalty

Luxury

Ambition

Wisdom

-Mystery

Moodiness

Aloof

White

+Innocence

Purity

Clean

Simplicity

-Emptiness

Cold

Clinical

Black

+Sophisticated

Dramatic

Formal

Classy

-Death

Evil

Depression


VALUEThe lightness or darkness of a colour.


WHAT IS VALUE?

Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a colour.


Paint chips show a range of colours and values!


VALUE

When you add white to a colour,

it creates a tint.

+ =


+ =

VALUE

When you add black to a colour,

it creates a shade.


VALUE

When you add gray to a colour, it creates a tone.

+ =


Point out an example of a tint.


Point out an example of a shade.



CREATING VALUE

Artists commonly create value scales to help them practice making a full range of values.

Value scales are arranged from lightest to darkest. To create a value scale with a pencil, you need to control the amount of pressure you use.

This value scale has 8 steps.


2D shape

(circle)

3D form

(sphere)

Value can be used to make objects look more

three-dimensional. Notice how the use of

highlights (tints) and shadows (shades) can

make this circle look like a sphere?


12

3

45

This picture breaks

down the different

values used to

make the sphere

look round.

Tip: Blending values is

extremely important to make something look

more realistic.

1

2

3

4

5

USING VALUE TO CREATE FORM


CREATING VALUE

Value can also be created by using techniques other than shading, like stippling, hatching, and cross-hatching.

Stippling

Hatching &

Cross Hatching


CREATING VALUE

The images below demonstrate how hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling can be used to create value.

StipplingCross-hatchingHatching


LINEThe path of a point moving through space.


EXPRESSIVE LINE

Lines can be used expressively in art.

That means that certain lines can be used to create certain moods or effects.


HORIZONTAL LINES

Horizontal lines run from left to

right.

They can be used to convey a

sense of rest and calm.

.If you were drawing a picture of a calm ocean, what kind of line would you use?

Notice how the flag does

not appear to be moving at

all?


VERTICAL LINES

Which tree sounds safer for climbing; one that

stands tall and upright or one that is leaning over?

Many government buildings have

tall vertical columns which help

convey a sense of strength and

power.

Vertical lines run up and

down.


sense of strength and power.


DIAGONAL LINES

If you were drawing a picture of a ball flying

through the air, what would you draw behind it to

make it look like it’s moving?

Wassily Kandinsky really created a

sense of movement and instability in

this painting. Everything looks like its

in motion.

Diagonal lines run a

combination of up and down

and left and right all at the

same time.

They can be used to convey

or movement and instability.


WAVY LINES

When drawing a picture of

flowing water, what kind of

line would you use?

This artwork created by Bridget

Riley actually looks like it’s

moving! That is the power of

wavy lines and contrast!

Wavy lines gently alternate

directions

(up, down, left, right).


sense of soothing movement or

energy.


SPIRAL LINES

If you were drawing a

picture of a windy day,

what type of line could

you use?

In the painting “Starry Night,” Van

Gogh creates the illusion of

movement in the sky by spiral

lines. It almost looks like the wind is

blowing.

Spiral lines move in an

increasingly larger and larger

circular motion.

They can be used to convey

a sense of hypnotizing

movement and relaxation.


ZIG-ZAG LINES

If you were drawing a picture

of a saw, what kind of line

would you use to draw the

blade?

Zig-zag lines sharply

alternate between moving

up and down.

They can be used to

convey a sense of tension or

pain.

The zig-zag lines in this piece by

Kandinsky create a tension in the

painting.


BROKEN LINES

Perforated (or broken) lines often appear on paper

forms that are meant to be torn apart.

Where else have you seen a broken line?

Broken lines are used on roadways

to tell drivers that crossing lanes is

permissible.

Broken lines are made up of

consecutive of line

segments.

They can be used to

convey a sense transition,

movement, or temporality.


IDENTIFY THAT LINE

What type of line(s) do you see in the famous artwork below?

Piet Mondrian, “Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow” (1930)


IDENTIFY THAT LINE


Gustave Caillebotte, “Le Pont de L’Europe” (1881-1882)


IDENTIFY THAT LINE


Wassily Kandinsky, “Composition VIII” (1923)


IDENTIFY THAT LINE


Hokusai, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” (1829-1832)


DESCRIPTIVE LINE

Descriptive lines help us to understand what we are seeing. They can define areas, create movement, show form,

etc…

Three types of descriptive lines are:

• Gesture Lines

• Contour Lines

• Cross-Contour Lines


GESTURE LINES

Gesture lines are used in gesture drawings to quickly capture an object’s form and movement.


CONTOUR LINES

Contour lines are also known as outlines. This type of line is used to define the outer edges of an object.


CROSS-CONTOUR LINES

Cross-contour lines are used to describe the form and volume of an object by showing the contours of the surface

of the object.

They help to show objects in three-dimensions.


IDENTIFY THAT LINE


Rembrandt, “Two Women Teaching a Child to Walk” (1635-1637)


IDENTIFY THAT LINE

What type of line(s) do you see in the artwork below?

http://lanenaconeja.blogspot.com/2011/05/epilepsia.html


IDENTIFY THAT LINE


Keith Haring, “Untitled” (1982)


SHAPEA two-dimensional enclosed space with

boundaries defined by other elements of art.


SHAPE

A shape is a two-dimensional enclosed space with boundaries defined by other elements of art (like line, value, colour, etc.). They have a height and a width.

There are two basic types of shapes:

Geometric Shapes and Freeform/Organic Shapes


GEOMETRIC SHAPES

Geometric shapes are regular shapes that can be created with mathematical formulas. These are the shapes that have names that we know like squares,

circles, triangles, hexagons, etc.


FREEFORM SHAPES

Freeform/organic shapes are not defined mathematically. They have irregular contours.


IMPLIED SHAPES

Implied shapes are shapes that are not formally defined but instead suggested.

They can be geometric or freeform.

In this example you can clearly see a triangle being suggested in the middle of these three circles using negative space.


FORMA three-dimensional object that encloses

volume. It has a height, width, and depth.


FORM

A form is a three-dimensional object which encloses volume. It has a height, width, and depth.

There are two different ways we can define forms:

Geometric vs. Organic and Open vs. Closed


GEOMETRIC FORMS

Geometric forms are regular three-dimensional shapes that can be defined mathematically. They

have regular contours.

Triangular

Prism

Cylinder Cube


ORGANIC FORMS

Organic forms are three-dimensional objects without regular contours.

This banana has an organic form.


OPEN FORMS

Open forms are three-dimensional objects

with irregular or broken contours. They have

negative space within its form.

“HOPE”, Robert Indiana (2008)


CLOSED FORMS

Closed forms are three-dimensional objects that are a solid mass.

They do not have negative space within

its contours.

“Portrait of George”,

Constantin Brancusi (1911)


Form

Geometric

Closed

IDENTIFICATION PRACTICE

Is this a shape or form?

If it’s a shape is it geometric or freeform?

If it’s a form is geometric or organic? Open or closed?






Shape

Geometric


Form

Organic

Closed






Shape

Freeform






Form

Organic

Open






TEXTUREThe way that something feels or looks like it

could feel.


WHAT IS TEXTURE?

Texture is an element of art that describes how something feels (or looks like it could feel like).

If you touched the side of a tree

in real life, how would it feel?

• Smooth, soft, fuzzy?

• Rough, bumpy, scratchy?


CREATING TEXTURE

Sometimes it’s easy to add texture to artwork (like in a sculpture)…

But sometimes artists have a

tough job, because they have

to show texture without it really

being there (like in an

illustration)…

How did the

artist make this

monster look

furry?

What type of

lines or shapes

were used?


THERE ARE 2 TYPES OF TEXTURE:Real (tactile) texture

Visual (implied) texture


CREATING REAL TEXTURE

To create real texture, artists can use materials that already have texture, or can apply materials to the surface of their artwork.

In the painting Starry Night,

van Gogh applies his paint

very thickly onto the canvas.

This creates a more textured

three-dimensional look.

This technique is called

impasto.



Collage is another way that

artists can create texture in

their work. A collage is the

type of artwork that is

created when various

materials (like fabrics,

papers, photos, etc.) are

arranged and glued

together onto paper.



Repoussé is a

technique in which

artists use tools to

hammer texture into a

metal surface.

Notice how this artist

uses a lot of different

types of line to create

textures?


CREATING IMPLIED TEXTURE

When creating implied textures, artists rely on the elements of art to help them achieve certain textures.

In this picture the artist uses value to really

create the illusion of

shiny hair.

In this picture the artist uses line to create the illusion of

slime.


CREATING IMPLIED TEXTURE

In this painting by Chuck Close, you can

see how he used value (highlights) to make

the man’s glasses look smooth and glassy.

“Mark”, Chuck Close (1978)


SPACEThe area around, inside, or between shapes

or forms.


POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SPACE

Positive space is the space occupied by an object.

Negative space is the empty space around an object.


POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SPACE

Artists often use the negative space in compositions to create visual interest.

In this image the stacks of paper represent the positive space, while the black background is the negative space.

“Paper Son”

Alberto Morell (2014)


CREATING THE ILLUSION OF SPACE (DEPTH)

The 6 ways to create the illusion of depth in two-dimensional artwork are:

1. Overlapping

2. Scale

3. Placement

4. Detail

5. Color and Value

6. Linear Perspective


OVERLAPPING

Overlapping is when one object partially covers another object. This helps to create the illusion of

depth because space must be present for one three-dimensional object to cover another.


SCALE

Scale refers to the size of one object

in relation to another object. When things are

further away in an artwork, they

typically appear smaller than

something that is closer.


PLACEMENT

Things that are positioned higher up on the page (closer to the horizon line) appear to be further away.

Things that are placed closed to the bottom of the page appear to be closer.


DETAIL

Things that are closer will appear to have more detail than things that are further away.


COLOR AND VALUE

Things that are closer to us look darker and warmer in colour, while things that are further away look lighter

and cooler in colour.

Atmospheric Perspective is a great example of this!


LINEAR PERSPECTIVE

A type of perspective in which the relative size, shape, and position of objects are determined by drawn or imagined lines converging at a point on the horizon.


LAYERS IN ARTWORK

Having a distinct foreground, middle-ground, and background can also help to create the illusion of

depth in an artwork. This is easiest to see in a landscape.

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The Elements of Art - leesclassblog.weebly.comleesclassblog.weebly.com/.../elements_of_art.pdf · © Art with Mrs. Nguyen THE ELEMENTS OF ART the building blocks of art