The Visual Elements of line, shape, tone, color, pattern, texture and form are the building blocks of composition in art. When we analyse any drawing, painting, sculpture or design, we examine these component parts to see how they combine to create the overall effect of the artwork.
The Visual Elements have a relationship to one another:
- Most images begin their life as line drawings.
- Lines cross over one another to form shapes.
- Shapes can be filled with tone and color, or repeated to create pattern.
- A shape may be rendered with a rough surface to create a texture.
- A shape may be projected into three dimensions to create form.
Each of the elements may also be used individually to stress their own particular character in an artwork. Different elements can express qualities such as movement and rhythm, space and depth, growth and structure, harmony and contrast, noise and calm and a wide range of emotions that make up the subjects of great art.
THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - LINE
Line is the foundation of all drawing. It is the first and most versatile of the visual elements of art. Line in an artwork can be used in many different ways. It can be used to suggest shape, pattern, form, structure, growth, depth, distance, rhythm, movement and a range of emotions.
We have a psychological response to different types of lines:
- Curved lines suggest comfort and ease
- Horizontal lines suggest distance and calm
- Vertical lines suggest height and strength
- Jagged lines suggest turmoil and anxiety
The way we draw a line can convey different expressive qualities:
- Freehand lines can express the personal energy and mood of the artist
- Mechanical lines can express a rigid control
- Continuous lines can lead the eye in certain directions
- Broken lines can express the ephemeral or the insubstantial
- Thick lines can express strength
- Thin lines can express delicacy
EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF LINE IN ART
Line
THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - SHAPE
Shape can be natural or man-made, regular or irregular, flat (2-dimensional) or solid (3-dimensional), representational or abstract, geometric or organic, transparent or opaque, positive or negative, decorative or symbolic, colored, patterned or textured.
The Perspective of Shapes: The angles and curves of shapes appear to change depending on our viewpoint. The technique we use to describe this change is called perspective drawing.
The Behaviour of Shapes: Shapes can be used to control your feelings in the composition of an artwork:
- Squares and Rectangles can portray strength and stability
- Circles and Ellipses can represent continuous movement
- Triangles can lead the eye in an upward movement
- Inverted Triangles can create a sense of imbalance and tension
EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF SHAPE IN ART
Shape
THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - TONE
Tone is the lightness or darkness of a color. The tonal values of an artwork can be adjusted to alter its expressive character.
Tone can be used:
- to create a contrast of light and dark.
- to create the illusion of form.
- to create a dramatic or tranquil atmosphere.
- to create a sense of depth and distance.
- to create a rhythm or pattern within a composition.
EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF TONE IN ART
Tone
THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - COLOR
Color is the visual element that has the strongest effect on our emotions. We use color to create the mood or atmosphere of an artwork.
There are many different approaches to the use of color:
- Color as light
- Color as tone
- Color as pattern
- Color as form
- Color as symbol
- Color as movement
- Color as harmony
- Color as contrast
- Color as mood
EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF COLOR IN ART
Color
THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - PATTERN
Pattern is made by repeating or echoing the elements of an artwork to communicate a sense of balance, harmony, contrast, rhythm or movement.
There are two basic types of pattern in art: Natural Pattern and Man-Made Pattern. Both natural and man-made patterns can be regular or irregular, organic or geometric, structural or decorative, positive or negative and repeating or random.
Natural Pattern: Pattern in art is often based on the inspiration we get from observing the natural patterns that occur in nature. We can see these in the shape of a leaf and the branches of a tree, the structure of a crystal, the spiral of a shell, the symmetry of a snowflake and the camouflage and signalling patterns on animals, fish and insects.
Man-Made Pattern: Pattern in art is used for both structural and decorative purposes. For example, an artist may plan the basic structure of an artwork by creating a compositional pattern of lines and shapes. Within that composition he/she may develop its visual elements to create a more decorative pattern of color, tone and texture across the work.
EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF PATTERN IN ART
Pattern
THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - TEXTURE
Texture is the surface quality of an artwork - the roughness or smoothness of the material from which it is made.
We experience texture in two ways: optically (through sight) and physically (through touch).
Optical Texture: An artist may use his/her skillful painting technique to create the illusion of texture. For example, in the detail from a traditional Dutch still life above you can see remarkable verisimilitude (the appearance of being real) in the painted insects and drops of moisture on the silky surface of the flower petals.
Physical Texture: An artist may paint with expressive brushstrokes whose texture conveys the physical and emotional energy of both the artist and his/her subject. They may also use the natural texture of their materials to suggest their own unique qualities such as the grain of wood, the grittiness of sand, the flaking of rust, the coarseness of cloth and the smear of paint.
Ephemeral Texture: This is a third category of textures whose fleeting forms are subject to change like clouds, smoke, flames, bubbles and liquids.
EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF TEXTURE IN ART
THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - FORM
- Form is the physical volume of a shape and the space that it occupies.
- Form can be representational or abstract.
- Form generally refers to sculpture, 3D design and architecture but may also relate to the illusion of 3D on a 2D surface.
Three-Dimensional Form can be modelled (added form), carved (subtracted form) and constructed (built form). It can be created from sculptural materials like clay, wax, plaster, wood, stone, concrete, cast and constructed metal, plastics, resins, glass and mixed media. It may also be kinetic, involving light and movement generated by natural, mechanical and electronic means. More recently the CAD process of 3D printing has be been added to the list of sculptural processes.
Two-Dimensional Form constructs the illusion of 3D in 2D media by a skilful manipulation of the visual elements. Perspective drawing, trompe l'oeil , 3D computer graphics programs and holograms are examples of 2D form.
EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF FORM IN ART
Form
Principles of design
| BALANCE Balance in design is similar to balance in physics  A large shape close to the center can be balanced by a small shape close to the edge. A large light toned shape will be balanced by a small dark toned shape (the darker the shape the heavier it appears to be) GRADATION Gradation of size and direction produce linear perspective. Gradation of of colour from warm to cool and tone from dark to light produce aerial perspective. Gradation can add interest and movement to a shape. A gradation from dark to light will cause the eye to move along a shape.  REPETITION Repetition with variation is interesting, without variation repetition can become monotonous.  The five squares above are all the same. They can be taken in and understood with a single glance.  When variation is introduced, the five squares, although similar, are much more interesting to look at. They can no longer be absorbed properly with a single glance. The individual character of each square needs to be considered. If you wish to create interest, any repeating element should include a degree of variation. CONTRAST Contrast is the juxtaposition of opposing elements eg. opposite colours on the colour wheel - red / green, blue / orange etc. Contrast in tone or value - light / dark. Contrast in direction - horizontal / vertical. The major contrast in a painting should be located at the center of interest. Too much contrast scattered throughout a painting can destroy unity and make a work difficult to look at. Unless a feeling of chaos and confusion are what you are seeking, it is a good idea to carefully consider where to place your areas of maximum contrast. HARMONY Harmony in painting is the visually satisfying effect of combining similar, related elements. eg.adjacent colours on the colour wheel, similar shapes etc. DOMINANCE Dominance gives a painting interest, counteracting confusion and monotony. Dominance can be applied to one or more of the elements to give emphasis  UNITY Relating the design elements to the the idea being expressed in a painting reinforces the principal of unity.eg. a painting with an active aggressive subject would work better with a dominant oblique direction, course, rough texture, angular lines etc. whereas a quiet passive subject would benefit from horizontal lines, soft texture and less tonal contrast. Unity in a painting also refers to the visual linking of various elements of the work.  | |
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