Elements of Art

• By the end of this lesson students should be able to:
  • Analyze the various elements present in visual, auditory, and combined arts
  • Determine dominant elements used in hybrid/modified art expressions
  • Determine the factors influencing artists such as distortion, appropriation in an experimental or hybrid art expression

Elements of Art

• Line
• Colour
• Texture
• Perspective
• Space
• Form
• Volume
• Light and shadow

Line

• Line is an important element for every artist
• Artists use lines in paintings or sculptures to represent figures and forms
• Lines always have direction and movement
• Lines in art can be straight or curved.

Different Types of Lines

• Horizontal lines are lines of repose and serenity
  • They express ideas of calmness and quiescence
  • They are called "sleeping straight lines"
• Vertical lines denote actions
  • They suggest poise, balance, force, aspiration, exaltation, and dynamism
  • They are called "standing straight lines"
• Diagonal lines suggest actions, life, and movement
  • They give animation to any composition
• Curved lines suggest grace, subtleness, direction, instability, movement, flexibility, joyousness, and grace
  • They are never harsh because they change gradually in direction
  • Called "bent lines"
• Crooked or jagged lines express energy, violence, and struggle
  • Classified into three groups: lines which follow or repeat one another, lines which contrast with one another, and transitional lines which modify/soften the effects of others

Color

• Color has the most aesthetic appeal and is a universal human characteristic
• Color is a property of light
• Color has three dimensions: hue, value, and intensity

Hue

• Hue is the dimension of color that gives color its name, such as red, blue, green, violet, and yellow
• Primary hues: Blue, red, and yellow
• Secondary hues:
  • Red + Yellow = Orange
  • Yellow + Blue = Green
  • Blue + Red = Violet

Value

• Value, sometimes called chairoscuro, to the lightness or darkness of a color
  • It gives expression of depth and solidity
• Tints are values above the normal and shades are values below the normal
  • Pink is a tint of red
  • Maroon is a shade of red
  • Sky blue is a tint of blue
  • Navy blue is a shade of blue

Intensity

• Intensity refers to its brightness or darkness and gives color strength
• Difference in intensity can be described as: full intensity, two-thirds intensity, or two-thirds neutral

Kinds of Color Harmonies

• Related Color Harmonies(RCM)
  • May be either monochromatic or adjacent
  • Monochromatic harmony is made up of several tones of one hue
  • It is the simplest and easiest to use, because different tones of the same hue have something in common
  • Two or three neighboring hues on the color are used together
• Contrasted Color Harmonies(CCM)
  • Lie directly opposite to each other in the color circle, also known as complementary colors
  • Red and green, orange and blue, and violet and yellow are complementary colors
  • They contrast each other strongly, therefore they're more difficult to use harmoniously than RCM

Texture

• Texture is an element that deals more directly with the sense of touch
• It relates to the characteristics of surfaces which can be rough or smooth, fine, or coarse, shiny or dull, plain or irregular
• Texture is best appreciated when an object is felt with the hands