Visual Elements in Art

Visual Elements in Art

• Visual elements are the building blocks of composition for various art forms (drawing, painting, sculpture, design).
• The key elements are: Line, Shape, Tone, Colour, Pattern, Texture, and Form.
• These elements interact and relate to each other to create the overall effect of an artwork.
• Most images start as line drawings.

Line

• Lines are fundamental to drawing.
• Lines can be used to suggest shape, pattern, form, structure, growth, depth, distance, rhythm, movement, and a wide range of emotions.
• Different types of lines evoke different psychological responses:
  • Curved lines - comfort and ease
  • Horizontal lines - distance and calm
  • Vertical lines - height and strength
  • Jagged lines - turmoil and anxiety
• The way a line is drawn influences its expressive quality:
  • Freehand lines - personal energy and mood
  • Mechanical lines - rigid control
  • Continuous lines - lead the eye
  • Broken lines - ephemeral or insubstantial
  • Thick lines - strength
  • Thin lines - delicacy

Shape

• Shapes can be natural or man-made, regular or irregular, flat (2D) or solid (3D), representational or abstract, geometric or organic, transparent or opaque, positive or negative, decorative or symbolic, colored, patterned, or textured.
• Shapes evoke psychological responses similar to lines:
  • Curved lines - comfort and ease
  • Horizontal lines - distance and calm
  • Vertical lines - height and strength
  • Jagged lines - turmoil and anxiety
• The angles and curves of shapes appear to change depending on the viewpoint (perspective drawing).
• Shapes can control feelings in an artwork:
  • Squares/Rectangles - strength and stability
  • Circles/Ellipses - continuous movement
  • Triangles - upward movement
  • Inverted Triangles - imbalance and tension

Tone

• Tone refers to the lightness or darkness of a color.
• Tone values in a work of art can be adjusted to alter the expressive character of the artwork.
• Tone can be used to:
  • Create a contrast of light and dark
  • Create the illusion of form
  • Create a dramatic or tranquil atmosphere
  • Create a sense of depth and distance
  • Create a rhythm or pattern in a composition

Colour

• Colour is the visual element with the strongest effect on emotions.
• It's used to create mood or atmosphere in a work of art.
• Colour can be used in various ways:
  • As light
  • As tone
  • As pattern
  • As form
  • As a symbol
  • As movement
  • As harmony
  • As contrast
  • As mood

Pattern

• Pattern is created by repeating or echoing elements to communicate balance, harmony, contrast, rhythm, or movement.
• Patterns can be:
  • Natural (e.g., leaf shapes, branches of a tree)
  • Man-made (e.g., structural or decorative patterns)
  • Regular or irregular
  • Organic or geometric
  • Structural or decorative
  • Positive or negative
  • Repeating or random

Texture

• Texture is the surface quality (roughness or smoothness) of an artwork's material.
• Textures can be experienced optically (through sight) or physically (through touch).
• Optical Texture - An artist uses skillful techniques to create an illusion of texture.
• Physical Texture - Artists may use expressive brushstrokes or the natural texture of materials to create texture.
  • Examples include the grain of wood, grittiness of sand, flaking of rust, coarseness of cloth, and the smear of paint.
• Ephemeral Texture - This category includes fleeting, changing textures like clouds, smoke, flames, bubbles, and liquids.

Form

• Form is the physical volume of a shape and the space it occupies.
• Form can be:
  • Representational or abstract
  • Refer to 3D objects but also to the illusion of 3D on a 2D surface
• 3D forms can be:
  • Modelled (added)
  • Carved (subtracted)
  • Constructed (built)
  • Made from a variety of materials (clay, wax, plaster, wood, stone, concrete, cast metal, plastics, resins, glass, mixed media)
  • Can be kinetic, involving natural, mechanical, and electronic means (including more recent CAD processes, such as 3D printing)
• 2D forms create an illusion of 3D using techniques like perspective drawing.