Art Elements
There are five art elements:
Color
Line
Shape
Space
Texture
Color
Color has three qualities:
- Hue - the name of a color (red, yellow, blue, etc.)
- Value - the lightness or darkness of a color
- Tint = hue + white
- Shade = hue + black
- Intensity - the brightness or dullness of a color; the strength of a color
Colors can be related to each other in
the form of a wheel.
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The PRIMARY colors are:
red, yellow, blue
The SECONDARY colors are produced by mixing two primary colors and are:
orange, green, violet
The INTERMEDIATE colors are produced by mixing two adjacent (secondary + primary) colors
The NEUTRAL colors are:
black, white, gray |
Complementary Colors
Complementary colors
are opposite each other on the color wheel. For example, violet is the complementary color of yellow, green is the complementary color of red, and blue is the complementary color of orange.
When mixing paint, addition of the complementary colors dulls the color.
Complementary colors placed adjacent to each other intensify the colors.
Warm and Cool Colors
Red-violet, red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, yellow, and yellow-green are warm colors. They seem to come toward us or advance. Blue-violet, blue, and blue-green are cool colors. They seem to reced. Green and violet are usually considered between warm and cool. Depending on the particular value and intensity, they can be either warm or cool.
Line
Line can establish movement, direction, and contour.
Horizontal Line gives a quiet, restful feeling
Vertical line gives a feeling of strength
Diagonal line usually denotes action
Lines can:
- Be of even or varied thickness
- Express a variety of personalities
- quick
- slow
- still
- nervous
- calm
- rigid
- Suggest the presence of
- mass
- texture
- light/shadow
- Emphsize form
- Create mood
Shape
Shape is an area defined by color, contrast, line, and/or texture. Shapes can be geometric, amorphous (free-form), etc.
A shape can have personality as influced by: the lines that create it or the overall shape itself. For example, shapes with vertical and horizontal edges appear rigid and tense. Shapes with fuzzy, indistint edges appear soft or relaxed. Shapes with soft curves appear flowing or imply movement, and shapes that overlap with other shapes create energy, tension, or rhythm, depending on how they overlap.
Space
The feeling of space in a drawing or painting is always an illusion. Artists combine the use of light and dark value with other techniques to create space. How an artist uses space or chooses NOT to use space adds a great deal to a work of art.
Space can be two-dimensional or three dimensional. A space can be positive or negative.
Two-dimensional
- the area (canvas, paper, etc.) on which an artist works.
- the illusion of depth or distance created by the artist through the use of the art elements.
Positive Space
- the space occupied by the object
Negative Space
- the space created by and surrounding the positive space
Three-dimensional artworks create their own space
Texture
Texture refers to the surface quality or "feel" of an object - smooth, rough, slick, soft, etc. Textures may be actual (felt with touch - tactile) or implied (suggested by the way an artist has created the work of art -visual).
