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Understand the purpose of the elements and principles of art and design. See a list of elements and principles of art and learn how to identify them using examples.Updated: 11/21/2023
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Elements, Principles, and You
In ''The Basic Elements & Principles of Art'' lesson, you learned about the seven basic elements and the ten basic principles of visual art. Now it's your turn to apply your new knowledge using the activities below.
Write Your Own Definitions
Explaining what you've learned in your own words is an effective way to retain that information in your brain in the long run. This lesson introduced you to a lot of new vocabulary words. In a paragraph, explain the purpose of the elements and principles of art in your own words. For example:
- Why are they important?
- How do they help us to understand art?
Research an Artist
Choose any visual artist whose work you enjoy. Pick one or more pieces of art that they created. In a descriptive list, a paragraph, or an essay, examine how those pieces embody the elements and principles of art. For instance:
- Are some principles and elements more obvious in the work than others?
- Which ones does the artist use most effectively?
- How does all of this come together to create unity?
Create Your Own Work of Art
You know the principles. You know the elements. You've done the research. Now it's time to put your skills to the test. Using the visual medium of your choice, create a work of art. Allow the basic principles and elements of art to guide you and influence your style. Think about creating unity in your work. Which artists inspired this particular work of art? Write an artistic statement to go along with your work.
What are the seven elements and the eight principles of design?
The 7 elements of art are shape, space, texture, form, color, line, and value, and the 8 principles of art are balance, unity, variety/repetition, perspective, proportion, harmony, emphasis, and rhythm/movement.
What are the elements and principles of art?
The elements and principles of art are the tools that artists use to create art and the ways in which they use them. They can be found in all pieces of art.
Table of Contents
- What Are the Elements and Principles of Art?
- Understanding the Elements and Principles of Art
- Lesson Summary
Artists use many tools to get their jobs done- paintbrushes, pens, pencils, easels, canvas, etc.- but what most people don't see are the principles and elements that guide the use of these tools. If pencils and paintbrushes are the tools of art, then the principles and elements are how one uses these tools. They give artists structure and balance, which is key to creating a beautiful art piece. So, what are the elements and principles of art? There are seven main elements and eight main principles that guide all art forms. The elements are shape, space, texture, form, color, line, and value. The principles are balance, unity, variety/repetition, perspective, proportion, harmony, emphasis, and rhythm/movement. All art uses some blend of many or all of these aspects in order to be pleasing to the eye or to communicate its message. For example, Grant Wood's Fall Plowing uses a blend of color, repetition, line, shape and balance to bring his piece to life. He uses bold greens, yellows and reds, hard, flowing crop lines, and repetition of fun shapes to guide the viewer's eye over what seems to be a fairly serene scene of a freshly plowed field.
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One may notice that the elements and principles of art are fairly general, non-specific terms. This is on purpose. Each of the elements and principles have the capacity to be broken down into several smaller, more specific terms to give the artist more options and freedom to use each of the elements and principles as they see fit or as they fit into the piece of artwork. Texture, for example, could be referring to the type of canvas used, different painting techniques, or even different materials used. It can be in reference to any form of change to touch that affects the reception of the painting. Proportion could be in reference to how big a house looks against a horizon on a landscape piece or how big a nose is on a portrait. A good example of how proportion can be used effectively is Joseph Keppler's Thanksgiving- a Study in Proportion. In this piece, Keppler creates a cognitive dissonance for the viewer by painting every-day objects such as a turkey and golf clubs to be much bigger than a church that is sitting nearby. He blows up the proportions of these things to make a whimsical image and perhaps to illustrate a point on consumerism.
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What makes the elements and principles so important is that they act as a guide and as a tool for artists to create effective and memorable art. They can be used and bent as needed, but these things can be found in all art, no matter the material used or the genre or if it is basic art or professional.
Elements of Art
The elements of art reference the mental tools that artists have at their disposal to create art. For a more detailed breakdown, reference the graph below.
Element | Breakdown and Example |
---|---|
Color | Color refers to all solid and mixed colors used in a piece. This can be in reference to shade, intensity or the hue. The intensity can mean that a piece may use faded, darker colors or prominent, bright colors. The hue is the color or mix of colors itself. Some argue that value, meaning the use of shadow and black and white to darken or lighten is also an aspect of color, but most argue that it is its own element. An example of an artist using color effectively would be "Red" by Mark Rothko. In this piece, he uses different hues and intensities of red to elicit a feeling in the viewer. |
Form | Form is in reference to the height, width, and depth of a particular object. It makes a two-dimensional object appear three-dimensional. It can be strict and cubical, or free-flowing. Henry Moore's sculptures are a great example of effective use of form. |
Line | Any mark made on a paper is a line. Lines can be straight, curvy, long, or short. Sometimes, such as in the case of cross-hatching, lines are used to create value, but generally it is used to outline and create form. One of the most famous examples of the use of line is Richard Long's "A Line Made by Walking". In this living sculpture, Long created a line in a field by walking on it to show continuity and how we interact with the world around us. |
Shape | Usually enclosed, shape refers to the two-dimensional use of geometrical shapes to create art. Henri Matisse's "The Snail" is a great example of use of shape. He uses blocky pieces of colored paper to create an interesting collage that relies on the way the shapes and colors are placed next to each other to reach full effect. |
Space | Space references a piece's use of positive and negative space. This means the space that is uses (positive space) and the space that is left alone to create emphasis (negative space). A piece that famously uses a lot of negative space to create a sense of despair is "Monk by the Sea" by Caspar Friedrich. |
Texture | Texture is how a piece feels or appears to feel if touched. Esther Orloff's "Creating Bliss" offers a unique example of how certain painting techniques are used to create the texture of a feather. |
Value | Value is the use of shadow to create depth or dimension. Usually, it is created by either adding black or white to a color. A good example of value is Joseph Albers' "Homage to the Square" where he uses color to create value. |
Principles of Art
If the elements are the tools used, the principles of art reference the way the tools are used to create a piece. Refer to the graph below for a better breakdown of each principle.
Principle | Breakdown and Example |
---|---|
Balance | Balance is used to create an equilibrium in art and to give it a sense of gravity. A piece could be symmetrical, meaning the main aspect of the piece is centered, asymmetrical, meaning it is skewed either left or right, or radial, meaning the piece seems to radiate out from the center. An example of balance is Cimabue's "Santa Trinita Maesta" which uses centered symmetry to create balance. |
Harmony | This references when all aspects of art come together in a unified, harmonious manner. There is no chaos, but in order to achieve this, a piece cannot be monotonous either. For example, Picasso's "The Old Guitarist" used cool blue tones to create harmony amongst the differing shapes and values. |
Perspective | Perspective in art references the direction at which a painter comes at a certain subject and the direction in which the viewer views it from. Henry Moore plays with perspective in his piece "Tube Shelter Perspective" in which he paints it as if he were actually looking down the tube. |
Variety/Repetition | Variety and repetition references how much or how little certain aspects are used and reused in a piece. Variety could mean that there are many different, changed aspects while repetition means that the artist may use one aspect over and over usually in the form of a pattern to create effect. Andy Warhol is famed for using repetition in his piece "Marilyn Monroe." |
Proportion | Proportion references how big or small something is portrayed comparatively. This can be in reference to creating correct facial sizes or painting a man next to a church so that he is the correct size. |
Emphasis | Emphasis means using one of the elements of art to draw your eye to a particular spot or to create importance. In John Singer's "A Parisian Beggar Girl", he uses the red color of her blood to create emphasis, as the rest of the painting is black and white, or muted. |
Rhythm/Movement | Rhythm and movement in art are meant to give your eye a clear path to follow. A good piece is said to have good, clear movement that would allow you to take in all of a piece fluidly. Martin Puryear's sculpture "A Ladder for Booker T. Washington" is a perfect example of how an artist uses lines to create movement. |
Unity | Unity is using all of the principles at once to create a unified piece. "Galconde" by Magritte is a good example of how an artist may attempt to do this. |
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