LESSON 8
Elements of Art
and Principles
of Composition
Works in visual art are
composed of elements
that are the basic ways of
manipulating the material
or medium on a surface or
in space,
while composition is the
arrangement of these
elements across an area,
and how these elements
interact w/ each other.
Elements and Composition
–Serve as a “visual language” that
allows the artists to
communicate to the audience or
elicit a certain effect.
Elements of
Art
The Elements
of Art
The building blocks or
ingredients of art
a. LINE
– An identifiable path that moves from
one point to another. It may be visible
(marked) or implied (gestural). They can
go in any direction, straight, or curved.
– This is the most basic two-dimensional
form.
b. COLOR
– Refers to visible light as it is reflected from
surfaces; the range of colors (spectrum) is
traditionally described as warm (red, yellow,
orange), cool (blue, green), or neutral
(brown, gray).
– One of its aspects is hue, w/c has to do w/
how light waves of various lengths and
rapidity of vibrations bounce off objects and
enter our eyes.
Primary colors:
Blue, yellow, red
Secondary color:
Yellow + red = orange
red + blue = violet
blue + yellow = green
Hues vary in saturation, intensity,
or brilliance.
Brilliant blue + neutral hue (gray) =
hue or blueness does not change; it
just becomes less intense or duller.
Chiaroscuro
- From the Italian word for “light-
dark”, the term originated from the
Renaissance
- Refers to the management of light
and dark tones and/or shading, to
“model” or create illusion of form
and depth.
c. VALUE
– Refers to gradations of tone from light
to dark, w/c can be an aspect of color
as discussed above, but could also
specifically refer to the play of light on
an object or a scene.
VALUE
– In paintings, it is shading, blending and
chiaroscuro or the play of light and dark
that lend the flat surface an illusion of
depth and perspective.
d. TEXTURE
– Refers to how objects and surfaces feel,
and is most associated w/ the sense of
touch or tactility.
– smooth, translucent, fine, silky, satiny,
velvety, sandy, furry, feathery, slimy,
gritty, rough, rugged, coarse, porous,
irregular, jagged, thick, thin
e. SHAPE
– Three-dimensional shapes possesses
length, width and volume.
– Can either be geometric (rectilinear or
curvilinear), biomorphic, or free
inventions.
SHAPE
– Refers to forms that are two-
dimensional or three-dimensional.
– Two-dimensional shapes exists as
planes having length and width.
f. COMPOSITION IN SPACE
– Refers to structure or the manner the
artist uses or arranges elements of the
artwork in an area, and how these
components relate to each other.
– Is rooted to the physiological and
psychological factors in visual
perception and cognition.
g. MOVEMENT
– May occur in two-dimensional design as
rhythm or through the recurrence of
motifs, their alternation or progression
unfolding in a series.
– Very much related to line, and the
direction of the eye.
PRINCIPLES OF
COMPOSITION
1. Representational
- A category of art that possesses or
represent existing forms and are
identifiable as the shapes they stand for.
The rendering can be realistic or stylized.
1. Representational
- Intending to depict the world as
accurately as possible.
Ex. Portraits – approximate skin tone and
color
Landscape and still life – depict actual
conditions of the environment through
shading, play of light and dark, or
Chiaroscuro
2. Non-representational
- A category of art that uses forms that do
not stand for extant objects, or are
rendered in a way that they are not
identifiable with its basis.
2. Non-representational
3. Figurative
Representational art that includes
human or human-like forms.
3. Figurative
3. Non-Figurative
Representational art that excludes human
forms.
Example:
Islamic art – employs non-figurative
representation since the depiction of
human forms is forbidden by their dogma.
3. Non-Figurative
-commonly utilizes geometric shapes, plant
forms, and calligraphic techniques in their
repertoire.
4. Expressionist
- An artistic style that reflects the inner
emotional and/or psychological state of
the creator – particularly of angst –
instead of relying in naturalistic
techniques, regardless of the subject.
4. Expressionist
5. Abstract
- An artistic style that does not rely on
representation for its imagery but uses
elements of art – line, form, color, tone –
composes it according to its inherent
qualities, independent from reality.
5. Abstract
6. Stylized
- Generally applies to visual representation
that does not conform to a naturalistic look
or attempt to mimic the appearance of
things as they are in real life, but retain a
certain degree of semblance to the object
portrayed.
6. Stylized
7. Collage
Technique that composes imagery through
the combination of various materials
adhered to a single flat surface, to be
treated as a unified whole.
7. Collage
