elements of art the “building blocks” of a composition

ELEMENTS OFART

The “building blocks” of a composition.

LINE

c

ontinuous mark made on a surface by a moving point

T

ypes of Line:• Contour• Outline• Implied

CONTOUR

OUTLINE

IMPLIED LINE:

L

ines that may not have been actually drawn, but that

the composition of the work makes it appear that

they are there.

IMPLIED LINE

SHAPEa

n enclosed space defined

by other elements of art

T

ypes of Shape:• Geometric• Organic

FORM

A

“shape” that is

three-

dimensional and

encloses volume

(value makes

this possible).

SPACE

r

efers to the distance or area between, around, above or

within things.

T

ypes of Space:• Positive• Negative

T

he space that is “filled in” in

an artwork. I.E. The part that

has been drawn, painted,

sculpted, etc…

POSITIVE NEGATIVESPACE SPACE

T

he “empty space” or “empty void”.

The space that is ‘left over’ or not

filled in.

COLOR

e

lement of art that is produced when light, striking an

object, is reflected back to the eye.

T

hree parts of color:• Hue• Intensity• Value

HUEs

imply means

the name we

give to a color

(red, yellow,

blue, etc.)

INTENSITY t

he strength and vividness of the color (uses words such as

vivid, dull, bright, etc…

VALUEd

escribes the lightness or darkness of a

color.• This is the key to making form – or

objects that appear 3D

TEXTURE

r

efers to the surface quality or "feel" of an object

T

ypes of Texture:• Actual• Implied

T

hese textures use the sense of

touch and can actually be felt.

E

xample: Touching the bark of

a tree – I know it’s rough b/c I

felt it.

ACTUAL TEXTURE VS. IMPLIED TEXTURE

These textures use the sense of sight and cannot actually be felt. We know what it should look at from the way it looks.

Example: Looking at a picture of tree bark – I know it’s rough, but I can’t feel it by rubbing a picture.

IMPLIED TEXTURE