the 7 elements of art - basic building blocks of an artwork · the 7 elements of art - basic...

The 7 ELEMENTS of Art - Basic building blocks of an artwork:

Line

Shape

Form

Color Texture Space Value

LINE • A moving dot or point. Can vary

in width, direction, curvature, & length.

Lines in Art

Controlled Lines

Loose Lines

Outlines- Lines made by the edge of an object or its silhouette.

Contour Lines- Lines that describe the shape of an object and the

interior detail.

Gesture Lines- Line that are energetic

and catches the movement and gestures of an active figure.

Implied Line- *Lines that are not actually drawn but created by a group of objects seen from a distance.

Characteristic of Line are: • Width- thick, thin, tapering, uneven

• Length - long, short,

continuous, broken

• Direction- horizontal, vertical, diagonal, perpendicular, parallel, zigzag

• Horizontal Perpendicular

• Vertical

Parallel

• Diagonal

Zigzag

Shapes

• when a line encloses a space.

• 2 Dimensions = Height & Width.

–Geometric = straight & angular

–Organic = smooth, curvy, free-form.

Organic or Free-form

Shapes in Art

Forms

• When space is added to a shape.

• 3 Dimensional objects have Height, Width, Depth. (geometric or organic.)

• i.e.: sphere, cube, cylinder, cone, etc.

Geometric Forms

Organic Forms

Forms on a 2-D Surface

Space = depth

• Distance

• Area around or within things.

• Positive v. Negative space

• Size change (Biggest in front to smallest in back)

• Overlapping

Texture • refers to the surface quality or "feel" of an

object (ie. rough, smooth, soft)

• Actual texture -can be felt

• Implied (or simulated) textures – shown through drawing

Actual Texture – you can feel it

Implied Texture – you can see it

Value • the lightness or darkness of an object. Value is

needed to show depth.

• Value scale – the range of light to dark

Color – made of light

Hue, the name of the color (red, yellow, blue)

Intensity strength of the color (brightness or dullness)

Color value lightness or darkness of the color.

Color Schemes – combinations of colors (primary, warm, cool, complimentary)

Primary Colors

• Primary Colors

Warm Colors

Cool ColorsColors

Complementary Colors