What Are the Elements of Art?

The elements of art are line, shape, form, space, texture, value and colour. Artists manipulate these elements, mix them in with principles of design and compose a piece of art. Not every work has every last one of these elements contained within it, but there are always at least two present. For example, a sculptor, by default, has to have both form and space in a sculpture, because these elements are three-dimensional. They can also be made to appear in two-dimensional works through the use of perspective and shadingWhy Are the Elements of Art Important

Why are the elements of art important? The elements of art are important for several reasons. A person can't create art without utilizing at least a few of them. Also, knowing what the elements of art are enables us to describe what an artist has done and analyze what is going on in a particular piece and then communicate our thoughts and findings using a common language.

Knowing these elements will allow you to analyze, appreciate, write and chat about art, as well as being of help should you create art your self.Line:

Lines are not only those we draw with pens and pencils. In art they can be positions of bodies, objects or images and even a glance seen in someones eyesFor example, can you see the invisible line coming from this girls eyes? Where does it point? See how your eyes follow along this glancing line. There are three major categories of lines: VERTICAL, HORIZONTAL, and DIAGONAL.

Our responses to them in art are often related to when our bodies are in those positions, or to things we see and experience in nature. For example, we understand the rigid feeling of a strong vertical line when we place our body at attention, or the calm, restful feeling we have when we lie down horizontally.VERTICAL lines imply that our body is stiff, dignified, formal or still. Consequently, when we see a very upright figure in Egyptian art, we project our feelings and accurately envision a regal, important figureHORIZONTAL lines in art give us calm, quiet feelings, because they bring ideas of sleep and rest. If an artist wanted to show a composed, peaceful setting, many horizontal lines would help elicit this effect from the viewer.DIAGONAL lines are the most active. They imply movement, tension, sometimes violence. Imagine a jogger whose legs and arms are formed into zigzags by diagonals. The whole thrust of a runners body is forwardon yet another diagonal.

Remember these qualities of the three types of lines as you view works of art. Theyll help you get more in tune with what the artist is trying to express.

Colour:

Colours have great appeal to us and can exert powerful forces upon viewers. Artists use that power and appeal in many ways, so Colour is a complex element. Here are some basic concepts that will help you deal immediately with this important component.

Purest colours are found in white light. White light, from the sun or artificial light sources, contains within it all colours in their unadulterated form. The pure colours from light are typified by the rainbow, sometimes referred to as the colours of the spectrum. They are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. You should be aware that these prismatic colours from white light are not the same as pigmental man-made colours, and some different properties and rules apply to their use.

People have not always been able to paint with light, so we have developed colours from natures materials, or pigments. Pig mental colours can be arranged into the colour wheel so we can see major colour relationships useful in art. Since almost all the colours you see in art are pig mental colours, it will help you to know their unique properties and relationships.

Colours are described in art by three characteristics: hue, value and intensity. Hue simply refers to a colours namered, blue, pink, mauve, etc.

Value, or tone, refers to the colours lightness or darkness. You can achieve a range of differing values from one colour by lightening or darkening it with other colours or the neutrals, black and white. For example, a light value of red is pink; a dark value of red is maroon or burgundy. (There is much more to say about Value in art. This will be discussed in another section).

Intensity refers to a colours purity that is, how bright or dull it is. When colours are mixed, like in creating different values, they lose their intensity.

All pig mental colours can be mixed from three primary coloursred, yellow and blue. Green, orange and purple are secondary colours, and when used or mixed together with primaries, they create even more colours called the tertiary colours. Placing the colours on a colour wheel, you can easily see a variety of useful associations. For example, analogous colours (those colours next to each other on the colour wheel), since they are related, by sharing a colour, can create a restful, calm feeling in the viewer.

Colours at opposite points on the colour wheel, termed complementary colours, arouse a very different reaction since they contrast. You can see how an artist could project the idea of tension, aggression, or agitation simply by manipulating the colour choices in his or her work. To test this attitude from an illusory image, place a large piece of green paper next to a large piece of red and stare at them intently. Soon they will appear to vibrate, as the opposing colours compete within your eyes.Other illusions colours produce are created by the viewers response to them, sometimes based upon his or her own experiences in nature or environmental circumstances. Some colours feel warm and some feel cool, usually because we relate them to what weve experienced in living, like the heat of the yellow sun or red flames. Warm colours seem to advance toward our eyes and cool colours seem to recede. Red also seems active, vital and exciting, perhaps because its the colour of blood, and reminds us of our early hunting ancestry. Consider the fact that when we view nature, the backdrop behind the scene is often a cool blue sky.Our feelings about colour even colour our speech. Weve all heard, I was so mad I could see red! But why are we green with envy? Why is truth blue? Artists know what strong emotions colours evoke and some artists use colour as a powerful vehicle to express and release their own deep feelings. Whatever the rationales for our responses to colours, were touched psychologically, and artists through the ages have manipulated our emotions by their use of colours.

Now that you know the basics about Colour, click here to practice what you know.

Important Colour Relationships

When you understand colour relationships, youll begin to have fun expressing just the right message using colour in any creative project. Use the colour wheel to find these:complementary colours

These colours are opposite from each other on the colour wheel and are very vibrant and active when used together because they stimulate our eye and get our attention. Perhaps thats why we use red and green for traffic lights, for example. To find complementary colours, draw a line from one colour directly across the center of the colour wheel to its complement. Youll see that a line from red will lead to green. Now find the complements of yellow and blue.

Analogous colours

Analogous colours are next to each other on the colour wheel. If you wanted a more subdued colour scheme, youd want to select colours that have something in common, like yellow, yellow-green and green, rather than the vibrancy of the complementary colours. Circle another group of analogous colours using the colour wheel. Colour Colour always has three characteristics, which are hue, value, and the intensity. Hue means the shades, value refers to the lightness or the darkness and intensity refers to the brightness or dullness of the work of art.

IndigoBlueGreenYellowOrangeRed

PRIMARYAND SECONDARY COLOURSPrimary Colours - These are colours that cannot be created through the mixing of other colours. They are colours in their own right. The three primary colours can be seen below RED - YELLOW - BLUE.

YELLOW+BLUE=GREENBLUE+RED=PURPLERED+YELLOW=ORANGE

What is a secondary colour?Answer: Orange, green, and purple are secondary colours. They are created by mixing two of the three primary colours togethersecondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors together: red and yellow to get orange, yellow and blue to get green, or red and blue to get purple. The secondary color you get depends on the proportions in which you mix the two primaries. If you mix three primary colors together, you get a tertiary color. Secondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors together. Red and yellow make orange; red and blue make purple; yellow and blue make green.If then these secondary colours are mixed, they produce what are called 'Tertiary Colours'

Secondary Colours

Secondary colours are what can be made from mixing two of the three primary colours. This is more easily explained below:

Red + Blue = Purple

Red + Yellow = Orange

Blue + Red = Purple

Blue + Yellow = Green

Yellow + Red = Orange

Yellow + Blue = Green THE COLOURS WHEELThe Color Wheel shows the relationships between the colors. The three primary colors are red, yellow, and blue; they are the only colors that cannot be made by mixing two other colors. The three secondary colors are green, orange, and violet; they are each a mixture of two primary colors. Their hue is halfway between the two primary colors that were used to mix them. On the color wheel, the secondary colors are located between the colors they are made from. The six tertiary colors (red-orange, red-violet, yellow-green, yellow-orange, blue-green and blue-violet) are made by mixing a primary color with an adjacent secondary color. On the color wheel, the tertiary colors are located between the primary and secondary colors they are made from. Black, white and gray are not true colors (or hues). They are considered to be neutral, achromatic colors. Value refers to how light or dark a color appears. To make a color lighter in value, white is added. A light color is called a tint of the original hue. For example, pink is a tint of red. To make a color darker in value, black is added. A dark color is called a shade of the original hue. Maroon is a shade of red.

SHAPES:Confusion sometimes arises from the terms shape and form. A shape is an area which stands out because of a defined boundary or change in colour, value or texture. A shape implies a flat, two-dimensional surfaceHere we see some circular shapes combined with curving and diagonal lines. By applying charcoal in varying degrees of value (chiaroscuro), an artist can create the illusion of a three-dimensional form where none actually exists.When an artist adds illusion is tic features such as chiaroscuro (value) to the shape, the illusion of a surrounding space or atmosphere is created. Then we use the term form, since the artist is implying three-dimensions.

Shapes and Forms have interesting relationships to each other, and to the surrounding area. A good way of describing these relationships is by looking at the figure / ground or positive / negative interplay.The area surrounding the image is the ground, while the image itself is the figure. Negative space refers to the ground while positive space refers to the figure.Some artists, like Matisse, delighted in playing with figure / ground or positive / negative relationships in their works. You can see how appealing this play would be by looking carefully at the cut outs to the left. See how the red hearts become positive shapes against the white table, but how they become negative shapes where theyve been cut out of the red paper.

In this example, the background moves into the figure and helps define it.