Elements of Design

1. Elements of Design Remember you earn an art credit for this class

2. WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF DESIGN • Line • Color • Shape • Texture • Space • Value • Form

3. Line • Used to define shape, contours, and outlines • Suggests mass and volume • Can be a continuous mark, or implied by edges of shapes and forms

4. Characteristics of lines • Width • Thick, thin, tapering, uneven • Length • Long, short, continuous, broken • Direction • Horizontal, vertical, diagonal, curving, perpendicular, oblique, parallel, radial, zigzag • Focus • Sharp, blurry, fuzzy, choppy • Feeling • Sharp, jagged, graceful, smooth

5. Types of line: • Outlines • Contour lines • Gesture lines • Sketch lines • Calligraphic lines • Implied line

6. Outlines: • Lines made by the edge of an object or its silhouette

7. Contour lines • Lines that describe the shape of an object and the interior detail

8. Gesture lines • Lines that are energetic and catch the movement and gestures of an active figure

9. Sketch lines • Lines that capture the appearance of an object or impression of a place

10. Calligraphic lines • Greek word meaning “beautiful writing”. • Precise elegant handwriting or lettering done by hand • Artwork that has flowing lines like an elegant handwriting

11. Implied line • Lines that are not actually drawn but created by a group of objects seen from a distance. • The direction an object is pointing to, or the direction a person is looking at

12. color • Color comes from light; if it weren’t for light we would have no color • Light rays move in a straight path from a light source • Within light rays are all the rays of colors in the spectrum • Shining a light into a prism will create a rainbow of colors because it separates the color of the spectrum • When light rays hit an object our eye responds to the light that is bounced back and we see that color • For example a red ball reflects all the red light rays

13. Categories of color • Primary Colors: cannot be mixed to be made • Red, yellow and blue • Secondary color: made by mixing two primaries • Orange, violet, green • Intermediate Colors: mixing a primary with a secondary • Red orange, yellow green, blue violet, etc. • Complementary colors: opposite each other on the color wheel

14. Color harmonies • When an artist uses certain combinations of colors that create different looks or feelings • Analogous colors • Next to eachother on the color wheel • Complementary Colors • Opposite eachother on the wheel • Triadic harmony • Three equally spaced colors on the color wheel are used • Monochromatic • One color but in different values and intensity • Rectangle (tetradic) colors • Four colors arranged in two complementary pairs • Square Color scheme • Four colors spaced evenly around the color circle

15. Warm colors vs. Cool colors • Separated by a line through the color wheel • Cool on left, warm on right • Give the feeling of their name

16. Shape • When a line crosses itself or intersects with other lines to enclose a space • Two-dimensional • Heights and width but no depth

17. Categories of shapes • Geometric • Circles, squares, rectangles and triangles • Organic • Leaf, seashells, flowers • Free flowing, informal and irregular • Positive • Solid forms in a design • Negative • Space around the positive shape • Static • Appear stable and resting • Dynamic • Appear moving and active

18. SPACE • Refers to the arrangement of objects on the picture plane (surface) • Illusion of depth created by using perspective

19. Categories of space • Positive space • Like positive shape • Negative Space • Like negative shape • Picture plane • Flat surface of your drawing paper or canvas • Composition • Organization and placement of the elements on your picture plane • Focal point • Object or area you want the viewer to look at first

20. Types of perspective • Non-linear perspective is the method of showing depth that incorporates the following techniques • Position • Higher = farther back • Overlapping • Object on top = closer • Size • Smaller = further • Color • Bright = closer • Value • Lighter = farther back

21. Types of perspective continued • Linear Perspective is the method of using lines to show the illusion of depth in a picture • One-point • Lines create by the sides of tables or building look like they are point to the distance and they all meet at one point on the horizon • Two point • Lines meeting at two points on the horizon

22. TEXTURE • Surface quality of an object • The way a picture is made to look rough or smooth • Categories of texture: • Real texture • Implied texture

23. VALUE • Range of lightness and darkness within a picture • Created by a light source that shines on an object creating highlights and shadows. • Light source illuminates the local or actual color of the subject • Creates depth within a picture making an object look three dimensional with highlights and cast shadows, or in a landscape where it gets lighter in value as it recedes to the background giving the illusion of depth

24. Categories of values • Tint • Adding white to color paint to create lighter values • Shade • Adding black to paint to create darer values • High-key • Picture is all light values • Low-key • Picture is all dark values • Value contrast • Light values are placed next to dark values to create contrast or strong differences • Value scale • Scale that shows the gradual change in value from its lightest value, white to its darkest value black

25. FORM • Three dimensionality of an object • Using value can imply form • Shading a circle in a certain manner can turn it into a sphere • Five basic forms • Sphere, cube, cone, cylinder, pyramid