Arts Elements

and
Visual Principles
 Arts Elements

• Are the visual, tactile, spatial (and sometimes the sonic)

sensory qualities used when creating or talking about
2D, 3D and time based artworks.

• Arts elements are traditionally associated with particular

arts disciplines and art forms. In visual arts, these
elements include…
LINE
• Line is a mark on a
surface that describes a
shape or outline. It can
create texture and can be
thick and thin.

• ‘Cataract 3’ by Bridget
Riley, 1967. PVA on
canvas.
Shape
• Shape is a 2D line
with no form or
thickness.

• Shapes are flat and

either ‘geometric’ (eg.
a square) or ‘organic’
(eg. A swirl or ripple)
 Space
• . • There are 2 types of
space, positive and
negative.

• Positive space is the

space taken up an object
in the area.

• Negative space is the

space around the object,
or space that is not taken
up by an object.
 Depth
• Depth is created by a visual
perspective used to give the
illusion of depth or distance on
a flat surface. Sometimes
depth is included as part of
space.
These images show two types of perspective
linear perspective. Horizon lines and Vanishing
points are marked with a H and V respectively ●
Linear Perspective is a way of
showing depth where distant
objects are made proportionally
smaller than nearer ones.

●
Horizon Lines and Vanishing
Points determine the scale of
objects within the artwork.
 Texture
• There are 2 types of
texture used to talk about
the surface qualities of
artworks, used to
describe the roughness
or smoothness in objects
and surfaces

Detail of ‘Sunflowers’ by Van Gogh,

(1888, oil on canvas) showing texture of
impasto technique.
 Optical Texture
●
Optical Texture
Optical Texture is
the illusion of
texture, created on
a flat surface.

Graphite pencil drawings of fur by

unidentified artist.

Graphite pencil and charcoal drawing of

glass by Koo Hyunhee, a year 12
student from Westfield High (America)
 Tactile Texture
Tactile texture is the
roughness or
smoothness of a
surface.

In this image the

ridges and peaks of
thickly applied paint in
works using a
technique called
impasto.
Detail of ‘Sunflowers’ by Van Gogh,
(1888, oil on canvas) showing texture of
impasto technique.
 Colour
• Refers to specific hues (pure colours without tint
or shade, which are created by adding white or
black pigments respectively), and has three
properties
CHROMA
INTENSITY
VALUE
 Chroma
Chroma is about how vivid colours are
perceived to be.

Essentially, it’s a measure of a colour’s purity

compared to grey.

Chroma Wheel:
 Intensity
The brightness or dullness of a colour is
referred to as the colour’s intensity.

A pure colour is high intensity, whereas a

colour that has been mixed with it’s
complementary colour is called a low intensity
colour.
 Value

Value (sometimes called ‘tone’) is concerned

with the LIGHTNESS and DARKNESS of a
colour and is achieved by adding white or
black to a colour to create tints (by adding
white) and shades (by adding black).
Form
• Form is a 3D object
having volume and
thickness.
• The illusion of form
(volume and thickness)
can be implied with light
and shade, but true 3D
form can be viewed from
multiple angles, as an
object in physical space.
Movement
• Refers to a visual sense
of motion used to
establish the flow of the
composition from one
area to another.

• In this sculpture the artist

makes effective use of
movement. The eye is
drawn through the form
by the angles of the arm,
legs and torso, and the
direction of the subjects
eye line.
Composition
• The arrangement/placement of arts
elements according to visual
principles. Examples of formal
compositional devices are the ‘rule of
thirds’, and the ‘golden section’.

The image at the top depicts a

photograph composed using the
traditional ‘golden mean’ compositional
framework. In this type of composition,
places where the guidelines intersect
are key points for placing important
elements of your image.

The image at the bottom depicts a

photograph composed using the ‘rule
of thirds’ compositional framework.
 VISUAL PRINCIPLES
Are the ways that art elements are used,
arranged, or organised to create artworks.

Arts principles are also referred to as

‘compositional’ or ‘structural’ devices or
conventions. They include:
Balance
• Refers to the way in which
visual weight is distributed
throughout the art piece. A
composition can be
symmetrically or
asymmetrically balanced,
which means that both sides of
an image are visually equal, or
unequal, respectively.

The top image shows the

difference between
symmetrical and asymmetrical
balance, while the image at the
bottom shows ‘approximate
symmetry’
Harmony
• When visual elements
within an artwork interact
well together in an
aesthetically pleasing
manner.
This principle is closely
related to unity, and often
concerned with
combining similar art
elements to create a
pleasing appearance
Distortion
• The deliberate
alteration or
departure from a
normal depiction of
shapes, imagery and
proportion.
This image shows a
bookcase
photographed with a
fish eye lens.
Abstraction
The
‘Riesenrad’ • Refers to the deliberate
ferris wheel at
the Prater,
departure from natural
Vienna appearances.
• Images are simplified,
modified or changed to
varying degrees to
emphasise certain
Abstracted
image of qualities or content, or to
ferris wheel- convey meaning.
details
removed to
• This term also refers to
emphasise art that is non-
line and representational.
shape.
Contrast
• The difference between
two things.
• High contrast would be
the difference between
black and white or bright
yellow and dark purple
• Low contrast would be
the difference between
middle value colours and
greys.
• Contrast can also apply
to size, shape, colour and
texture etc.
Hierarchy
• Refers to the way objects
and figures are placed to
show relative importance
of those objects or
figures.
• In this image, the cyclist
is at the top of the visual
hierarchy, then the
shadows of the other
cyclists and then the
landscape which serves
as the backdrop.
Scale
• Scale is the size or
apparent size of an
object in relation to
other objects and it’s
environment
Proportion
• Refers to the way that
elements and objects
work together in an
artwork. Using proportion,
artists can make sure that
the different parts of an
artwork make sense
within their composition.
• The Vitruvian Man
• Leonardo DaVinci,
• C.1487. Pen and ink with wash over metalpoint
 Cropping
• When a selected
image is improved by
the removal of the
outer parts to improve
framing, accentuate
the subject, mood or
drama of a work, or to
alter the aspect ratio.

‘Cropped portrait’
Sebastian Pettit
Photograph2008 http://www.google.com.au/imgres?
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Emphasis
• Emphasis is produced by
visually stressing the
importance of one
element over another in
order to create a sense of
hierarchy to control where
the viewer looks first.
Areas of emphasis may
be planned using
compositional devices
such as the ‘rule of
thirds’, or created using
colour and so on.
• Henri de Toulouse Lautrec - "At the Moulin Rouge",
1892/1895 Oil on Canvas
Variation
• A device used to make
key areas stand out,
achieved by using
differing lines, shapes,
and colours within the
artwork.
• This principle can be
used to create movement
and direct the eye of the
viewer through the
artwork.
In this image, the
variations displayed are
primarily colour, shape
and texture.
Variation (cont.)

• For example, if a
warm orange dot is
placed on an artwork
that is mostly cool
colours, the eye of the
viewer is drawn to the
orange spot.
 Creating a Visual Loop
• By creating a Visual
Loop, you are able to
control where the viewer
looks in your image, and
keep them looking at your
image for longer.
• A visual loop is made by
using movement and
composition.
• How has the artist led our
eyes around the image?

‘Reptiles’, M. C. Escher, 1943, Lithograph.

 What Arts Elements and
Principles Can You Identify?
Cave paintings of Hyenas, Chauvet caves.,
estimated to be around 32000 year old.
Ansel Adams , ‘The Tetons and the
Snake River’ (1942), photograph.
Caravaggio, ‘David with the head of goliath’ c.
1610, Oil on canvas
Banksy, ‘graffiti_removal’ May 2008 spray paint
(removed in August 2008)
''Cataract 3'', Bridget Riley, 1967. PVA on canvas
‘Drawing Hands’, M C Escher, 1948, Lithograph
'Object', Meret Oppenheim, 1936, mass produced
tea set and fur.
 Francisco de Goya, ‘The Sleep.of Reason Produces
Monsters’, c. 1797 , Etching, aquatint, drypoint and burin.
‘The Kiss’, Gustav Klimt, 1907-1908, oil on canvas
Hokusai, ‘Ejiri in the Suruga province’ 1832,
woodblock print
‘Guernica’, Pablo Picasso. 1937. Oil on canvas
Horses heads, cave painting, Chauvet caves,
estimated c.30,000 bc
''Movement in Squares'', Bridget Riley, 1961.
Tempera on hardboard
Ah Xian, ‘Human human - Carved lacquer bust 3 -
Flower and bird’, 2008
Hokusai, ‘Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa’ 1832,
woodblock print.
‘Relativity’, M. C. Escher, 1953, Lithograph.
 ‘The Wizzard’s Hat’ (illustration for the Australian Discworld
Convention), Sarah Kinder, 2004, acrylic and oil on canvas
Hands cave paintings in SantaCruz, Argentina,
estimated at 13,000 years old.
‘The Arnolfini portrait’, Jan Van Eyck, 1434, Oil on
Panel