elements of art / principles of design

halftone

is a medium gray. This is the true color of the object, without the effects of direct light or shadow. It's neither light nor dark, so it's called a __.

Pattern

is a visual quality rather than a tactile quality, is usually larger in size than a texture, and is often achieved by means of the principle of repetition.

Simulated texture/visual texture

is created by using different mark-making techniques to represent a tactile quality and to add interest to a drawing.

rhythm

is created when one or more elements of design are used repeatedly to create a feeling of organized movement. Rhythm creates a mood like music or dancing. To keep rhythm exciting and active, variety is essential.

basetone

is the dark gray. This is not the edge of the object, it is where the object is receding from the light, and is on the side of the object opposite the light source

Reflected light

is the small light edge seen around the object, particularly between the cast shadow and the shadow edge. This is really the light bouncing back from the surrounding surfaces. Reflected light is never bright white. It is closer to a halftone.

Full light (highlight)

is where the light hits the object full strength. Full light should be represented by the white of the paper.

cast shadow

is your darkest dark, and should be made as close to black as possible (6B or 8B pencil). This is the shadow that the object you are drawing is casting on the surface on which it lies. The shadow is the darkest where the object and the surface touch, and then it lightens gradually as it gets farther away from the object.

Linear perspective

Scientific, measurable process of creating pictorial depth, invented during the Renaissance. Because of the shape of our eyes and the function of the lens, objects appear to diminish in size the further away they are from the viewer, and vanish on the horizon line (the viewer or artist's eye level). Parallel lines converge at eye level (vanishing point on the horizon line).

Proportion p2

Spatial/size relationship: The observed difference in size between objects; the observed difference in height and width of a shape or space.

Rhythm/Movement

An illusion created by the artist to convey action in a piece of stationery art. This can be achieved by repetition, adding lines or patterns, or careful placement of objects to control the movement of the viewers' eyes across the composition.

Contrast

The amount of variation between the Elements of Art in a single artwork, i.e., light/dark (value), smooth/rough (texture), tall/short (shape), etc. Contrast of values can be used to make your drawings more three-dimensional by accentuating the light and shadows.

Quartertone

The first gray areas (__) should be a value midway between highlight and halftone, and should be blended into these areas very carefully, so no hard edges are created.

Line P2

a "dot" that moved along the paper. A __ establishes boundaries, separates areas and creates edges. By its direction and weight, a line can create a sense of movement and volume

Line

a mark created by moving a point along in one direction. Parallel and crosshatched marks simulate textures and create three-dimensionality. __ show direction, emotion, and texture, and describe shape.

Value p2 extra note about value; Light tones are "high" in value, dark tones are "low" in value.

a measurement of darkness or lightness; differences in tones of light & dark. __ create form and volume, and establish shape. __ establish mood and emotion in a drawing. __ are often created by blending, but can also be effected with different kinds of lines and dots.

Value scale

a series of steps from pure white to black with thousands of grays in between. When light falls on objects, it results in the five tone values, which should be incorporated into your drawings and value sketches.

Contour line

a shared edge (place where two shapes or spaces meet) drawn as a single line; outline of a figure, body or mass.

Shape

an enclosed space; an area that is contained within an implied line, a visible line or is seen and identified because of color or value changes. An object represented in two dimensions.

Color

human perception of the wavelength of light reflected from a surface.

Texture

indicates tactile quality - something that you can actually touch

Emphasis & subordination / Contrast

is a measure of visual __importance granted to an element based on its size, color, or placement within the picture...... __is its opposite.

Value

the lightness or darkness of the hue

Hue

the name of the color

Positive shapes

the object or person of most importance in the picture, usually the foreground (front) objects.

Intensity/saturation

the purity and strength of a color, the brightness or dullness of the color.

Asymmetrical balance

the sides are different but still look balanced.

Format/picture plane

the space on the surface of your paper; the length & width of the bordering edges of a surface. The size and shape of the format limit the composition. Positive shapes & negative spaces fit within the format. Shapes & spaces fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Actual or real space

the three dimensional space occupied by real objects.

Comparison

the visual method used to determine visual scale, visual proportion, curves, angles, placement, etc. For example, from certain views, a form may appear to be narrower than you know it to be. Draw what you "see" not what you "know."

Composition

the way the contents of a drawing are arranged in a format or on the picture plane.

perspective

uses size, proportion, emphasis, and subordination to create the illusion of pictorial depth. Gauging and replicating proportion and scale is essential to creating a believable image especially when shifting scale from a "live" object to the size of your drawing paper

Geometric shapes

usually based on manmade objects. Visually strong and stable, usually static.

Abstract shape

usually representative, reduces things to their simplest contours.

extra note for contrast

By using extremes in values (more light and dark values than middle values), you create a high-contrast (contrasty) image. For a really powerful, strong, and dynamic drawing, you can draw very dark shading right next to the light areas. A low contrast (flat) image has mostly light and middle values. Some subjects need to be soft and gentle. You can create a very soft drawing and still use a full range of values; the drawing becomes more powerful if you use a little dark shading in a few selective areas.

Aerial/atmospheric perspective

(Oriental perspective)- the depiction of space by gradations of tones, shapes and colors. Things become more and more muted and indistinct as they diminish into the distance of the atmosphere. Much Western artwork used a combination of size reduction from linear perspective and diminished clarity from atmospheric perspective.

examples of proportion

- The body of an apple is the same height as it is wide. A bucket is five times the height of the apple and three times its width at the bottom, and four times its width at the top of the bucket. With this information, you can now draw a correctly proportioned picture containing an apple and a bucket. - A door is 2-1/2 times as tall as it is wide. - A cube or a round ball is as tall as it is wide. - Another example is the figure: find the height of the head, and use it as a standard for measuring - how many heads can you fit into the height of the figure? How many heads from chin to waist?

Color wheel

A means of organizing hues based on mixtures of the primary colors (red, blue, yellow) to create secondary and tertiary colors.

Visual variety

A principle of design that refers to the way an artist uses differences and contrasts to add visual interest to a work, and to carry the viewer's eye around it. Varying shapes, sizes and values create interesting compositions.

Repetition

A series of similar elements incorporated into a design several times to establish, primarily, unity/harmony, rhythm, or movement.

give an example of a form and a shape

For example, a triangle, which is two-dimensional, is a shape, but a pyramid, which is three-dimensional, is a form. Cubes, spheres, pyramids, cones, and cylinders are examples of various forms.

Unity/harmony/variety

The quality of wholeness achieved by manipulation of the Elements of Art; the principle of design achieved by stressing separate but related parts. Repetition is one example of a way that harmony is achieved

Line Quality

The way a line is drawn, i.e., loose, tight, dark, light, line weight (thickness), consistency, emphasis, etc.

Depth - The illusion of depth

Think of the picture plane as a window frame, and the drawn objects are what you see through the window. The illusion of depth is created by shading, overlapping, or employing the principles of perspective to your drawing.

Organic shapes

based on nature, less predictable and more visually dynamic.

Balance

colors, texture, and space. If the design was a scale, these the distribution of the visual weight of objects, elements should be balanced to make a design feel stable. Simple balance may be symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial

Perspective p2

creating the illusion of depth and movement through space in a drawing or painting. Methods include overlapping planes, scaled figures, carefully measured architectural space and angles, sharp or unsharp details, etc.

Form

describes volume and mass, the three dimensional characteristics of objects (height, width, and depth).

Texture and Pattern

elements of art which refer to the surface quality of an object.

Warm colors

from red-violet to yellow on the color wheel. These seem to advance.

Cool colors

from yellow-green through violet on the color wheel; these appear to recede from the viewer.

Scale

progression of size, larger to smaller or vice versa. The visual scale of an object or structure is determined by the perceived size of some other object or structure.

Proportion

refers to relative perceived measurements between parts of one pictorial element or between several elements within one artwork.

Formal or Representative shape

represents an actual object

Nonobjective shape

represents nothing.

Edge

rim or border, the place where two things meet. Example: the background (negative space) meets the drawn surface of objects (positive space).

Mapping

sketching the location of the different tone values in a drawing.

Negative shapes/spaces

the areas between 3. or around distinct forms

Space

the distance around, between, above, below, and within an object

Radial balance

the elements are arranged around a central point and may be similar.

Symmetrical balance

the elements used on one side of the design are similar to those on the other side;