Elements of Art
Line, shape, mass, light, value, color, texture, and space.
Line
a path traced by a moving point. Can be implied.
conturing lines
one continuous line
diagonal lines
draw our attention to a certain point
horizontal lines
strong and powerful.
Contour and Outline
contour lines are the lines we draw to record boundaries.
Direction and Movement
Our eyes tend to follow lines to see where they are going; artists can use this tendency to direct our eyes around an image and suggest movement.
Implied Lines
Lines such as dotted lines that aren't strictly considered lines.
Shape and Mass
A shape is a 2D form. Mass is a 3D form.
Figure
The shape we detach and focus on.
Ground
The surrounding visual information a figure stands out from, the background.
Positive shapes
Shapes we perceive as figures.
Negative shapes
Shapes of the ground.
Light
a type of radiant energy.
Model
the way light gives something a 3D appearance.
Values
shades of light and dark
chiaroscuro
Italian for light/dark
hatching
areas of closely spaced parallel lines, as the front of the forehead or the sides of the nose.
cross-hatching
darker values were achieved through additional sets of parallel lines laid across the first.
Color
a function of light
refracted
a ray of sunlight broken into different colors
hue
name of a color according to the categories of the color wheel.
value
a color's relative lightness or darkness.
tint
a color lighter than the hue's normal value
shade
a color darker than a hue's normal value. Ex. Maroon is a shade of red.
Intensity/chroma/saturation
the relative purity of a color.
monochromatic
90% one color
complementary
colors directly opposite on the color wheel
analogous
contain colors adjacent to one another on the color wheel.
triadic
harmonies composed of any three colors equidistant from each other on the color wheel
simultaneous contrast
when complementary colors seem more intense when placed by each other
afterimage
prolonged staring at any saturated color fatigues the receptors in our eyes, which compensates when allowed to rest by producing the color's complementary as a ghostly afterimage.
optical color mixture
when small patches of different colors are close together, the eye may blend them to produce a new color.
pointillism
placing many thousands of tiny dots of pure color next to each other.
texture and pattern
texture refers to surface quality
tactile
actual texture
pattern
any decorative, repetitive motif or design
space
works with all the other elements, and can be implied
futurism
art that would celebrate motion, speed, energy, and daring.
kinetic
art that moves