Line, Shape, Form, Value, Color, Texture, Space ____________________________________________________________________
• Line is a mark made by a pointed tool - brush, pencil, stick, pen, etc. - and is often defined as a moving dot. • It has length and width, but its width is very thin compared to its length. • A line is created by the movement of a tool and pigment, and often suggests movement in a drawing or painting.
This poster shows how just a few strokes of line can be used to effectively illustrate a swan. While the lines do not adhere to the anatomy of a swan, the image is unmistakable, and the simplicity and grace of the lines convey a feeling of tranquility.
There are no excess lines; the poster has just the number of lines needed to communicate this image. Particularly successful is the use of wavy lines to communicate a reflection on the water. Type is used sparingly (only along the left edge,) and only to provide needed information to the viewer.
Source: Design Basics for Creative Results by Bryan L. Peterson
Swan Poster McRay Magleby Magleby and Company ____________________________________________________________________
• Shape is an area that is contained within an implied line, or is seen and identified because of color or value changes. • Shapes have two dimensions, length and width, and can be geometric or free-form (organic). • Design in painting is basically the planned arrangement of shapes in a work of art.
Pablo Picasso - "Three Musicians", 1921 Picasso's painting is an abstract painting in which the three figures are simplified to an arrangement of flat shapes. Look for these shape varieties: * Large, medium and small shapes * Flat and patterned shapes * Dark and light valued shapes * Geometric and organic shapes * Positive and negative shapes * Outlined and unoutlined shapes
Source: Elements and Principles of Design: Student Guide with Activities, published by Crystal Productions _________________________________________________________________
Form
• Form describes volume and mass, or the three-dimensional aspects of objects that take up space. • Forms can and should be viewed from many angles. • When you hold a baseball, shoe, or small sculpture, you are aware of their curves, angles, indentations, extensions, and edges - their forms.
Francisco de Zurbaran - "Still Life with Pottery Jars", 1600s
Space can be felt in de Zurbaran's painting because of the overlapping of forms (two of the vessels and the saucers they sit on, and the table under all of them.) Shading creates three-dimensional forms out of shapes.
Source: Elements and Principles of Design: Student Guide with Activities, published by Crystal Productions ______________________________________________________________________
• Value refers to dark and light. • Value contrasts help us to see and understand a two-dimensional work of art. • This type can be read because of the contrast of dark letters and light background. • Value contrast is also evident in colors, which enables us to read shapes in a painting.
Jean Metzinger - "Sailboats", 1912
Metzinger's painting has strong value contrasts as can be seen in a black and white version of it on the right. The painting is cubist in style with angular fractures and shapes. Follow the visual movement from the bottom right over a light-valued visual path upward to the top left sail, which is the focal area. A high contrast in value can help define a focal point.
Source: Elements and Principles of Design: Student Guide with Activities, published by Crystal Productions ______________________________________________________________________
• Color depends on light because it is made of light. • There must be light for us to see color. • A red shirt will not look red in the dark, where there is no light. • The whiter the light, the more true the colors will be. • A yellow light on a full-color painting will change the appearance of all the colors.
Renoir painted this painting to emphasize the color and richness of the vegetables and fruits of France. It is basically a cool color with warm accents. Renoir was an Impressionist painter who used color to show depth and volume in his paintings.
Pierre Auguste Renoir - "Fruits from the Midi", 1881
Black Cat Menu, Dennis Clouse, Cyclone Design This menu is designed using all warm tones. Warm tones consist of any color on the warm side of the spectrum: yellows, reds, oranges and purples. The effect is great for a menu because it communicates a comfortable feeling and a compatibility with food. Could you imagine this same menu done in cool tones: blues and greens? The effect would be completely different. It is no coincidence that most fast-food restaurants use yellows and reds for their identities. These colors have been shown to be among the most appetizing.
Source: Elements and Principles of Design: Student Guide with Activities, published by Crystal Productions Source: Design Basics for Creative Results by Bryan L. Peterson
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• Texture refers to the surface quality, both simulated and actual, of artwork. • Techniques used in painting serve to show texture. • For example, the dry brush technique produces rough simulated quality and heavy application of pigment with brush or other implement produces a rough actual texture.
Georges Rouault - "The Old King", 1916
Rouault painted this painting in oil paint with heavy textures. The painting technique that emphasizes actual texture is called impasto. Such textures can be applied with a stiff brush or spread on the canvas with a painting knife.
Simulated textures occur when smooth painting surfaces appear to be textured.
Source: Elements and Principles of Design: Student Guide with Activities, published by Crystal Productions _______________________________________________________________________
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