Common Assessments Review: Elements and Principles of Art page1

Element / Definition
Color / The hues of the colors we see, for example yellow, red, blue, green, orange, and violet
Line / A continuous mark made on a surface by a point of a moving tool
Form / An enclosed space on a three-dimensional surface (having length, width, and depth). Something that is not flat.
Space / Emptiness or areas between, around, above, below, or within objects
Shape / An enclosed space on a two-dimensional surface having only length
Texture / The quality of a surface—how it feels or looks like it feels
Value / The darkness or lightness of a color
Principle / Definition : one way to remember all of them is BEMPRUV which is the first letter of each one. It sounds like improve, Improve your memory of the Principles of Design.
Balance / The organization or arrangement of the elements in a piece of artwork so that there appears to be a visual equilibrium or equality
Emphasis / The principle of art that focuses attention on a certain part of the artwork
Movement / The arrangement of parts in a work of art to create a sense of motion by leading the viewer’s eye through the artwork
Proportion / The relationship of one part to another or to the whole
Rhythm / The principle of art that refers to a regular pattern that is created by the repetition of a line, shape, or color
Unity/harmony / The principle of art in which the elements are organized or combined with one another so that they form a harmonious whole.
Variety/contrast / The principle of art that is concerned wit differences or contrasts

Important facts about each one of the elements and principles:

Line

Ways they vary / Smallest line / Contour line drawings / Implied lines / Gesture line drawing
Length
Width
Direction (Horizontal, vertical, diagonal, zigzag,)
Curvature,
Color,
Quality as seen in this drawing at
By Andy Cook in School Arts Magazine
/ A dot as show in this stippling or pointillism example at this website:
drawsketch.about.com
/ Drawings that use lines to define only the outside edges of the shapes; outlines

/ The illusion of a line as seen on this website j-brown.net/2d/index.html
/ Quickly drawn, captures movement, not a drawing of details
As seen at this website:

Common Assessments Review: Elements and Principles of Art page 2

Space

In 2-D / In 3-D / Linear Perspective / Atmospheric or aerial perspective / Sfumato / Directional Lighting
In a painting or drawing, artists show the illusion of space by overlapping objects and by varying the sizes of objects. / Sculpture, pottery, buildings all have space around them as seen in the Pieta by Michelangelo on this website:
/ Lines that are parallel and horizontal in reality appear to converge at a vanishing point on the horizon line / The more details, textures, and colors an objects appears to have in a painting, the closer it looks like the mountains below at encarta.msn.com/.../Atmospheric_Perspective.html
/ Italian word that means smoke, this is a method of painting objects which are intended to appear far away look hazy. Sfumato is seen in the picture of the mountains to the left. / Shading from light to dark which gives objects a three dimensional appearance on a two dimensional plane
As in Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh shown on this website:
z.about.com/.../SueBond-19VanGoghSunflowers.jpg
/ / Background is at the top of the painting or drawing
Middle ground is in the middle of the painting or drawing
Foreground is at the bottom of the painting or drawing
Horizon line is where the sky meets the ground

Shape

Geometric / Organic
Follow regular rules; always looks the same no matter what size they are / Don’t follow regular rules; may look similar to drawings of plants or animals
Rhyme: Organic Shapes may look like apes, but don’t panic, they’re just organic.
Examples: square, triangle, rectangle, star, circle, oval, pentagon, hexagon / Examples: shapes with wavy edges, irregular shapes similar the the painting below by Joan Miro (title not available)
386 x 500 - 11k

Common Assessments Review: Elements and Principles of Art page 3

Form

Geometric / Organic
Follow regular rules just like shapes, but are three dimensional like the sculptures titled Geometric Forms by Tony Smith as seen on this website:
twi-ny.com/twiny.03.15.06.html / Don’t follow regular rules; may look like plants or animals like the blown glass vase below seen on this website by Curt Block

Texture

Real texture / Visual or simulated texture
Surfaces that can be felt / The impression of a texture that is not really there
Ex. Rough wood, smooth marble, soft fabric / Ex. Splatter painting that looks bumpy but it doesn’t feel bumpy.
Impasto Painting like Van Gogh’s Starry Night has thick bumpy paint as seen on this website:

/ Photograph of a barn door would look rough but the photograph wouldn’t feel rough as seen on this website
sharonctdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_ar...
By J.A. Hansell

Value

Value scale / Ways to give the illusion of value in a painting or drawing
Shows gradual transitions from light to dark like this value scale from
/ Hatching—drawing many parallel lines shown below from / Cross-hatching—crossing parallel lines shown below from / Stippling (pointillism)—may tiny dots as shown below from the website drawsketch.about.com
/ Blending—smooth transition from dark to light or light to dark as shown on this website:

Common Assessments Review: Elements and Principles of Art page 4

Color

Primary / Secondary / Tertiary or intermediate / Warm / Cool / Complementary / Analogous / Monochromatic / Split complementary
Can’t mix them, have to have them / Mix two primary colors to get a secondary / Mix a primary and a secondary to get a tertiary / Think of the sun and fire / Think of the water, shadows and grass / Directly across the color wheel from each other / Right beside each other on the color wheel. They share one common color / Tints and shades of the same color / A color and the two colors on either side of its complement
Red, Yellow,
Blue / Orange,
Green,
Violet / Always has two words in its name,
For example red-orange, yellow-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, or yellow-green. / Red, Yellow, Orange and any of the tertiary colors with these colors / Blue, Green, and Violet and any of the tertiary colors with these colors / Red and Green
Blue and Orange
Yellow and Violet / Example: Red, Red-violet, Violet / Red, light red (pink), dark red (burgundy / Example:
Red, Blue-green, and yellow-green
Tints and Shades of each color = light or darkness of each

Common Assessments Review: Elements and Principles of Art page 5

Balance

Symmetrical / Asymmetrical / Radial
One side is an exact mirror image of the other. A line of symmetry can be drawn down the middle and each side will have matching parts on the other side. / Both sides are different but different parts balance out the other parts so it looks balanced / A complicated type of symmetry in which elements of artwork come out from central point
Example: Often used in formal government buildings and churches; The Eiffel Tower found on / Example: Falling Waters by Frank Lloyd Wright downloaded from / Example: a bicycle wheel, a daisy or a four leaf clover like the one below from

Movement

Actual Movement / Simulated movement
Parts really move as they do in this sculpture by Alexandar Calder found on
/ Figures, lines, shapes, are repeated across the artwork to lead the viewers eye through it as in this painting also by Alexandar
Calder titled Red nose found on

Common Assessments Review: Elements and Principles of Art page 6

Emphasis

Center of interest or Focal Point / Ways to create Emphasis by making a focal point
The part of the artwork that draws the most attention / Subject matter: people, faces and eyes always get the most attention / Anything shocking or unexpected / High Contrast / Pointers / Isolated elements
Worst place for a focal point is in the middle / Example: The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci / Example: The Scream by Edward Munch / Example: Movement in Squares by Bridget Riley / Example Boats at St. Maries by Vincent van Gogh / Example: Christina’s
World by Andrew Wyeth
Focal point should still work well with the other things in the artwork / / / / /
Some paintings don’t have focal points, for example splatter paintings

Common Assessments Review: Elements and Principles of Art page 7

Proportion

The Golden Section or The Golden Mean / Adult proportions / Infant proportion / Children’s proportions / Head and Face proportions
Ratio of perfect proportion / 7 ½ to 8 heads tall see below from / 3 heads long / 5 to 6 head tall / Width and height of the skull are nearly equal
Developed by
Euclid / A person is as tall as his outstretched arms / Neck= ¼ head height
1 (head to belly) to 1.6 Belly to toes) / A person’s foot is as long as his forearm / Width of skull measured at widest part of cheekbones
/ Corners of the eyes are in the middle of the head
Corners of the mouth line up under the pupils of the eyes as shown from

Eyes are 1 eye with apart
Face is 5 eye widths across

Unity/Harmony

Artwork feels complete / Methods of creating unity
1. Stress similarities of separate but related part
2.Use limited color palettes (ex. monochromatic, analogous, complementary, etc.)
3.Use simplicity: limit the number of elements used.
4. Repeat things
5. Use proximity: put things close together and limit the negative space
6. Use continuation: arrange shape so that a line or edge of one shape continues as a line or edge of the next shape

Variety/Contrast

Changes or diversity that add interest to a piece of artwork / Things that can vary / Examples
1. any of the elements / Line, shape, space, color, form, texture, value
2. Subject matter / Landscape, portraits, non-representational , etc.
3. Mood / Serious, playful, frightening, etc.
4. Style / Cubistic, photorealistic, abstract, etc.
5.Technique / Wet on wet, dry brush, impasto, etc.
6. Media / Watercolor, pen and ink, ceramics, metal
7. Size / Miniature, monumental

Common Assessments Review: Elements and Principles of Art page 8

Rhythm

Can create a feeling of movement / Created by positive areas separated by negative areas / Motif / Types of Rhythm
The unit that repeats / Random: repeats in no particular order
Ex. (&*&(((&(** or leaves on the ground
In 2-dimensional art it is called a pattern / Regular: identical motif and equal amounts of space like parking spaces, mailboxes or this pattern $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
Sometimes boring.
In 3-dimensional art it is called a module / Alternating: Motif changes in a rhythmic way
(light, dark, light, dark)

1. two or more alternate with each other.
Ex. %$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%
2. one motif but it changes places :
a. it flips over
b. it rotates
c. the space between it changes
d. it steps and repeats
Flowing: created by wavy lines like rolling hills, or ocean waves
Progressive: the motif changes and every time it is repeated something is added.
Four Steps of Art Criticism
Step 1. / Description: Tell the subject matter of the artwork-- what you see in the picture. Ex. In the picture below you see trees in a forest. If you were describing a non-representational piece of artwork you would might say it has splatters of color, or thick and thin lines,
Step 2.
Untitled Pen and ink by Kay Harden / Analysis: Tell which elements or principles are used in the artwork. Ex. This pen and ink drawing would have line, shape, space, texture and value in it. It also has rhythm caused by the repetition of the trees. It has movement because your eye follows the trees upward as well as across the picture plane. It has balance because many small trees in the background balance the large tree in the foreground. Emphasis is caused by the large hollows in the in the trees as well, but the main area of emphasis is the hollow in the larger tree in the front.
Step3. / Interpretation: Tell what you think the artist wanted to convey through his artwork. Ex. The lighted path out of the dense forest might suggest a spiritual guidance in a dark time, or it might suggest a path once lost and rediscovered. The interpretation is unique to the viewer because of his/her past experiences.
Step 4. / Judgment: Tell whether you think the artist was successful with his artwork. Ex. You might discuss her success with the media and techniques used as well as with the message. In this artwork Ms. Harden was quite successful, in my opinion, in composing the piece by placing the lighted path between the dark hollows in the three trees. She used extremely fine line work to create texture and value in the artwork. Putting less detail in the lighted path she was able to convey a feeling of hope.