ELEMENT

S OF ART:
VISUAL
ELEMEN
TS OF
ART
- The building blocks or
ingredients of art.
Elements are necessary
preconditions for the creation of
art.
-Line -Space
-Shape -Color
-Form -Texture
LINE
A.Horizontal and Vertical Lines – it is
associated with rest and calm.
- Landscapes connote a visual sense of
being parallel to the ground; a position
of a body at rest. Vertical lines
connotes elevation or height . These
lines communicate stability and
firmness.

B. Diagonal and Crooked lines-

Diagonal line convey movement and
instability. Crooked or jagged lines on
the other hand are reminiscent of
violence, conflict or struggle.
C. Curved Lines- these are
lines that bend or coil. They
signifies softness, grace,
flexibility, or even sensuality.
SHAPE
AND
These two are related to each other in the sense that they define the space
occupied by the object of art. Shapes refers to two dimensions height and width,
while Form refers to three dimensions; height, width, and depth.

A. Geometric- these shapes find origin in mathematical propositions. These

includes shapes such as squares, triangles, cubes, circles, spheres, and cones
among others.
B. Organic- organic shapes are those readily occurring in nature, often irregular an
asymmetrical.
“The Madonna
of the
Meadows”
4. Space- it is usually inferred from a sense of depth, whether it is real
or simulated. Real space is three-dimensional.

A. Positive and Negative Space- Positive space is the subject or areas

of interest in artwork, and negative space is the space around the
focal point.

B. Three-dimensional Space- can be simulated through a variety of

techniques such as shading.

C. Two-Dimensional Space- the composition possesses the

dimensions of length and width but does not possess depth.
COLOR
Color is perhaps one of the elements that enhances
the appeal of an artwork.
This element is a property of light, as it is reflected off
the object .
Color is not intrinsic to an object and without light, one
cannot perceive color.

Color Theory was first unravelled by Isaac Newton. A

ray of sunlight passing through a prism reveals an array
of colors to that of a rainbow.
 PROPERTY OF COLOR
1. HUE- refersto the dominant color family.
Hue refers to the origin of the colors we
can see.
• Primary- RED, YELLO, AND BLUE
• Secondary- GREEN, ORANGE, AND
VIOLET
• Tertiary- six in total, these hues are
 PROPERTY OF COLOR
2. VALUE- this refers to the darkness and
brightness of color. Often, this is used by artist to
create a particular mood, communicate a feeling or
in establishing a scene (night/day).
 Light Colors- taken as the source of light in the
composition.
 Dark Colors- the lack or absence of light.
 PROPERTY OF COLOR
 TINT- this is a lighter color than the normal
value (e.g. pink for red)

 SHADE- this is a darker color than the normal

value. (e.g. maroon for red)
 PROPERTY OF COLOR
3. Intensity- this is the color’s brightness or
dullness. It is identified as the strength of
color, whether it is vivid or muted.

- Bright or Warm Colors- positive energy

-Dull or cool colors- sedate/soothing,

seriousness or calm.
 COLOR HARMONY
 Monochromic Harmonies- use a
variations of a hue. Combines one hue (a
100% saturated color) with various tints,
tones and shades of that hue to create a
color scheme
 COLOR HARMONY
 Complementary Harmonies-
involve two colors opposite
each other in the color wheel.
 COLOR HARMONY
 Analogous Harmonies- make
use of three colors beside each
other in the color wheel.
TEXTUR
E
● Texture refers to the surface quality or "feel" of an object,
such as roughness, smoothness, or softness. Actual texture
can be felt while simulated textures are implied by the way
the artist renders the surface area.
Surface Texture or Actual texture- a texture
of a three-dimensional art.

Simulated Texture- also known as implied

texture, it is creating a visual effect of texture
without actually adding texture.
Actual and Implied
 PLANES
AND
PERSPECTIV
ES
Picture Plane- is the actual surface of the
painting or drawing where no illusion of a third
dimension exists.

Linear Perspective- it made use of light and

dark contrast and tones in which paintings not
only looked three-dimensional.
Linear Perspective was based on the following
observations:
1. As forms and objects recede, the smaller they
become.
2. We were taught that parallel lines never meet.
However, when they, too seem to converge
when they recede into a distance, at a point,
they both disappear. This point of
disappearance is called the vanishing point
 Converging lines refer to lines that appear
to move towards each other as they recede
into the distance.
 Horizon line/eye level refer to a
physical/visual boundary where sky
separates from land or water.
“horizon line” generally refers to drawings
that are outdoors while “eye level” generally
refers to drawings that are indoors.
A viewpoint may also be constructed as
normal (view standing up), low (view from a
lower angle), or high (view looking down on a
scene) depending on a position the viewer
takes.
Three types of perspective:
a. One-point perspective- this type of perspective
shows parallel lines that seem to converge at a
specific and lone vanishing point, along the horizon
line.
b. Two-point-perspective- it makes use of two
vanishing points.
c. Three-point perspective- in this type of
perspective, the viewer is looking at a scene from
above or below.
- It make use of the three vanishing points.
Principl
es of Art
1. Balance- distribution of the visual elements in view
of their placement in relation to each other.
There are three forms of balance:
A. Symmetrical- the elements used on one side are
reflected to the other. This offers the most stable
visual sense to any artwork.
B. Asymmetrical- the elements are not the same ( or
the same weight on the other side, putting the
heaviness on the other side.
C. Radial- there is a central point in the composition,
around which elements and objects are distributed.
2. Scale and Proportion

Scale pertains to the size in relation to

what is normal for the figure or object in
question.
Proportion- is the size of the
components, or objects in relation to one
another.
Proportion can be:
a. Natural- relates to the realistic size of the visual
elements in the artwork. Standard proportion in art
refers to using the “correct” or natural
proportions for any given object. This applies to
all figures, nature and still life.

For example, an artwork featuring a large tree in

the foreground and smaller mountains in the
background. While in real life, the mountains will be
larger than the tree, due to the laws of perspective,
making the tree appear larger would be a correct
b. Altered proportion refers to
intentionally modified sizes of elements
in order to create a specific effect. It’s
also often referred to as an
“exaggerated” proportion as it’s used to
emphasize certain parts of the work.
b. Idealized-an aspect ratio that
most people find harmonious
and pleasing, no matter what
culture or time in history they
live.
3-4. Emphasis and Contrast

 Emphasis- Any forcefulness that gives

importance to some feature or features of
an artwork; something singled out,
stressed, or drawn attention to by means
of contrast, anomaly, or counterpoint.
 Contrast- A large difference between two
things, such as light and shadow, color
and black/white.
5-6. Unity and Harmony
The quality of wholeness or oneness (Gestalt)
that is achieved through the effective use of the
elements and principles of design.
7. Variety
- When elements are changed in scale, color, or form.
8. Rhythm
Created when an element is repeated, creating implied
movement.
9-10 Repetition and Pattern
Involves multiples of the same element. Repeated elements
can vary in size, color, or axis placement. Repeated elements
can create a pattern. The use of repetition may be applied to all
Visual Elements. Motion can be created by repetition.
Elements of
Art: Auditory
1. Rhythm- It is the element of time in
music. It is the pulse of the music.

- Beat is the basic element of music

that situates it in time.
- Tempo- refers to its speed
(beats/second).
- Meter- arrangement of strong and
weak beats.
Classical terms are used to refer to the
variations in tempo, some of which
are :
• Largo- slowly and broadly
• Andante- walking pace
• Moderato- at moderate speed
• Allegro- fast
• Vivace- lively
• Accelerando- gradually speeding up
• Rallentado- gradually slowing
down
• Allargando- getting slower,
broadening
• Rubato- literally “robbed
time”, “rhythm is played freely
for expressive effect.
2. Dynamics – refers to the loudness or
quietness of music is dynamics.
Classical Terms pertaining to Dynamics:
• Pianissimo [pp]-very quiet
• Piano [p]- quiet
• Mezzo-piano [mp]- moderately
quiet
• Mezzo-forte [mf]- moderately loud
• Forte [f]- loud
When composers indicate an increase,
or decrease in loudness, they use the
terms crescendo for the former; and
decrescendo for the latter.
3. Melody refers to the linear
presentation of pitch. (it means it is
read in succession form from left to
right)
Pitch- is the highness or lowness of
musical sound.
4. Harmony- the sound of two or more
notes heard simultaneously.
 Dissonance- harsh-sounding
combination
 Consonance- smooth-sounding
combination
5. Timbre- is the quality of a musical note.
It is what makes a musical note sound
different from another one.
6. Texture- number of melodies, the type of
layers, and their relatedness in a composition is
the texture of music. It may be :

 Monophonic- single melodic line

 Polyphonic-two or melodic lines
 Homophonic- main melody accompanied by
chords.