Principals and Elements of Design

Lines

A line is a mark made by a tool such as a pen, a brush, a crayon or a pencil. Lines can be thick or thin, curved or straight, fine or dramatic. They are defined by their edges, which can reveal direction and detail of the lines.

Contrast

Contrast allows the artist to convey emphasis and provide visual interest. It involves opposition of some sort. There is high contrast (such as black and white) or low constrast (varying shades of one colour). Complementary colours provide high constrast as well.

Form

Form is a 3-D figure (such as a cone, cube, sphere) as opposed to a shape which is 2-D (such as a triangle, square, circle).

Emphasis

Emphasis occurs in art when an object is dominant. This might be the part of a piece that our eye is immediately drawn to, that really stands out. Contrast is often used for emphasis.

Colour

Colour is comprised of three things: hue, value and intensity. Hues comprise all the primary colours (red, yellow, blue), secondary colours (orange, green, purple) and all those that fit into those categories (red-violet, blue-green, orange-yellow). Value is the extent to which a colour is light or dark. Intensity refers to the level of brightness in a colour.

Pattern

The repetition of an element or elements in a work.

Movement

Movement in art can be conceived as visual energy. It can be achieved by implying movement by use of contrasting lines, brilliant colours, and tensions between shapes.

Texture

Visually, texture is the way 2-D objects "feel". It can be achieved using colour, line, shape and contrast.

Balance

Balance refers to equilibrium and order. It is the way lines, shapes, textures etc are arranged in the piece. There can be symmetry in a piece, where visual weight is the same on both sides of a painting, or asymmetrical, where there is a disparity between two sides.

Shape

Shape is enclosed space, where the boundaries of an object are defined by another element of art (such as a line, colour, texture). They can be 2-d defined shapes such as a triangle, square or circle, or they can be organic shapes, with natural, less defined edges.