The Elements and Principles of Art

Elements of Art: The Elements of Art are simply the visual symbols used to
create an artwork. The basic Elements are: line, shape, color, form, space, value
and texture. Some other elements that might be considered are: light, motion,
direction, scale and dimension. Every artwork is made up of one or more of these
elements. Considering the fact that even a blank, white canvas is made up of
shape, space, texture and color, it is easy to see how these elements are the
basis for the creation of all art. In addition, each Element has qualities of their
own (a line can be light or dark, curved or straight or thick or thin, for example).
Added together the Elements and their individual qualities present the artist with
an almost endless variety of possibilities for creating art.
Principles of Art: The Principles of Art are more complicated and, thus, more
difficult to understand than the Elements of Art. They are a set of rules or
guidelines to keep in mind when considering the effect of a piece of artwork.
They are the principles that help an artist decide how others will view and
perceive the art. A skilled artist does not create haphazardly. Even an artist such
as Jackson Pollock, with his seemingly random paint drips and splatters, will
carefully orchestrate the elements of the design in order to guide the viewers eye
through the composition. An accomplished artist may orchestrate their design to
such an extent that the viewer has little individual choice in how they see the
artwork. Edvard Munchs The Cry is a classic example of an artist capturing the
viewers eye at a certain point in the painting and carefully guiding the viewer
around and through the artwork through the use of various Principles of Art.
The Principles of Art are combined with the Elements of Art to create a complete
artwork. The basic principles are: balance (symmetrical and asymmetrical),
contrast, movement, emphasis, pattern, rhythm and unity. Other principles that
might be included are: proportion, variety and harmony.

Jackson Pollock, Blue Poles

Edvard Munch, The Cry

BALANCE: In a work of art, balance refers to the arrangement of elements on either side of a
center line. There are different types of balance: symmetrical (visually equal on both sides),
asymmetrical (visually unequal) and radial (all lines and shapes start or end at a focal point).

Symmetrical balance (artist unknown)

Asymmetrical balance (Hiroshige)

Radial balance (rose window)

CONTRAST: Contrast in art refers to the differences in value, size, color or other art elements.
Contrast adds interest and excitement to a composition.

Value contrast (artist unknown)

Size contrast (Vincent van Gogh)

MOVEMENT: Artists use visual movement to guide the viewer through the artwork. The human
eye/brain combination will naturally follow edges and line, and seek out similar colors and
shapes. The artist uses this tendancy to move the viewer around and through the composition.
Movement can be fluid or linear.

Fluid movement (Georgia OKeeffe)

Linear movement (Salvador Dali)

EMPHASIS: Visual emphasis is the place where the artist first directs your attention. It might be
the starting point for your visual trip through the painting or it may be the intended focal point of
the composition.

In this Aubrey Beardsley composition the face is the focal point or point of emphasis

PATTERN: In art, patterns are created by a repetition of shape, color, line or other elements.
Patterns create a system of organization in an artwork. Patterns can be regular or irregular. The
human mind will generally perceive regular patterns as man-made and irregular patterns as more
natural.

Regular patterns (Victor Vasarely)

Irregular patterns (AubreyBeardsley)

RHYTHM: Rhythm as a design priciple is based on repetition. Rhythm can be fluid (moving) or
static (still). It can be regular or irregular. Rhythm creates a sense of organization in a
composition. Like movement it can be used to move the viewer through the artwork.

Regular rhythm (Jeffrey Berryman)

Irregular rhythm (Jacob Lawrence)

Fluid rhythm (Aubrey Beardsley)

Static rhythm (Paul Klee)

UNITY: Unity makes a work of art feel complete. All the elements and principles used in the
composition work well together and create a sense of harmony. The key to achieving unity is to
carefully plan the composition so that it contains elements that have something in common or are
similar in design. This can be achieved with shapes, colors, textures, or other elements. But unity
is not the same as pattern. Variety and slight differentiation among elements is key to a unified
composition.

Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers

Claude Monet, Water Lillies