THE VISUAL ELEMENTS

The Building Blocks of Composition in Art

The Visual Elements of line, shape, tone, color, pattern, texture and form are the
building blocks of composition in art. When we analyse any drawing, painting, sculpture
or design, we examine these component parts to see how they combine to create the
overall effect of the artwork.

The Visual Elements have a relationship to one another:

Most images begin their life as line drawings.

Lines cross over one another to form shapes.
Shapes can be filled with tone and color, or repeated to create pattern.
A shape may be rendered with a rough surface to create a texture.
A shape may be projected into three dimensions to create form.

Each of the elements may also be used individually to stress their own particular
character in an artwork. Different elements can express qualities such as movement
and rhythm, space and depth, growth and structure, harmony and contrast, noise and
calm and a wide range of emotions that make up the subjects of great art.

THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - LINE

Line is the foundation of all drawing. It is the first and most versatile of the visual
elements of art. Line in an artwork can be used in many different ways. It can be used to
suggest shape, pattern, form, structure, growth, depth, distance, rhythm, movement and
a range of emotions.

We have a psychological response to different types of lines:

Curved lines suggest comfort and ease

Horizontal lines suggest distance and calm
Vertical lines suggest height and strength
Jagged lines suggest turmoil and anxiety

The way we draw a line can convey different expressive qualities:

Freehand lines can express the personal energy and mood of the artist
Mechanical lines can express a rigid control
Continuous lines can lead the eye in certain directions
Broken lines can express the ephemeral or the insubstantial
Thick lines can express strength
Thin lines can express delicacy
THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - SHAPE

Shape can be natural or man-made, regular or irregular, flat (2-dimensional) or solid (3-
dimensional), representational or abstract, geometric or organic, transparent or opaque,
positive or negative, decorative or symbolic, colored, patterned or textured.

The Perspective of Shapes: The angles and curves of shapes appear to change
depending on our viewpoint. The technique we use to describe this change is
called perspective drawing.

The Behaviour of Shapes: Shapes can be used to control your feelings in the
composition of an artwork:

Squares and Rectangles can portray strength and stability

Circles and Ellipses can represent continuous movement
Triangles can lead the eye in an upward movement
Inverted Triangles can create a sense of imbalance and tension

THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - TONE

Tone is the lightness or darkness of a color. The tonal values of an artwork can be
adjusted to alter its expressive character.

Tone can be used:

to create a contrast of light and dark.

to create the illusion of form.
to create a dramatic or tranquil atmosphere.
to create a sense of depth and distance.
to create a rhythm or pattern within a composition.

THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - COLOR

Color is the visual element that has the strongest effect on our emotions. We use color
to create the mood or atmosphere of an artwork.

There are many different approaches to the use of color:

Color as light
Color as tone
Color as pattern
Color as form
Color as symbol
Color as movement
Color as harmony
Color as contrast
 Color as mood

THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - PATTERN

Pattern is made by repeating or echoing the elements of an artwork to communicate a

sense of balance, harmony, contrast, rhythm or movement.

There are two basic types of pattern in art: Natural Pattern and Man-Made Pattern.
Both natural and man-made patterns can be regular or irregular, organic or geometric,
structural or decorative, positive or negative and repeating or random.

Natural Pattern: Pattern in art is often based on the inspiration we get from observing
the natural patterns that occur in nature. We can see these in the shape of a leaf and
the branches of a tree, the structure of a crystal, the spiral of a shell, the symmetry of a
snowflake and the camouflage and signalling patterns on animals, fish and insects.

Man-Made Pattern: Pattern in art is used for both structural and decorative purposes.
For example, an artist may plan the basic structure of an artwork by creating a
compositional pattern of lines and shapes. Within that composition he/she may develop
its visual elements to create a more decorative pattern of color, tone and texture across
the work.

THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - TEXTURE

Texture is the surface quality of an artwork - the roughness or smoothness of the

material from which it is made.

We experience texture in two ways: optically (through sight) and physically(through

touch).

Optical Texture: An artist may use his/her skillful painting technique to create the
illusion of texture. For example, in the detail from a traditional Dutch still life above you
can see remarkable verisimilitude (the appearance of being real) in the painted insects
and drops of moisture on the silky surface of the flower petals.

Physical Texture: An artist may paint with expressive brushstrokes whose texture
conveys the physical and emotional energy of both the artist and his/her subject. They
may also use the natural texture of their materials to suggest their own unique qualities
such as the grain of wood, the grittiness of sand, the flaking of rust, the coarseness of
cloth and the smear of paint.

Ephemeral Texture: This is a third category of textures whose fleeting forms are
subject to change like clouds, smoke, flames, bubbles and liquids.
THE VISUAL ELEMENTS - FORM

Form is the physical volume of a shape and the space that it occupies.

Form can be representational or abstract.

Form generally refers to sculpture, 3D design and architecture but may also
relate to the illusion of 3D on a 2D surface.

Three-Dimensional Form can be modelled (added form), carved (subtracted form) and
constructed (built form). It can be created from sculptural materials like clay, wax,
plaster, wood, stone, concrete, cast and constructed metal, plastics, resins, glass and
mixed media. It may also be kinetic, involving light and movement generated by natural,
mechanical and electronic means. More recently the CAD process of 3D printing has be
been added to the list of sculptural processes.

Two-Dimensional Form constructs the illusion of 3D in 2D media by a skilful

manipulation of the visual elements. Perspective drawing, trompe l'oeil [1], 3D computer
graphics programs and holograms are examples of 2D form.

Source: http://artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/visual-elements/visual-elements.html
The Elements of Visual Arts
Submitted by: Denice Melanie P. Altez
BSPSY- I