Elements of
Art & Design
Compiled by
Satish B
Academic Head,
Creative Alchemist, Bengaluru
Elements of art & design
The elements of art are the building blocks of
art or the ingredients used to create art and
design.
Painter and Design theorist, Maitland E.
Graves (1902-1978) listed the importance of
the elements of design in his book – ―The art
of color and design‖
When you disregard the elements of art and
design, there will be some compensation or
violation in the quality of the output.
Elements of art & design
Point
Line
Shape
Form
Color
Value
Space
Texture
Point
Points are just dots
in space. The
space can be 2D
or 3D. These points
lack dimensions on
their own.
Line
A line can be described as
the path of a point moving
through space. In an
artwork, there are many
types of line. We can look
for the direction of the line,
the feeling of the line, the
quality of the line, and how
the lines move our eye
through artworks.
Line
active — passive
bold — delicate
flowing — light
straight — curved
thick — thin
long — short
broken — continuous
geometric — organic
implied — actual
precise — irregular
contour — outline
vertical — horizontal
perpendicular — parallel
zig-zag — direct
Shape
A shape is an enclosed
area of space created
through lines and other
elements of the
composition. Shapes
can be geometric or
free-form.
Organic shapes are free- Geometric shapes are
formed and curved, like precise – like squares,
people, animals, trees, triangles, rectangles,
and other natural polygons, etc.
elements.
FORM
Form is always three-
dimensional. A form is
measurable by length,
width, and height, and
encloses volume. Forms
can be actual 3-D forms
created with sculpture or
architecture, or they can
be implied forms where the
artist creates the illusion of
the 3D onto a flat surface.
Anything can be broken down into its constituent shapes and
forms in order to simplify the drawing process.
COLOR
Color is perceived by the
way an object reflects or
emits light. By placing
colors next to each other
in different ways, artists
can create a variety of
effects.
Each color has three
properties: hue,
Saturation and value.
VALUE
Value in art refers to the
lightness and darkness of
colors and is often
described in varying levels
of contrast.
A value scale shows the
range of tones from white,
which is the lightest, to
black, which is the darkest.
The closer together the
values are on a scale, the
less contrast we see.
VALUE
Space
Space is how an artwork
uses or depicts depth or
distance. Sculptors and
architects work with all
three dimensions of
space – height, width,
and depth.
Artists who work on a flat
surface can make a two-
dimensional surface
appear three-
dimensional.
Space
Space can give the
illusion of objects in an
artwork being close or
far away.
Positive space is the
areas of the artwork filled
with the content, and
negative space is the
space in between.
Texture
Texture refers to the tactile
qualities of a surface – the way
objects actually feel or the way
they look like they would feel.
Sculptures, ceramics, mixed-
media collages, fiber art, etc.,
may have bumpy or varied
surfaces – actual textures you can
feel.
A painting, drawing, print, or other
two-dimensional work can be
made to look like a textured
surface – implied texture.
Drawing is not a talent. It is a
skill anyone can learn.
Practise beyond curriculum.
Application of Drawing
Painting
Sculpture
Architecture
Fashion design
Animation design
Game design
Transportation design
Graphic design
Product design, etc.
End of
presentation
Thank you
Here is the secret:
Practise, practise and practise
