1. Syllabus, class rules, grading system, this site structure overview
2. Graphic Design elements - essential visual building blocks:
Line, shape, texture, color, value, space, scale, size
Video The Elements of Art
Line
Lines vary in width (weight), length, and direction. They can be geometric or organic.
Most often, lines define the edges of a shape.
For example, a curvy line has the ability to suggest comfort and ease, whereas a jagged one can evoke anxiety and commotion.
Shape
Shapes are typically two-dimensional, meaning they only have length and width. They are defined as geometric (square, oval, triangular, etc.) or organic (freehand).
Skillful artists can create an illusion of form working with shapes with Trompe-l’œil technique
Trompe-l'œil is an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions.
Trompe L'oeil pronunciation
Examples:
"Quetzalcoatl" by John Pugh
Escaping Criticism (1874) By Pere Borrell del Caso
Form
Form is a three-dimensional object with volume of height, width and depth. These objects include cubes, spheres, cylinders, etc. They can be geometrical or organic. Form is often used when referring to physical works of art, like sculptures.
Color, chrome (from Ancient Greek χρῶμα (khrôma, “color”)
Color is a huge subject. Shortly, main characteristics (or attributes) of color are:
- value (spectrum of light and dark),
- intensity or saturation (spectrum of bright and dull),
- temperature (warm, cold)
Color attributes
Value (chromatic or achromatic)
Value refers to the amount of lightness and darkness within an image. The difference in values is often called contrast, and references the lightest (white) and darkest (black) tones of a work of art, with an infinite number of grey variants in between.
Value scale from 0 to 10
Design with values, geometric
Design with values, organic
Texture
Texture in art appeals to our sense of touch, the main two forms are actual and visual.
Actual, or physical texture, refers to the real tactical properties of an object; paper also can have texture. Visual texture is the illusion of texture, created by other design elements
Wood surface visual texture
Jan Bruegel the Younger (Flemish, 1601-1678)
Very impressive with Trompe l'oeil technique:
Jean-Etienne Liotard, Trompe l'oeil with Two Bas-reliefs and Two Drawings, 1771.
Space
In art and design, space refers to how a piece of artwork is organized – the area above, below, and within components of a piece. Space also deals with the illusion of depth on a flat surface.
Space can be positive or negative and the relationship between the two is very important (we will study it later)
Size, Scale, Proportions
- Size is a physical measurements of an object.
- Scale refers to the size of an object in relationship to another object.
- Proportion refers to the relative size of parts of a whole (elements within an object).
For example, we often think of proportions in terms of size relationships within the human body.
Golden ratio
The ideal proportion in architecture (and furniture, and art, and music, and mathematics, and design, etc.) is considered to be the golden ratio, or the golden section, first described by ancient Greek mathematicians such as Euclid and Pythagoras, but also observable in nature. It has an ability to achieve a perfect aesthetic composition.
The ratio = 1.618, which is derived from the equation (a+b)/a = a/b = 1.618
The Parthenon, a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis dedicated to the goddess Athena, Greece, 438 BC
Video Summary: The Elements of Art
3. Elements of Art, examples discussion
Leonardo da Vinci
Rene Magritte
Johannes Vermeer
