The Elements of Design Whether you have taken art before or not, it is important to learn and frequently review some of the building blocks for creating ART! These basic building blocks are called: The Elements of Design. The Elements of Design. One easy way to remember the Elements of Design is to remember this phrase: “T.V. Shows C.F.L. Season” for… Texture Value Shape Colour Form Line Space

T is for… Texture Texture refers to the surface quality or “feel” of an object (smooth, rough, soft, etc). Two kinds of texture are seen in art… Actual texture is real and can be touched in art pieces. Simulated texture is the illusion of texture, perceived by our sense of sight.

V is for… Value Value is the lightness or darkness of a non-coloured object (grey-scale). There can be gradual transitions of value or sudden transitions that create contrast.

Value can be created by an artist through smooth shading, hatching, cross-hatching, pointillism as well as many other techniques which depend on the medium (e.g. pencils, pastels, paint, etc.) you are using.

S is for… Shape Shape is an enclosed space defined and determined by elements such as line, colour and value. It is flat or 2- dimensional. Shape can be geometric (such as circles, squares, or triangles) or… …organic (that is non- geometric shapes, often seen in nature like puddles or a leaf).

C is for… Colour Colour is the reflection of light off of a pigment. Three aspects of colour are: hue (the pure colour’s name), intensity (the brightness or dullness of a colour), and value (the lightness or darkness of a colour).

The primary colours are: red, blue and yellow. The primary colours are: red, blue and yellow. The secondary colours are: green, orange and violet. The secondary colours are: green, orange and violet. The tertiary colours are: yellow-orange, red-orange, red- purple, blue-purple, blue-green, and yellow-green (the primary colour is always named first). The tertiary colours are: yellow-orange, red-orange, red- purple, blue-purple, blue-green, and yellow-green (the primary colour is always named first).

Some colour schemes (combinations) that we often use in art include… Monochromatic: One colour plus tints (adding white) and shades (adding black). Analogous: 3-5 colours side-by-side on the colour wheel.

Complementary: Two colours which are opposite on the colour wheel. Split-Complementary: A colour plus the two neighbours of its complementary colour.

Warm Colours: Using mostly yellows, oranges, and reds. Cool Colours: Using mostly blues, greens, and violets.

F is for… Form Form is the same as the element of shape except that it is always 3-dimensional therefore it shows a sense of depth (the 3rd dimension after length and width), volume (space within the form) and mass (bulk / size of the form). Form can also be geometric or organic.

L is for… Line Line is often an outline, contour, or silhouette. Line can be 2- dimensional (like pencil lines) created by a continuous mark made on a surface with a moving point. Line can also be 3- dimensional (like wire sculptures).

S is for… Space Space refers to the distance or area between, around, above or below, or within objects. Space can refer to the actual space that an art piece occupies (such as a large or small sculpture), but space can also be the illusion of space or depth in a drawing or painting. It can be described as 2D or 3D. There are six ways to create the illusion of depth in 2D (flat) art such as drawings and paintings:

1)size (closer objects appear larger, more distant objects appear smaller) 2) different planes (foreground, middle ground, background)

3) overlapping (when objects are placed in front of one another to show depth)

4) contrasted value (high value in foreground, low value in background) or contrasted intensity (more intense colours in foreground, less intense in background) – sometimes called “atmospheric perspective.” “atmospheric perspective.”

5) colour temperature (warm colours appear to be closer than cool colours)

6) linear perspective (1 point, 2 point, 3 point perspective – a mathematical way to give the appearance of depth.)