1. . 27/04/2018 DOTS AND POINTS What is it?
Is it a point / a pixel / a dot / a full stop?
Complete these definitions :
1.In art a……………….. Is the first and primary visual mark. It is a key element for lots of abstract painters.
2. The term………………………….is actually short for picture elements. It’s the basic unit of images on a computer monitor.
3. At this ……………………… we are ready to start.
4. A …………………………is a mark of punctuation.

2. 27/04/2018 .
FULL -STOP
PIXEL
POINT
DOT
That’s all for today.

3. 27/04/2018 WHAT IS A POINT? WHAT IS A DOT?
A point is a coordinate without any dimensions, without any area.
We can’t actually draw a point, what we can draw is a dot.
WHAT IS A DOT?
A dot is the smallest element of the visual language.
In fact dots are the building blocks of everything else.
In art we produce a dot when a tool (pencil, brush, needle, felt-tip, pricker, finger, crayon..) meets a surface leaving a mark.
Every different tool produces a different mark. The result depends on the material on which it is left.
Any other mark we make can be seen as one or more dots in combination.
While we often think of dots as circular in nature, they don’t have to be circular.
The most important thing is the proportion of the dot, the space around it and the position of the dot within that space.
Dots centrally placed within a composition create symmetry and are neutral and static. Dots placed off centre create asymmetry. They are dynamic

4. ……… ………… 27/04/2018 ALIGNEMENT ARRANGEMENT DEPTH CASUALNESS
REGULAR RHYTHM
IRREGULAR RYTHM

5. DOTS: SIZE AND POSITION
27/04/2018
DOTS: SIZE AND POSITION
EFFECT
DOTS SIZE
DOTS POSITION
Same dimension
and a direction: they are aligned
Alignement
They are arranged in a regular pattern . They are perceived as horizontal and vertical lines
Same dimension
Arrangement
but they have no direction and are drawn in a casual order
Casualness
Same dimension

6. but the same direction and they follow the same sequence
27/04/2018
but the same direction and they follow the same sequence
Regular rhythm
Different dimensions
Different dimensions
Irregular rhythm
but they are lined up in a regular grid in an irregular order
no direction and irregular order
Different dimensions
Depth

7. 27/04/2018
Irregular rythm
Depth
Alignement
Arrangement
Regular rhytm
Casualness

8. 27/04/2018
Match definitions and characteristics.
ALIGNEMENT
ARRANGEMENT
CASUALNESS
REGULAR RYTHM
IRREGULAR RHYTHM
DEPTH
DOTS HAVE:
Same dimension but they have no direction and are drawn in a casual order
A variation of dimensions, no direction and irregular order
The same dimension and they are arranged in a regular pattern . They are perceived as horizontal and vertical lines
different dimensions but they are lined up in a regular grid in a irregular order
Same dimension and a direction: they are aligned
Different dimension but the same direction and they follow the same sequence

9. 27/04/2018
DOTS AGGREGATIONS
ACCUMULATION
RAREFACTION
If lots of dots are near one another, you get an effect of…………………………………..
If dots are far from, one another, there is an effect of…………………………………….

10. 27/04/2018
Images are perceived through the eyes, by the effects of accumulation or of rarefaction of tiny dots: thick or thin aggregations of dots create effects or threedimensionality.
If dots are closely drawn they create light/dark areas that look like shadow and hollows.
If dots are thinning out drawn they create light/dark that give the idea of light and reliefs

11. 27/04/2018
Can you match these words and pictures?
Thin out dots
Closely drawn dots
Hollow
Relief

12. 27/04/2018
Using coloured dots aligned with regular rythm
you can obtain decorative effects, like this aboriginal
painting.
What kind of visual element is used?
What shapes does it form?
What colours are there?
Can you see a hidden natural element?
What is it?
Is it represented in a realistic way?

13. 27/04/2018
PATTERNS AND TEXTURES
Structures, specifically patterns and textures, are used to differentiate one form from another and a form from its surrounding space. They also add interest, depth, and a sense of realism to your design. They can be added to individual forms or to the space around forms and they are created through organized or random structuring of dots, marks or lines.
Any time we place two or more objects on a surface in relation to each other they form a structure. 
Patterns are structures with a geometric quality. When objects are arranged in a recognizable and repeatable structure they form a pattern. A pattern is a visual element that repeats.
Textures are structures with irregular surface activity. When objects are arranged in a random or varying pattern they form a texture.

14. 27/04/2018
Texture and patterns are used to differentiate one form from another and a form from its surrounding space.

15. 27/04/2018
Textures are organic and natural. The size of the objects dots, marks or lines forming the texture may vary. The distance between them may vary. The density of the structure may vary. 

16. 27/04/2018
The author is……………..
The author is……………….
Consider the two images depicting Vincent Van Gogh’s bedroom in Arles, one by Roy Lichtenstein and one by Van Gogh himself
The Lichtenstein image uses pattern and the Van Gogh image uses texture. Both images while strikingly similar in composition are also strikingly different in their use of structures and the feeling they convey.
Can you recognize the author of the two paintings?

17. 27/04/2018
What is a line?
A line is a series of points adjacent to each other, where a point has no dimension, a line has one dimension: a length
When it is created by a graphic tool (pen, felt-tip, brush..) it reproduces the movement of the hand that is drawing it, that’s why a line is a dynamic element.
A line expresses its author’s personality. An artist chooses the marks of his picture
according to the kind of message he wants to give.

18. Dynamism and instability Upward movement
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A horizontal line gives a message of calm, a vertical one of upward movement,
Calm and immobility
Dynamism and instability
Upward movement
a slanted line gives a message of dynamism and instability, a tangled line a message of confusion and a circular line a message of tidiness
Confusion
Tidiness

19. 27/04/2018
A line leads somewhere, your eye moves along it, seeking one or both of its endpoints
ENDPOINT
Where dots are about position, lines are about movement and direction. This movement and direction makes lines dynamic. A line is not attracting you to a point in space. It’s directing you towards and away from points in space

20. 27/04/2018
The movements of a line give different sensations.
For example a soft wavy line gives a sense of calm and harmony
A varied line gives a sense of dynamism, regular variations of directions
give the idea of rythm.
RHYTHM
HARMONY
DYNAMISM

21. 27/04/2018
Lines not only connect elements, they can also separate elements. They can connect an element to space or separate it from space.
Lines separate and join both spaces and objects
A line connects
or separates

22. 27/04/2018
THICKNESS
As lines become thicker they begin to be perceived as planes or surfaces and they gain mass. To maintain their identity as lines they must increase in length as they increase in width
THIN LINE
A THICK LINE MUST INCREASE IN LENGTH AS IT INCREASES IN WIDTH

23. 27/04/2018
If a line continues to get thicker without getting longer at some point it ceases to be a line and becomes a surface or plane.

24. Lines further apart recede into the background
27/04/2018
Changing the thickness or weight of lines and the intervals between lines creates a sense of depth. Lines that appear closer together have more tension between them and advance to the foreground. Lines further apart have less tension between them and recede into the background.
Less tension
Lines further apart recede into the background
Lines closer together and thicker advance to the foreground

25. THICKNESS and CLOSENESS
27/04/2018
THICKNESS and CLOSENESS
What do you notice?
Is the thickness and closeness of lines important in art?
What effects can you create with lines?

26. 27/04/2018
JUST USING LINES AND DOTS, WRITE HOW YOU CAN CREATE EFFECTS OF:
Thin out dots and lines
DEPTH
LIGHT
Dots accumulation
Thick or thin aggregation of dots
DARK
HOLLOW
Dots rarefaction
RELIEF
Closely drawn dots and lines
THREE-DIMENSIONALITY
Different sizes of dots and lines

27. 27/04/2018
RHYTHM
As the interval between a series of lines and the width of those lines varies, a rhythm is created. Changing the color or value of the lines can add more complexity to that rhythm. (different effects)

28. The Relationship Between Line and Line
27/04/2018
The Relationship Between Line and Line
When two lines join they create an angle between them.
When the angle between lines is acute (less than 90 degrees) the movement and change in direction is perceived to be rapid.

29. 27/04/2018

30. 27/04/2018
Slide 3

31. 27/04/2018
Slide 3: from “Points, dots and lines: The Elements Of Design part II” – by Steven Bradley
Slide 7 :from “Percorsi CLIL di arte e immagine” a cura di Paolo Balboni.
Slide 15 and 16 :from Structures As Patterns and Textures: The Elements Of Design Part IV- by Steven Bradley