Art Elements Notes

Art Elements: are __________________________. These building blocks are

__________, __________, ___________, __________, __________, _________ and
__________. All art has one or more of these.

LINE: Line is the path of a point moving through space (think of a pencil point making a
line). Line can be __________ or ___________, it can be 2D or 3D such as wire or
string.

An example of a literal line is:

An example of an implied line is:

Line can be described by the way it looks or its “characteristics”.

Line has 5 characteristics:
● ___________: ________________________________________
● ___________: ________________________________________
● ___________: ________________________________________
● ___________: ________________________________________
● ___________: ________________________________________

In the boxes below give examples of various line characteristics

Measure Type Location Direction Character

What type of materials could you use to make a line?

What type of art or product uses line?

SHAPE: representation of spatial area (space that can be measured) that is 2D or flat.

● Shape can be literal or implied, for example:

● Shape is often but not always made by a line, for example:

● Once a line is connected it makes a shape, for example:

Shape has two categories _________________ and __________________

● ______________ shapes can be measured with formulas (think geometry) and

can be recognized by their name. If you can name it, it’s likely a geometric
shape. Give five examples below and name the shape. (a heart is not a
geometric shape)

___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ____________

● _______________ shapes are made up or free flowing shapes and unlike

geometric shapes are not easily measured. Organic shapes can be completely
made up or can be inspired by nature. Though these shapes typically do not
have formal names some are generalized such as a heart, leaf, cloud, tree etc.
Give five examples below of organic shapes.

___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ____________

FORM: Similar to shape but is or represents a 3D space. Form has a literal (3D or
implied (2D) __________, _________, and __________.

An example of a literal form is:_______________________ and has shadows and

highlights created by light.

An example of an implied form is: _____________________ and has added shading

and highlights to help make it look 3D.

There are two types of Form ______________ & ________________

● Geometric forms, literal or implied are easily measurable and have a name.
Give three examples of a geometric forms ____________, _____________,
__________.

● Organic forms, are not easily measured and often do not have any formal
name. Give three examples of an organic form or object __________,
___________, ____________

TEXTURE: The tactile qualities (the way it feels to the touch) of a surface. It can be
____________ such as an actual object. Or it can be ____________ such as a flat
image that looks like it might have a physical feeling.

Give 5 examples of literal textures:

______________________________________________________________________

Give 3 written examples of implied textures and draw two in boxes below
______________________________________________________________________

VALUE: Refers to the relative _______________ or ______________ of something

Value Scale
 __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
_____________________________ _________ __________________________
( ______________________) (______________________)

What are different ways that you could create value changes with different materials?
Give two examples-
______________________________________________________________________

SPACE: Refers to the area art is organized or arranged in.

● There is ___________ space and ___________ space in art. The positive space is
where you will find the subject or main focus of the image, while the negative
space is the background or area surrounding the positive space.

● Space can also refer to where items fall in an image. An image is most commonly
broken up into 3 spaces. _______________ which is closest to the viewer, the
____________________ which falls in the middle of an image, and the
___________________ which is the area that is furthest away. ____________
helps show space as it tells viewers what is in front or behind something.

Atmospheric perspective or the Illusion of space can also be created through:

● ___________ change, things appear smaller when they go into the distance
● ___________ and ____________ of an something. Colors and details become
duller or more blurry as it moves further away.

In the space to the right, create an image that has a

foreground, middle, and background
and demonstrates atmospheric perspective.
COLOR: comes from light refracting (when something changes direction/or bends) off
an object. Color has three properties __________(Color), _________(lightness and
darkness), and ____________(intensity or brightness).
 ● Color comes from _________. There is no color in darkness, because there is no
light. When light refracts off a clear surface such as glass or water the whole
color spectrum can be seen, also known as the rainbow.

PROPERTIES OF COLOR:

Hue/Color- the actual color based on the color spectrum. There are 7 hues abbreviated
by ROYGBIV ______ _______ _________ ________ ________ ________ _________

Saturation/Intensity- The brightness of a color, for example…

______________________________________________________________________

Value- is the lightness or darkness of a color. Some colors are naturally lighter or darker
such as _____________ and ____________. But value can also be controlled through
adding __________ or _____________ to a color. For example…
______________________________________________________________________

Categories of Color on a Color Wheel

● ____________ are colors that can’t be made by

mixing. These are ________, ________, and
_______. When mixed make other colors.

● ____________ colors are made by mixing two

primary colors together such as ______+______
=_________. The secondary colors are
_________, ________, _________

● ______________ are colors that come from

mixing a secondary and a primary such as
_________ + _______ = _________________.
These colors are _______, ________, _______,
________, _______, _________