Elements of Art

The building blocks of artwork. All art contains one or more of the elements of art. You can think of them as the ingredients in the recipe for making art.

Line    The path of a point. 
Shape An closed line- can be geometric or organic.
Form  Three-dimensional shapes.          
Value The lightness or darkness of an image.
Color  The way light bounces off of an object.
Space How big, small, close or far away something is.
Texture How something feels or looks like it would feel like.   

Principles of Design

The concepts used to organize or arrange the elements of design.

Balance is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space.
Emphasis is the part of the design that catches the viewer’s attention.
Movement is the path the viewer’s eye takes through the artwork, often to focal areas.
Pattern is the repetition of an element in the artwork.
Contrast shows the difference between two or more areas of the artwork.
Proportion relates to sizes, amounts, or number of objects in an artwork and how they relate with each other.
Variety is the use of several elements of design to hold the viewer’s attention and to guide the viewer’s eye through the artwork.
Unity is the feeling of harmony between all parts of the artwork creating a sense of completeness.