8 Art Elements Overview

8 Art Elements Review
________________________________

A line is a point moving through space. We can measure the length of a line and nothing else; therefore it is one dimensional or 1 -D. (A line has NO thickness or depth)


A line that intersects itself will create a shape. (Draw a scribble, wherever the line crosses itself, you have made a shape) A Shape is 2 dimensional, having just length and width but NO depth. There are 3 basic shapes. They are the Triangle, Circle and Square. A shape like a rectangle could be made from 2 squares so it is not "basic".


A shape that moves in space can create a form. Think of a coin, it is a circle, but when you flick it to spin, this shape, takes up the space of a form we call a sphere. Each basic shape can be spun or moved to create a basic form. There are 4 basic forms. They are the Cylinder, Cone, Cube and Sphere. (A pyramid is NOT a basic form because it can be made by cutting 4 planes from a cone)


There are 3 basic colors. Basic colors are also called primary colors. When these basic colors mix they create secondary colors of which there are 3. Color is reflected light. When light enters a room, your shirt absorbs all the colors within the light (a rainbow), but rejects or reflects the one color you see. KNOW the color wheel and color mixtures!!!! (There is a color wheel on the bottom right of this webpage) Some people try to remember the order of colors with the name "Roy G. Biv" The letters are the first letters of the colors starting with Red, then Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo (a kind of blue-ish purple) and Violet.


Mass Refers to the weight of something, sometimes it is real and sometimes it is the way it looks. A dark colored box will look heavier than a light colored one. (We have all had the experience of lifting what we thought was a light object but then being surprised to find it was much heavier than expected.)


The roughness or smoothness of a surface refers to its Texture. It can sometimes be made by repeating an art element many times. For example if you draw 100 lines, they will no longer be seen as lines, but as a texture; like grass. If you place 100 small pyramids together on the floor, you will no longer see a pyramid, but only notice a rough texture. It is impossible to say how many times an element has to be repeated to make a texture, there is no exact number.


All objects, art and non-art, take up space. Many art elements move through it. This art element comes in 2 types, they are positive space, meaning where the object IS, and negative space, meaning where the object is NOT. If you think of a chair, the metal and foam that make up the chair are the positive space, but the air around it and under it are the negative space. (You exist within the negative space of your home, you live in it's empty spaces. If you were part of your home's positive space, you would be physically IN THE WALLS or floor of the building.)


The art element of light helps us see all other art elements. We see everything because it is reflected off of an object or surface and back to our eye. When it is NOT bounced back to us we see shadow, or black or nothing. Without light we cannot see any art elements.