Elements Of Art And Design

Elements of art and design are the basic tools used to solve artistic problems. Suffice to say that elements of art and design are the fundamental things or ingredients that are observed in any work of art, which equally make up any work of art.

THE ELEMENTS OF ART AND DESIGN

They are as follows:

1. Line
2. Colour
3. Shape
4. Texture
5. Value or tone
6. Form
7. Space

MEANING AND APPLICATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF ART AND DESIGN

1. LINE: Line is the mark that spans a distance between two points. It is simply the distance between two points. Line is also the point or dot in motion. Line is one art element that encloses space in order to form a shape. Line is applied as a means of drawing the outline of things using various drawing media like pencil, charcoal, crayon and chalk pastel. Line is used to express the outline of objects on paper.

• COLOUR: The effect of colour is produced when light strikes an object and is reflected back to the eyes. The meaning of colour differs from artists and scientist. Artists view colour as the pigment or hue  while scientists view as the decomposition of white light observed through a spectrum. Colour is applied when using sable or hog brush to paint and design sketched objects including free standing artworks and relief artworks.

• SHAPE: Shape is the outlined edge of an object. Shapes like triangle, square, rectangle and circle can be used to create beautiful patterns and also compose free standing objects using paper. Every object has a unique shape which serves a guide to the artist when drawing.

• TEXTURE: Texture is the surface feeling, surface quality or touch value of an object. It is the way a work of art actually feels when touched with the hands. The texture of an artwork can either be rough, smooth, coarse or fine. The artist creates pleasant effects on his or her artwork by making it rough or smooth, coarse or fine.

• VALUE OR TONE: Value is the relation of one part of a picture or drawing to the other part with reference to the degree of lightness and darkness. The effect of value is applied in drawing and painting. After making a sketch of composed objects, shade or paint one part of the composed drawn objects in order to show effect of light and shade. In terms of painting, one part of the composed drawn objects should have a lighter hue and the other part a darker hue. It comes in various degrees of colour  like dark tone, middle tone ,light tone and highlight. Toning of colours can be achieved by making a colour either light or dark. For instance ,you can make a colour light or bright by adding white to it. E.g. WHITE AND BLUE when mixed together produces a lighter hue SKY BLUE (TINT) ,while you can disintensify or reduce the quality of a colour by mixing BLACK AND BLUE to produce a darker hue NAVY BLUE (SHADE) .

• FORM: Form is visible appearance of an object in space. It is the shape of anything that has mass or volume. For example, a horse has a real form which makes it unique. Form is viewed by the artist as a king of contour and visible structure of any perceived idea. Therefore, there is a close relationship between form and shape as they are sometimes viewed to be the same or as one being a substitute to the other. Sphere, cube, cuboid, cylinder and cone are three dimensional forms.

• SPACE: Space is where the artist provides for executing a work of art. The area where a work of art is intended to occupy is called space. From another perspective, space is the open area where a work of art is created. In drawing, the artist should mark out the space of the paper where he or she is to execute his or her drawing so that the sketched objects do not go out of the paper.

EVALUATION

1. Define elements of art and design?
2. State the seven elements of art and design.
3. Mention two functions of line.

GENERAL EVALUATION

1. What is painting?
2. Explain any two types of painting.

READING ASSIGNMENT

Cultural and Creative Art (New Edition) by Peter Akinyemi& Co- Authors. (BOOK 2)Pages 1- 3.

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

1. The shortest distance between two points is called ………..……..(a) texture  (b) line 

(c) shape  (d) form

• A pigment or hue is intensified or made lighter by adding white  to in order  to produce a …………….(a)shade  (b) tint   (c) value   (d) dark hue
• A pigment or hue is disintensifiedor made darker by adding black in order to it to produce a …..………(a) tint  (b) shade  (c) value  (d) light hue
• Which one of the following is NOT an element of art and design? (a) Proportion  

(b)Line  (c) Colour   (d) Texture

• The natural and artificial coloursvarious objects possess are called…………..……. (a) local colour  (b) primary colour  (c) secondary colour  (d) tertiary colour

THEORY

1. List two elements of art and design.
2. What is texture?