Every drawing, painting, statue and building is made from a few basic parts. Art teachers call them the elements of art: line, shape, form, space, value, texture and color. This course starts with those parts, then turns to color, then to the ways artists arrange the parts.
Key idea
The elements are the parts a work is made of. The principles of design (balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, unity, variety and proportion) are the ways those parts are arranged.
| Element | What it is |
|---|---|
| Line | A mark longer than it is wide; actual or implied. |
| Shape | A flat, closed area: geometric or organic. |
| Form | Something with three dimensions, or the look of them. |
| Space | The area around, between and within things; also the look of depth. |
| Value | Lightness and darkness. |
| Texture | How a surface feels, or looks as if it would feel. |
| Color | Hue, value and saturation of the light we see. |
Why it works
Names help you see. A cook who knows the ingredients can taste what is in a soup. Once you can name the elements, you can point to the exact parts of a picture that make it work, instead of saying only "I like it."
Worked example: Naming the elements
A painting has a thick, wavy stroke of bright blue paint along the bottom. You could feel the ridges of paint with your finger. Which elements are at work in that one stroke?
- It is a mark much longer than it is wide, and it waves: that is line.
- It is bright blue: that is color.
- The paint stands up in ridges you could touch: that is texture.
Answer: Line, color and texture, all in one stroke.
Common mistake
Mixing up the parts with the arrangements. Balance is a principle, not an element. So are contrast, emphasis and rhythm. A quick test: can you point to it as a thing in the picture (a line, a red patch, a rough area)? Then it is an element. Is it about how things are arranged (evenly, with one standing out)? Then it is a principle.
Books differ a little. Some list the principles in other words or add a few, but these seven elements are the list most American art classes use. The Drawing Basics course practices them with a pencil.