Name: Tehanie Christy G.

Molarto Section: 25N

Assignment No. 1 Date: June xx, 2013

What is Design? Design is the PROCESS of SELECTING and ORGANIZING elements or components in order to fulfill a specific purpose. This purpose may be functional or aesthetic, or (frequently) both. The elements and principles of design are the building blocks used to create a work of art. The elements of design can be thought of as the things that make up a painting, drawing, design etc. Good or bad - all paintings will contain most of if not all, the seven elements of design. The Principles of design can be thought of as what we do to the elements of design. How we apply the Principles of design determines how successful we are in creating a work of art.

Principles of Design BALANCE Balance in design is similar to balance in physics

A large shape close to the center can be balanced by a small shape close to the edge. A large light toned shape will be balanced by a small dark toned shape (the darker the shape the heavier it appears to be)

GRADATION Gradation of size and direction produce linear perspective. Gradation of colour from warm to cool and tone from dark to light produce aerial perspective. Gradation can add interest and movement to a shape. A

gradation from dark to light will cause the eye to move along a shape.

REPETITION Repetition with variation is interesting, without variation repetition can become monotonous.

The five squares above are all the same. They can be taken in and understood with a single glance.

When variation is introduced, the five squares, although similar, are much more interesting to look at. They can no longer be absorbed properly with a single glance. The individual character of each square needs to be considered. If you wish to create interest, any repeating element should include a degree of variation.

CONTRAST Contrast is the juxtaposition of opposing elements eg. opposite colours on the colour wheel - red / green, blue / orange etc. Contrast in tone or value - light / dark. Contrast in direction - horizontal / vertical. The major contrast in a painting should be located at the center of interest. Too much contrast scattered throughout a painting can destroy unity and make a work difficult to look at. Unless a feeling of chaos and confusion are what you are seeking, it is a good idea to carefully consider where to place your areas of maximum contrast.

HARMONY Harmony in painting is the visually satisfying effect of combining similar, related elements. eg.adjacent colours on the colour wheel, similar shapes etc.

DOMINANCE Dominance gives a painting interest, counteracting confusion and monotony. Dominance can be applied to one or more of the elements to give emphasis.

UNITY Relating the design elements to the the idea being expressed in a painting reinforces the principal of unity.eg. a painting with an active aggressive subject would work better with a dominant oblique direction, course, rough texture, angular lines etc. whereas a quiet passive subject would benefit from horizontal lines, soft texture and less tonal contrast. Unity in a painting also refers to the visual linking of various elements of the work.

Elements of Design

LINE Line can be considered in two ways. The linear marks made with a pen or brush or the edge created when two shapes meet. SHAPE A shape is a self contained defined area of geometric or organic form. A positive shape in a painting automatically creates a negative shape. DIRECTION All lines have direction - Horizontal, Vertical or Oblique. Horizontal suggests calmness, stability and tranquillity. Vertical gives a feeling of balance, formality and alertness. Oblique suggests movement and action The element of direction can have a powerful influence on the mood of a painting. It is something often overlooked, but making a conscience decision about the dominant direction in a painting can have a noticeable effect on the atmosphere of the work. Sometimes the subject will dictate the dominant direction. Sometimes the subject will allow you to impose a direction on it.

SIZE Size is simply the relationship of the area occupied by one shape to that of another.

TEXTURE Texture is the surface quality of a shape - rough, smooth, soft hard glossy etc. Texture can be physical (tactile) or visual. Texture is an obvious and important element in a painting. To save confusion it can be broken into two parts. Physical Texture is the texture you can actually feel with your hand. The build up of paint, slipperiness of soft pastel, layering of collage - all the things that change the nature of the papers surface. Visual Texture is the illusion of physical texture, created with the materials you use. Paint can be manipulated to give the impression of texture, while the paper surface remains smooth and flat. Traditional transparent watercolour makes little use of physical texture other than the roughness of the paper. Mixed media allows advantage to be taken of physical as well as visual texture. Understanding the difference between physical and visual texture helps us take full advantage of this element. Things to consider Texture is often something that finds its way into a painting in an accidental sort of way, particularly with mixed media. Lumps, bumps and scratches pop up all over the place, often bearing no relationship to the painting. Make it a habit to question whether these marks help the work or just add unnecessary confusion. Some heavily textured watercolour papers can have an overbearing effect on a painting. Always try and relate this type of paper to your subject Texture can have more impact through variation and relief - contrasting rough, course areas with orderly patterned areas and providing smooth areas of relief will make a painting far more interesting than an even, unrelieved texture running from edge to edge. Remember - creating textures is easy, its where and how you place them that makes the difference between a good painting and an ordinary one.

COLOUR Also called Hue The 12 part colour wheel below is based on the three primary colours ( Red, Yellow and Blue ) placed evenly around a circle. Between the three primaries are the secondary colours (Green, Orange and Violet) which are mixtures of the two primaries they sit between. The tertiary colours fall between each primary and secondary. Between yellow and orange, for example, is yellow orange, between blue and violet is blue violet and so on. All these colours around the outside of the colour wheel are called saturatedcolours. They contain no black, no white and none of their complimentary or opposite colour. Compound colours are colours containing a mixture of the three primaries. All the browns, khakis and earth colours are compound colours Imagine a colour wheel filled in with all the compound mixtures between all the complementary colours. If this colour wheel is placed in the middle of a cylinder with progressively darker shades of all those colours below and progressively lighter tints above, the cylinder would contain every possible colour!

VALUE Value is the lightness or darkness of a colour. Value is also called Tone.