An aesthetic manifestation of creativity and imagination, Art is one of the crucial and diverse range

of human activities, it forms an intricate part of a human’s day to day life. In fact, it is comprised of various
creative activities and it is found in behavior and norms of the human societies. With regards to its
characteristics, Art reflects a societal culture, where it express feeling and emotions of the general
population. Not just that, Art is unique yet dynamic and many more at the same time.

The 3 major constitute of art generally includes:

1. Visual Arts
2. Literature Arts
3. Performing Arts.

Visual Arts:
Visual Arts is one of the finest forms of art to express feelings, emotions, and imagination of an
artist. It is simply an expression of an artist who holds apparatuses including graphite pencils, pen, ink,
wax shading, pencils, colored pencils, charcoal, chalk, pastels and much more relies upon its purpose and
nature. The main forms of visual arts includes ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpting, photography and
much more.

Literature Arts:
Literature Arts is exceptionally self-expressive in light of the fact that, this creative writing
expresses the writer or an author emotions, feeling, a point of views and much more. This form of arts is
informative yet imaginative (style of writing), where it generally uses metaphorical literary dialects, phrase
and much more. The main form of literature arts includes Poetry, Fiction writing, Play-writing, Epic poetry
and much more. Remember, Literature Arts is creative and highly entertaining forms of art as we all love
listening to stories, we all enjoy reading Novels. In this way, Literature Arts is one of the most cherished
forms of art by the audience.

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Performing Arts:
One of the most expressive, appreciated and loved by the millions of people, Performing Arts includes
drama, music, dance, theater and much more. Performing Arts like dance generally uses sound (music), as
well as body along with expression, resulting in a rhythmic enigma. Unlike the other forms of art, the artist
in the performing Arts is generally known as the performer. While, the performer can likewise be
determined into dancer, singer, musicians, comedians, actors and so on.

What are the seven elements of art?

LINE

Stock Photos from Rabbit Run 11/Shutterstock

These marks span a distance between two points and can be straight or curved. In visual art, lines
don’t only need to be made with marks and outlines. They can also be implied or abstract. Whether two-
dimensional or three-dimensional, there’s no denying that lines have a huge impact on the rest of the
elements of art. They can be used to create shape and form, as well as give a sense of depth and structure.
Lines are the foundation of drawing and are a powerful tool unto themselves. Using different types of
lines—continuous, broken, vertical, jagged, horizontal—drastically changes the psychology of an artwork,
impacting the viewer greatly.

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COLOR

“Still Life with Irises” by Vincent Van Gogh. 1890.

By working with hue, value, and intensity—three building blocks of colors—
artists can tap into a wide range of emotions. There’s nothing that changes an artwork’s
emotional impact more than color. Masters like Van Gogh, Monet, and Toulouse-
Lautrec all expertly manipulated color in their art to provoke different feelings. Color
can be used symbolically or to create a pattern. It can be selected for contrast or to set
a specific mood. A deep understanding of color theory helps any artist make better use
of the colors they have at their disposal.

SHAPE

“Simultaneous Counter Composition” (1930) by Theo van Doesburg (Photo: Public domain via WikiArt)
The result of closed lines, shapes are two-dimensional, flat, and only have height and width.
Geometric shapes like circles and squares are mathematical and precise, while organic shapes take cues
from nature and tend to be curved and abstract. Henri Matisse‘s collage art makes great use of organic
shapes, while Piet Mondrian is known for relying on geometric shapes in his paintings. Shapes can be used
to control how we perceive a composition. For instance, triangles can help draw the eye to a particular point,
while circles represent continuity.

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FORM

Heydar Aliyev Center (2007-2012) by Zaha Hadid. (Photo: Aleksandr Zykov)

When a shape acquires depth and becomes three-dimensional, then it takes on form. Cylinders,
pyramids, and spheres are some of the more common forms, though they can also be amorphous. In
sculpture, form is of the utmost importance, though it can easily be introduced into drawing and painting
using 3D art techniques. Baroque sculptor Bernini was a master of form, carving his sculptures in a way
that gave enjoyment from any perspective. Form is also a big consideration in architecture, with acclaimed
architects like Frank Lloyd-Wright, Zaha Hadid, and Tadao Ando giving careful consideration to this
element in their designs.

VALUE

“The Tetons and the Snake River” (1942) by Ansel Adams. (Photo: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Related to color, value is the lightness and darkness of a color. The lightest value is white and the
darkest value is black, with the difference between them defined as the contrast. Playing with value can
not only change certain forms, but also influence the mood of the artwork. Value is so important that the
Italians created a term—chiaroscuro—that specifically refers to the use of light and dark in a piece of
art. Baroque painter Caravaggio was a master of using chiaroscuro in his moody oil paintings.
Photographer Ansel Adams is another example of an artist who expertly used value to his advantage by
using areas of contrast to create interest in his landscape photography.
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SPACE

(Photo: Guillaume Briard)

This element of art can be manipulated based on how an artist places lines, shapes, forms, and color.
The placement of these other elements creates space. Space can be either positive or negative. Positive
space is an area occupied by an object or form, while negative space is an area that runs between, through,
around, or within objects. Artists often think about the foreground, middle ground, and background of their
artwork, purposefully placing shapes and lines throughout the space to achieve the perfect composition. A
sense of depth in two-dimensional works is often achieved by perspective, which itself can rely on lines or
colors.

TEXTURE

“Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix” (1805-1808) by Antonio Canova. (Photo: Public domain via Wikipedia)
Texture is an element of art that also plays to our sense of touch. It’s defined as a description of the
way something feels or looks like it would feel. Sometimes we’re speaking about an actual texture that can
be felt, as in the case of Icelandic artist Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir, who creates installation art using
synthetic hair. Other times, the texture is an implied visual texture that is two-dimensional. Smooth, rough,
hard, soft, furry, fluffy, and bumpy are just some different textures that evoke different responses.

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For instance, an artist look for a hyperrealistic result would want clouds to appear fluffy, while another
artist wishing to subvert conventions might play with texture to create a surreal experience for the viewer.
19th-century sculptor Antonio Canova was a master of this, as exemplified by his portrait of Napoleon’s
sister where she’s resting on a cushion that seems so soft and touchable, it’s hard to believe that it’s marble.

Difference Between The Elements and Principles of Art

It's easy to get confused when discussing the elements and principles of art and group them all
together as one big group of abstract terms. It's much easier to understand when you compare them to
cooking.

When you are cooking something, you have a list of ingredients that are organized by the recipe.
The elements of art are like the ingredients. If you are a good cook, then you care about quality ingredients.
The same is true if you are a good artist. You care about the quality of elements that you chose to put in
your artwork.

The lines, shapes, forms, values, colors, textures, and spaces that are incorporated must all work to
make your artwork great. The elements must be used as quality ingredients in an artwork.

So you must spend some time exploring them, understanding them, and learning how to use them
together effectively. The same is true of cooking - you cannot just throw a list of great ingredients together
and expect to create a great dish. You must follow the recipe.

The recipe is the principles of art. The principles of art are an organized way that the elements of
art are arranged in a work of art.

The elements can be arranged in a work to produce balance, harmony, unity, rhythm, proportion,
variety, emphasis, and movement. So the principles of art are dependent on the elements. No elements -
no principles. No ingredients - no recipe.

So you must explore the principles as well. Creating good artwork is not just skill. It is definitely
not luck or trial and error. It is knowledge.

The Principles of Art

The principles of art generally deal with the way the elements of art are composed within the work
of art. So, the principles of art typically deal with composition. The principles tend to be more fluid than
the elements meaning that opinions vary on what the principles really are. I suggest that there are eight
concrete principles of art, and few others that would be considered art fundamentals.

The eight principles of art are balance, proportion, unity, harmony, variety, emphasis, rhythm,
and movement. All of these principles clearly deal with the placement of elements within artwork.

Other Fundamentals of Art

Of course, there are other art fundamentals other than the elements and principles that every
artist should understand and implement. These include, but are not limited to composition, contrast,
dominance, content implementation, aesthetics, art criticism, and symbolism.

Composition - The way visual elements are positioned in a work of art. Composition is highly dependent
on the use of the principles of art.
Contrast - refers to difference between elements or subjects within a work of art. Contrast can be created
through variety within the elements of art. (i.e. value, color, texture) Contrast can used to create a focal
point or area of interest in an artwork.
Dominance - refers to one area of a work of art that is visually heavier demanding more attention.
Dominance is closely related to emphasis.
Content - refers to the message or meaning within an artwork.
Aesthetics - refers to the artwork's visual attraction or beauty.
Art Criticism - An organized approach to evaluating artwork.
Symbolism - Using visual objects or arrangements to represent an alternate meaning.

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