TEACHING THE VISUAL ARTS (CAED 18) Bicol University

A.Y. 2023-2024 | 2nd SEMESTER College of Education

PROFESSOR: Ma’am Tin Daraga, Albay

ASSIGNMENT NO. 1

VARIOUS FOUNDATIONS OF VISUAL ARTS

The six fundamentals of art are the "rules" artists generally abide by. Each rule or component — anatomy,
perspective, form and structure, lighting and shadow, color, and composition — will contribute to the overall visual
impact of your artwork. Through their interactions and intersections, these elements come alive, helping artists create
work full of creativity, a required level of realism, and expression.

Anatomy

Understanding anatomy is essential whenever drawing humans, animals, or plants. Being able to ascertain how
the human body works, its proportions and joints, etc., helps you illustrate, sculpt, or animate more realistic poses and
movements, such as walking, jumping over a fence, or picking up an object from a table. The same goes for understanding
animal and flora anatomy if you want to create art that includes animals and/or plants.

Examples of the human and animal form by Advanced Digital Illustration Course grad, Jessica G, which she sketched
during one of CG Spectrum's free extracurricular figure drawing sessions (one of the many perks of studying with CGS!).

Perspective

Artists use perspective to make a two-dimensional image (drawn on paper or a screen) appear as though it has
three dimensions. For example, perspective rules state that objects get smaller as they are further away from you. So if
you’re drawing a speaker's perspective on a stage while speaking to an auditorium, the front row of chairs will be the
biggest, decreasing in size as you progress to the back rows.

When using fundamentals of perspective, you may use one of the following in your compositions:

One-point (or linear) perspective: Creating one imaginary “vanishing point” where all objects converge.
Arial (or atmospheric) perspective: Objects in the background decrease in contrast, saturation, and detail to
simulate the distance from the viewer’s eye.

This Blender environment paint-over by Advanced Concept Art Course student Gwen T is a great example of perspective,
using a decrease in contrast and saturation to denote buildings in the distance. (Not ready to take an advanced course?
We have beginner concept art courses to get you started!)

Elements of Perspective:
The basic elements of perspective are the horizon lines, the vanishing points, and the vanishing lines.

Perspective can change according to the viewer’s eye. We have the bird’s eye perspective, where the
viewer’s eye and horizon line are above the objects. In this normal perspective, the viewer’s eye and horizon

Marianne Rose H. Gloriane (BCAEd 3) | 1

TEACHING THE VISUAL ARTS (CAED 18) Bicol University
A.Y. 2023-2024 | 2nd SEMESTER College of Education
PROFESSOR: Ma’am Tin Daraga, Albay

line are at the same level as the objects, and the worm’s eye perspective is where the viewer’s eye and horizon
line are at the ground level.

One Point Perspective

In one point perspective or single-point perspective, all the vanishing lines lead to the single vanishing
point on the horizon line. We can see this perspective most frequently in photographs and classical paintings.
One-point perspective is the easiest way to start practicing this skill. Drawing the basic forms from
different angles will train your brain and establish a solid foundation for more complex forms and objects. You
can find great content on Youtube, along with examples and exercises that will help you start learning this
fundamental skill.

Two Point Perspective

Two point perspective, also called corner perspective, is most commonly used to draw buildings or
interiors. This perspective consists of placing two vanishing points on our horizon line and intersecting these lines
to create shapes and forms.
Two-point perspective tends to be more complex than one-point perspective because, most of the time,
the canvas is large enough to contain both vanishing points, so the artist needs to calculate the space either using
special tools or pure skill.

Three Point Perspective

Three-point perspective is the closest representation of reality we can get. However, it is tough to
perceive unless the viewer’s eye is far away. The effect of the three-point perspective is very dramatic since there
isn’t a canvas big enough to let the vanishing points be proportionate to reality, so it’s often used to give a
dramatic effect to the artwork.

Form and Structure

At their core, all objects comprise a mixture of basic shapes — squares, circles, and triangles (or in three
dimensions: cubes, spheres, and triangular prisms). Form and structure help flat drawings appear more realistic and as
though they occupy space in width and depth.

Think of early artist sketches for animation storyboards. The artist usually uses a cylinder and a sphere to
represent the character rather than drawing out every curve of their body. Then in subsequent versions of their
storyboards, they begin superimposing more realistic human features, using these basic shapes as a foundation.

Concept art and illustrations also usually start as a series of basic shapes in early sketches or drafts before adding
detail and definition to give their work more recognizable form.

Timelapse of a sketch by Concept Artist and CGS Mentor, Tyler James, which shows him starting with a simple
circle shape. What other shapes can you see used?

Geometric and Organic Forms

When you think of the word shape, you can think of the basic shapes. Like a square, a triangle, or a circle,
however, adding a third dimension turns any shape into a form, like a square into a cube, a triangle into a cone or
pyramid, and a circle into a sphere or a cylinder.
There are geometric forms and organic forms all around us. The most complex objects can be broken
down into simple forms, helping simplify their structure and help understand them. So learning how to draw
geometric forms from different angles and perspectives is quite helpful to build a strong constructional drawing
base, and that is why “form” is one of the art fundamentals.

Lighting and Shadow

Marianne Rose H. Gloriane (BCAEd 3) | 2

TEACHING THE VISUAL ARTS (CAED 18) Bicol University
A.Y. 2023-2024 | 2nd SEMESTER College of Education
PROFESSOR: Ma’am Tin Daraga, Albay

Another way to make flat objects on a page or screen look more realistic is to apply concepts of lighting and
shadows to your depictions. In animated art forms, how the light hits a character or object and where its shadow hits can
also simulate the movement of an object or character, or the perspective of the viewer's eye.

Lighting and shadows are intimately connected. For example, a light on an object will cast a shadow behind it or
on the opposite side of what’s being illuminated (such as a lamp hitting one side of a character’s face). Digital painters
can use lighting and shadows in their coloring to show more realism and perspective in the drawings and to insinuate
certain moods or themes.

https://youtu.be/0gbLagaHQ0o
Short tutorial by Love Life Drawing on shading and lighting.

Color

The final fundamental skill in art is mastering color. This includes both the color choice and the psychology
behind your chosen colors.

Traditional and digital painters should know the basics of mixing colors, which includes understanding the color
wheel and how to get the exact shade they want to be able to replicate real-life or set the tone or mood for their work.

Color theory can be broken down into three main categories:

Hue - It's where the shade is on the color wheel and can help set the overarching theme of an artwork.
Saturation - The level of intensity, vibrancy, or richness a color has.
Value - Refers to the lightness or darkness of a color which serves as an indicator of how much light the object
absorbs or reflects.

RaphaelleB-GhostDragon-illustration-color-example
Digital painting by CGS student Raphaelle B which uses green hues and pushes the saturation higher on the
ghost dragon to great effect.

Composition

Composition is how you arrange and combine different elements in your artwork, including lines, shapes, color,
values, space, structure, and textures, and how they all work together to produce an overall look or effect. Composition
can apply to all art forms — from music, writing, photography, illustration, animation, and VFX compositing.

Here are some art rules, or guidelines, you might consider for your composition:

Rule of thirds - Imagine your work is divided into a 3x3 grid. Where the lines intersect should include the focal
point of your composition. This also helps ensure your composition is not too symmetrical (unless you
want it to be).
Simplification - When specific realism is not necessary, you can use the concept of simplification. For example,
if drawing a crowd behind a main character in an animated film, the background characters don’t need to be
drawn with minute details like your main character. They can be drawn like silhouettes in the shape of people.
Rule of odds: Physiologically, things in odd numbers look more realistic than even numbers. This means that
drawing a flower vase, including five flowers rather than four will give it more realism (at least to our brains).

Marianne Rose H. Gloriane (BCAEd 3) | 3

TEACHING THE VISUAL ARTS (CAED 18) Bicol University
A.Y. 2023-2024 | 2nd SEMESTER College of Education
PROFESSOR: Ma’am Tin Daraga, Albay

danny-mcmullen-rhino-rider-800x624
Concept art by CGS grad Danny M demonstrating the rule of thirds.
Brushwork

Brushwork is the way painters use their brush to create their paintings. Brushwork is a fundamental skill that
beginner artists often overlook since it tends to develop with time; however, those self-developed brushwork techniques
have a limit.

The forms we create with a certain brush can change completely when done with another, same goes with
painting techniques and mediums. That’s why it is vital to learn how to use each brush, how they interact with each
medium, and most importantly, how we can use them in our favor to accentuate our work.

Brushwork isn’t only about making the paint flow easily across the canvas but to convey emotions, intentions, and
sensations through each brush stroke. Brushwork must suit the artwork and the artist as well.

It requires practice and time to develop proper brushwork skills; we can take other artists’ works as references
and, that way, find the style we relate to the most.

Detail of “A Wheatfield with Cypresses”, 1889, Vincent van Gogh

WHY YOU SHOULD LEARN THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ART

If you're pursuing a career in art, knowing the fundamentals of art will apply to nearly everything you create.
Think of the above six art fundamentals as the laws of physics for the creative world.

The fundamentals of art are principles that will apply to your work, no matter your medium. While some art will
deviate from these principles, generally, these are the non-negotiable elements of characters, props, environments, and
narrative expression in artistic works.

The fundamentals of art are helpful when studying many art forms, including digital illustration, concept art, 2D
animation, 3D animation, and 3D modeling.

References:

Spectrum, C. (2023, October 12). The 6 fundamentals of art every artist must learn (with examples). The 6 fundamentals
of art every good artist must learn. https://www.cgspectrum.com/blog/learn-the-fundamentals-of-art#:~:text=The%20six
%20fundamentals%20of%20art,visual%20impact%20of%20your%20artwork.
Artlex. (n.d.). Art Fundamentals: Understanding the fundamentals of visual art. Artlex. https://www.artlex.com/art-
tutorials/art-fundamentals/

Marianne Rose H. Gloriane (BCAEd 3) | 4