Line as an Element of Art

According Paul Lee, “A line is a dot that went for a

walk.” A line is usually described as an extension of a
dot.

Line serves as an important building block of art and

can be manipulated to stimulate intellectual or
emotional response from the viewer (Fichner, 2008).
 Different Lines
There initially are straight and curve lines.

Straight lines are described as rectilinear lines.

They differ in the directions they take:
Horizontal lines – lines that move left to right or
vice versa, indicates calmness and rest (e.g.
Landscapes and seascapes).
Vertical lines – this starts from bottom to top and
vice versa, shows strength, balance and stability (e.g.
Monuments).
Diagonal lines – implies both positive and negative
implications.

Ex. Positive: a runner in full run; Negative: soldiers

defeated in battle.
Zigzag lines – two straight lines meet to form an
angle. They indicate chaos, conflict and confusion
(e.g. pictures of wars and hairstyles of anime
characters).
Curve lines – technically curvilinear. They are
organic and natural, usually seen in the
natural world of living organisms.
 Actual Lines and Implied Lines
Actual lines – the artist intentionally shows the line
in an artwork. The lines drawn add to the quality of
the whole work.
Implied lines – used by the artist to make the viewer
feel their involvement in interpreting the
composition by seeing and connecting lines where
none actually exists.

These lines seem to fade, stop and/or disappear and

then reappear as a continuation or extension of an
edge (Ocvirk, 2002).
 Line Quality and Character
Line qualities can be described in terms of emotional states
that they seem to arouse. The viewer of the art must be
receptive and perceptive to those feelings that the artist
feel through the different lines being conveyed (Ocvirk,
2002).
Lines project different effects depending on their quality and
characteristic. These characteristics of lines suggest varied
ideas and may express different moods.

Thick, dark and angular lines usually project a heavy feeling,

while curvy, thin and free-flowing lines presents a soft,
delicate and light feeling.

Lines may also be used to create shadows giving the work a

third dimension.
The closer the lines are to each other, the darker are the
shadows created. This technique is known as HATCHING.
CROSS-HATCHING is another way of creating deeper shadows
in which parallel lines intersect with each other.
Lines may also be used as outlines defining the borders of a
shape, showing the contours of the figure or an object.

In summary, lines may be used by the artist to outline forms

and shapes, to create depth and texture and to suggest
direction and movement (Fichner, 2008).
It has been observed that colors appeal to our emotions
and interact with the physiology of the visual system to
amaze us into the manner in which it is perceived.

Colors are seen when light surrounds an object. However,

the absence of light equals no perceived color. Colors
therefore are a property of light.
Discovered by Sir Isaac Newton, he found that by passing a
beam of light through a triangular piece of glass called prism,
white light breaks into the visible color spectrum.
Colors separate into the various wavelengths from the longest
which is red to the shortest, violet. Sir Newton realized that
the colors of the rainbow come from white light.
 Physical Properties of Color
Colors are endowed with characteristics that make each one
different:

HUE – this pertains to the name for which the color is

known.
– is determined by the wavelength of light physically
given by the color.
VALUE – refers to the lightness or darkness of color.
The value of colors pertains to the absence of white or
black.
INTENSITY OR SATURATION – refers to how pure the
color is. Pure hues pertain to the absence of white, black
or gray. Colors high in saturation tend to be bright while
colors low in saturation tends to be dull.
Additive and Subtractive Colors
There are two color systems existing depending on the
source, colors of light and colors of pigments which have
different characteristics. They are either additive or
subtractive.
Colors of light are additive in the sense that when
you combine the colors the result will be white.

Colors of pigment are subtractive, resulting in black

for each color in this mixture cancel out each other’s
brightness.
 The Color Wheel
Sir Isaac Newton was the first to conceptualize the color
wheel which can be described as a circle divided equally into
twelve parts representing the twelve colors and they relate to
each other.
 Types of Colors
Primary Colors
They are called primary colors because these colors cannot be
produced by the mixture of other colors. The primaries are
red, blue and yellow.

YELLOW

BLUE RED
Secondary Colors
These colors result from the combination of two primary
colors in equal amounts.
Intermediate Colors
These colors can result from a combination of a primary
and secondary color.
Tertiary Colors

It was stated that tertiary colors are created by

combining any two secondary colors or by
neutralizing one color by adding its complement or
opposite color in the color wheel.
~Art Fundamentals by Ocvirk (2002)
Neutrals
Black, white and gray do not share the same characteristics of
any color in the spectrum. They show no color quality, they
are called neutrals.

White – described as the presence of all colors when a

surface reflects all of the color wavelengths equally.
Black – is the absence of color when the surface absorbs all of
the colors and reflects none.

Grey – described as an impure white because it is created by a

partial reflection of all wavelengths of color.

Note: Neutrals are concerned with the quantity of

light that is reflected.
 Color Relationships
Combinations and arrangements of color in a composition
heighten the artist’s expression of the work’s content and
meaning.

Arrangements can both evoke feelings of pleasure or

discomfort depending on how they are organized in the
composition.
Complements
Complementary colors are positioned directly opposite to each
other in the color wheel.

Ex. Red and Green, Yellow and Violet, Orange

and Blue
Split-Complements
It is the relationship between a color and the two colors
on either side of its complement. The color in contrast with
the two other colors, shares similar characteristics with its
complement.
Triads and Tetrads
Triads composed of three colors that are equally
distant from each other in the color wheel forming an
equilateral triangle.

Tetrads are composed of four colors, having any

combination of colors that forms a rectangle on the
wheel.
Analogous and Monochromatic Colors
Hues that are found next to each other on the color
wheel are Analogous. They form groups of color that share
similar characteristics because each color always contains one
color that dominates the group.
Monochromatic color scheme uses only one hue but with
different degrees of value. This would range from the lightest
of the tints to the darkest of the shade of the color.
Warm Colors and Cool Colors
Colors also have “temperature” that may be used as
another way to organize a composition. Colors associated
with the sun and fire is considered warm, like red, yellow
and orange. Any color containing blue such as green, violet
and blue-green are associated with air, sky, earth and water
are considered to be cool colors.
Simultaneous Contrast
The phenomenon known as COLOR CONTRAST is
where the color stability of these colors is dependent
upon which color they are placed beside.

Whenever two different colors come into direct

contact, their contrast intensifies the difference
between colors.
 Colors and Emotion
It has been discovered that colors appeal to
the emotion and enhance the mood. The
physiology of the brain reacts to the presence
of colors transmitted to it by visual system.
Though the effect of color may be universal,
the meaning attached to it is culture specific.
What a particular color is to one culture may
have a different meaning in another.
 The Element of Shape
Shapes result from the coming together of
lines enclosing an area and separating it from
its surroundings (Fichner 2013). The
interpretation of the enclosed area that is
formed presents a challenge to the brain.
In the process of human perception, German
Gestalt psychologists discovered that the way
the human brain processes information is
done by organizing objects / stimuli into
groups based on similarity, nearness and
figure-ground relationships. After this process,
a perceptual “totality” is formed giving the
viewer the “wholes” that now are labeled
shapes.
 Kinds of Shape
There are many kind of shapes, geometric
shapes for instance are regular and precise
and presents an industrial feel to the viewer.
These shapes may be rectilinear or curvilinear.
On the other hand, shapes that have a natural
appearance and represent objects form nature
are said to be organic.
Shapes may also be biomorphic and
amorphous. Biomorphic shapes manifest
some qualities of biological organisms
whereas amorphous shapes exist without any
basis from either nature or geometry.

Biomorphic Shapes
 Shapes
Two-dimensional and three-dimensional
shapes
In art, shapes may exist either as two-
dimensional objects on the picture plane (the
flat surface on which artwork is presented) or
manipulated in such a way as to be perceived
as three-dimensional object on the same
picture plane.
Two-dimensional shapes are flat. Three-
dimensional shapes on a flat surface, however,
give the illusion of mass and solidity.
Aside from solid objects with three
dimensions, artists can also present their
works with depths using the different possible
angles of viewing the object, variations in
thickness of edges, changes in color values or
overlapping the objects.
 Shape and the Content of the
Composition
Artists use shape to convey initially what they
think, imagine or feel. These shapes that
artists use are an expression of these ideas
rather than an objective representation of the
outside world.
 The Element of Space
Physiological Perception of Space
Stereoscopic vision gives the viewer a
perception of depth because of the distance
between the two eyes. The distance allows
the viewer to see two presentations of the
object, one from each eye. This is known as
retinal disparity.
Kinesthetic vision on the other hand involves
the movement of the eyes when looking at or
viewing the object. It was observed that more
ocular movements occur when the object is
near and less when the object is far.
 The Illusion of Space
1. Overlapping. When objects are grouped, not
all parts of some objects will be seen as
complete or whole.
2. Relative Size and Linear Perspective. Objects
that are big will be perceived as near
compared to objects that are far.
3. Atmospheric Perspective. This is also known
as aerial perspective. The illusion of depth is
created by techniques known as gradient (a
gradual change). This may be a gradient in
texture, brightness, color intensity and
combination of warm and cool colors.
In applying gradient to give the illusion of
depth, objects in the foreground would be
bigger, detailed and have brighter colors. As
the eye moves to the middle round, objects’
appearance gradually change.
 The Element of Value
(Light and Shadow)
When light is discussed it always follows that
its counterpart, which is shadow, will have to
be dealt with. This gradual change from light
to dark and vice versa is referred to as value.
Achromatic value refers to changes in the
amount of reflected light from white to grey
to black and from black to grey to white. Value
most significantly results in the illusion of
form and depth in a composition.
When light falls on an object, light rays do not
shine equally on all parts of the object and on
the area where light is blocked by the object, a
cast shadow results.
The technique of using
light and shadow in
painting is known as
chiaroscuro. Leonardo da
Vinci exploited the effects
of chiaroscuro in his
masterpieces. He even
introduced a technique
called sfumato in which
the gradual blending of
light and shadow gave the
figures more realistic form
and depth.
 The Element of Texture
Texture is derived from the Latin word for
“weaving” (Fichner, 2013). It usually refers to
the feel of the surface of woven fabrics.

As an element, texture can be defined as how

the surface of the material feels and looks like.
 Types of Texture
1. Actual Texture. This type of texture refers to
the real feel and look of the surface of the
object.
2. Simulated Texture. This type of texture refers
to a surface character that looks real but is not
(Ocvirk, 2002). Simulated texture is a skill of
the artist to exactly copy reality.
3. Abstract Texture. In this type of texture, the
artist would focus on one aspect of the real
texture and emphasize it, thus modifying the
texture of the whole composition.
4. Invented Texture. This texture is a product of
the artist’s imagination. This presentation is
usually seen in abstract artwork.
 The Element of Time and Motion
1. Actual Movement. In this type of artwork, the
artists incorporate actual movement in art
known as kinetic art.

Calder’s “The Star”

2. Implied Movement. To show implied
movement in art, a variety of lines may be
used together with some degree of repetition,
change in the position, scale or size of the
object and varying proportions can create the
perception of movement or passing time in a
two-dimensional piece of static art.
 Op Art

Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase