LESSON 6:

ELEMENTS AND
PRINCIPLES OF ART
LESSON OUTCOME
By the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Enumerate the different elements of visual and auditory art;
2. Differentiate the principles of art;
3. Explain the relevance of the elements and principles of art in
the study of art and its products (artworks); and
4. Create an artwork applying the elements and principles of
art.
LESSON PROPER

Elements of Art: Visual

• These elements of art are generally
produced when something is done to the
medium after the technique is carried out.
• To enumerate, the elements of art and
design are the following: line, shape and
form, space, color, and texture.
 ELEMENTS OF ART: VISUAL

• LINE- refers to a point moving at an

identifiable path- it has length and
direction. It also has width. It is one-
dimensional, however, it has the capacity
to either define the perimeters of the
artwork (edges) and/or become a
substantial component of the
composition.
 ELEMENTS OF ART: VISUAL

• COLOR- Refers to visible light as it is reflected from

surfaces; the range of colors (spectrum) is
traditionally described as warm (red, yellow, orange),
cool (blue, green), or neutral (brown, gray).
• – One of its aspects is hue, w/c has to do w/ how light
waves of various lengths and rapidity of vibrations
bounce off objects and enter our eyes.
• Primary colors:
• Blue, yellow, red
• Secondary color:
• Yellow + red = orange
• red + blue = violet
• blue + yellow = green
• Hues vary in saturation, intensity,
or brilliance.
• Brilliant blue + neutral hue (gray) =
hue or blueness does not change; it
just becomes less intense or duller.
• Chiaroscuro
• - From the Italian word for “light- dark”, the
term originated from the Renaissance
• - Refers to the management of light and dark
tones and/or shading, to “model” or create
illusion of form and depth.
 ELEMENTS OF ART: VISUAL

• VALUE – Refers to gradations of tone from

light to dark, w/c can be an aspect of color as
discussed above, but could also specifically
refer to the play of light on an object or a
scene.
• In paintings, it is shading, blending and
chiaroscuro or the play of light and dark that
lend the flat surface an illusion of depth and
perspective.
 ELEMENTS OF ART: VISUAL

• TEXTURE – Refers to how objects and

surfaces feel, and is most associated w/
the sense of touch or tactility.
• – smooth, translucent, fine, silky, satiny,
velvety, sandy, furry, feathery, slimy,
gritty, rough, rugged, coarse, porous,
irregular, jagged, thick, thin
 ELEMENTS OF ART: VISUAL

• SHAPE – Three-dimensional shapes possesses

length, width and volume.
• –Can either be geometric (rectilinear or
curvilinear), biomorphic, or free inventions.
• Refers to forms that are two- dimensional or
three-dimensional.
• – Two-dimensional shapes exists as planes
having length and width.
 ELEMENTS OF ART: VISUAL

• COMPOSITION IN SPACE
• –Refers to structure or the manner the artist
uses or arranges elements of the artwork in an
area, and how these components relate to each
other.
• – Is rooted to the physiological and
psychological factors in visual perception and
cognition.
 PLANES AND PERSPECTIVES:

• Picture plane is the actual surface of the

painting or drawing, where no illusion of
a third dimension exists.
• Aside from this technique, linear
perspective changed the way pictorial
representation was done.
 ELEMENTS OF ART: AUDITORY

• Perhaps one of the most widespread forms of

art, whose intersection in daily life is most
perceptible, is music. Music is sound
organized in a specific time.
• Some of the common elements of music are
the following: rhythm, dynamics, melody,
harmony, timbre, and texture.
.
 ELEMENTS OF ART: AUDITORY

RHYTHM -Often associated to

the terms beat, and tempo. It is
the pulse of the music. Beat is
the basic unit of music while
tempo refers to its speed
(beats/second).
• Classical terms are used to refer to the variations in tempo,
some of which are:
• • Largo — slowly and broadly • Allegro — fast
• • Andante — walking pace • Vivace — lively
• • Moderato — at moderate speed
• • Accelerando — gradually speeding up
• • Rallentado — gradually slowing down
• • Allargando — getting slower, broadening
• • Rubato — literally "robbed time". Rhythm is played freely
for expressive effect
 ELEMENTS OF ART: AUDITORY

• DYNAMICS - The element of music the refers

to the loudness or quietness of music.
• Classical terms are used to refer to the different
levels pertaining to this:
• • Pianissimo [pp] — very quiet
• • piano [p] — quite
• • Mezzo-piano [mp] — moderately quite
• • Mezzo-forte [mf] — moderately loud
• Forte [f] — loud
• Fortissimo [ff] — very loud
• When composers indicate an increase, or
decrease in loudness, they use the terms
crescendo for the former; and decrescendo or
diminuendo for the latter.
 ELEMENTS OF ART: AUDITORY

• MELODY - Refers to the linear

presentation (horizontal) of pitch. By
horizontal, it means that in musical
notation, it is read in succession from left
to right pitch is the highness or lowness
of musical sound.
 ELEMENTS OF ART: AUDITORY

• HARMONY - If melody is horizontal,

harmony is vertical. When several notes are
simultaneously played, this refers to a chord.
Harmony can be described in terms of its
"harshness": dissonance is the harsh-sounding
combination while consonance is the smooth-
sounding combination.
 ELEMENTS OF ART: AUDITORY

• TIMBRE - often likened to the color of

music. It is a quality that distinguishes a voice
or an instrument from another. Dependent on
the technique, the timbre may give a certain
tone or characteristics to music, much like you
a painter evokes different effects or
impressions onto the canvas.
 ELEMENTS OF ART: AUDITORY

• TEXTURE - the number of melodies, the type

of layers, and their relatedness in a
composition is the texture of music. It may be:
• • Monophonic — single melodic line
• • Polyphonic — two or more melodic lines
• • Homophonic — main melody accompanied
by chords
 PRINCIPLES OF ART:

• The principles of art will provide explicit ways in which

these elements are used, how they are manipulated, how
they interact, and how they inform the overall
composition of the artwork to assist the artist in
conveying his intention.
• The Principles of Art are guides that govern or descriptions of how artists
organize the elements of art.
• These principles are: balance, scale and proportion,
emphasis and contrast, unity and variety, harmony,
movement, rhythm, and repetition and pattern
 PRINCIPLES OF ART:

• Proportion—principle of art concerned with the size

relationships of one part to another or to the whole.
• Balance—principle of design concerned with equalizing visual
forces, or elements in a work of art. If a work of art has visual
balance,
the viewer feels that the elements have been arranged in a
satisfying way. Visual imbalance makes the viewer feel that the
elements need to be rearranged. The two types are called formal
or symmetrical and informal or asymmetrical. A principle of art
concerned with arranging the elements so no one part overpowers,
or seems heavier than any other part.
 PRINCIPLES OF ART:

• Variety—principle of design concerned with

difference or contrast. Combining one or more
elements of art to create interest by adding
slight changes.
 PRINCIPLES OF ART:

• Rhythm—the principle of art that indicates

movement by repetition of elements. Visual
rhythm is perceived through the eyes and is
created by positive spaces separated by negative
spaces. There are five types of rhythm: random,
regular, alternating, flowing and progressive.
The repetition of an element to make a work
seem active or to suggest vibration.
 PRINCIPLES OF ART:

• Emphasis—principle of design that makes

one part of the work dominant over the other
parts. The element noticed first is called
dominant; the elements noticed later are called
subordinate. Making an element or an object
stand out.
 PRINCIPLES OF ART:

• Unity—the quality of wholeness or oneness

that is achieved through the effective use of
the elements and principles of art. Unity is
created by simplicity, repetition, proximity and
continuation. The arrangement of elements and
principles of art with media to create a feeling
of completeness or wholeness.
 COMBINED OR HYBRID ART:

• In combined arts, improvisation is often

tapped in addition to practical and logical
considerations of creating an artwork.
• Another movement that is reminiscent of the
motivations of the Renaissance, and whose
emergence is hinged on the frontiers of science
and technology, is called hybrid arts
DISCUSSION POINTS IN GROUP

• In two-dimension artworks such as paintings,

cite the elements and principles of art that
when utilized in the composition of the
artwork, will help simulate or suggest the
three-dimensional space.
• How can hybrid artworks expand imagination?
• To what extent does the knowledge of the
principles of art relevant to the
knowledge of the elements of art?
• What is the relevance of combined arts
and hybrid art in the 21st century?
 ACTIVITY (INDIVIDUAL)

• Applying the elements and principles of

art, create a painting of your desired
design.
• Note: Decide on the materials you use
depending on what you will make.
• Sept. 16
LESSON SUMMARY
The elements and principles of art
are essential to any artwork. Some
of them will be more obvious than
others, becoming the anchors in
which the viewer may latch on to
engage with the artwork.