Elements of Art

Elements of Design
Line -Linear marks made of objects appear as line.  Line can be horizontal or vertical. Example: A stem of a flower can create line.
Shape – A shape is self-contained area and can be geometric or organic. Example: Leaf is organic and stop sign is geometric.
Direction: All lines have direction and the direction can create movement in your image.  Example:  A road will lead us to the background.
Proportion – The relationship between the size of objects.  Example: If you have a hand in the foreground and a person in the distance, the person will appear to
be smaller than the hand in the foreground.
Texture – Texture is the surface quality of a shape and can be rough, smooth, soft, hard, or shiny. Example: Tree bark has more texture than a leaf.
Value: The lightness or darkness of a color.  Value is also called tone.  Example:  A picture of the trees will have a black shadow, gray leaves and white sky and all the gray values in between.  A sunny day will work better than a cloudy day because the sun will create more shadows.
Color: Use primary, secondary, and tertiary color schemes to create emphasis. You can also get more complicated feel by using complementary colors. Color is a great way to create emotional impact.