Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Region

Lesson 6: The Elements and Principles of Art

I. Introduction you’re describing its value.

Understanding and applying the
building blocks of art (or the 3. Intensity (or Saturation)
elements and principles of art, as The aspect of brightness
they are often called) is what and purity of a color.
takes an artist from beginner to
master. a. High-intensity colors
Are bold and bright.
In order to understand, deftly
critique, and practice your chosen b. Low-intensity colors
art form, you need to know the Are faint and duller.
key concepts that it is built upon.

Familiarity with elements of art

(like color and line) and principles
of art (proportion, rhythm, and
contrast, among others) is what
gives artists that fluency.
B. Form
II. Elements of Art It is the element of art that
A. Color renders a three-
It is the dimensional form in two
visual dimensions restricted to height
perception and weight, or it can be free-
seen by the flowing. A cube, a sphere, a
human eye. cylinder and a pyramid are all
The modern different forms.
color wheel is
designed to explain how color C. Line
is arraigned and how colors A two-dimensional shape
interact with each other. unless the artist gives it
volume or mass. If an artist
1. Hue uses multiple lines, it develops
Defines the name of the into a drawing more
color. If you’re calling a recognizable than a line
color “Red,” “Blue”, “Yellow- creating a form resembling the
Green,” etc. you’re outside of its shape.
describing the color’s hue.
D. Shape
2. Value The element of art that is two-
Defines how light or dark dimensional, flat, or limited to
the hue is. The value of a height and width. A shape is
color changes when white typically enclosed.
or black is added to it.
When talking about how The shape is defined as having
light or dark a color is, some sort of outline or
Ezra Dean R. Fabros
12 ABM - Fabella
boundary, whether the shape Defined as the difference in
is two or three dimensional. colors to create a piece of
visual art. Contrast can also be
1. Geometric subtle when using
Known shape. monochromatic colors, giving
variety and unity the final
2. Organic piece of art. Artists will
Free-form shape. combine elements to stress the
differences between those
E. Space elements.
The area around the art form.
The space around a structure C. Emphasis
or other artwork gives the Can be color, unity, balance, or
object its shape. any other principle or element
of art used to create a focal
F. Texture point. It describes the use of
Defines the way an art object these elements in combination
or an element in a composition to control the viewer’s gaze
feels or looks as if it would feel and draw attention to a
if touched or giving the illusion specific feature of the
of reality. composition.

Texture can be rough or D. Rhythm/Movement

smooth to the touch, imitating Rhythm in a piece of art
a particular feel or sensation. denotes a type of repetition
The texture is also how your used to either demonstrate
eye perceives a surface, movement or expanse. This
whether it is flat with little principle of art describes the
texture or displays variations movement in or of an artwork.
on the surface, imitating rock, Rhythm is created by the
wood, stone, fabric. variety and repetition of
elements in a work of art that
III. Principles of Art come together to create a
A. Balance visual tempo or beat.
In a piece of art, this refers to
the distribution of weight or Movement is used to create
the apparent weight of the the look and feel of action in
piece. Arches are built for an artwork. It guides the
structural design and to hold viewer’s eye throughout a
the roof in place, allowing for piece. A sense of movement
passage of people below the can be created by varying
arch and creating balance lines, repeating elements, and
visually and structurally. making gestural marks among
many more.
Manifestations of balance:
1. Symmetry E. Proportion/Scale
2. Asymmetry Proportion is the relationship
between items in a painting,
B. Contrast
Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Region
Lesson 6: The Elements and Principles of Art

For example, between the sky group of soap bubbles or seem

and mountains. irregular in the cracked, dry
mud. All works of art have
The scale in art is similar to some sort of pattern even
proportion, and if something is though it may be hard to
not to scale, it can look odd. It discern; the pattern will form
refers to how elements interact by the colors, the illustrations,
with one another, how they the shape, or numerous other
lead the viewer’s eye through art methods.
the piece, and how they fit
within the chosen format (e.g., H. Harmony
rectangular canvas or circular This is achieved when the
sculpture). elements of an artwork come
together in a unified way.
Proportion pertains to the size,
scale, and arrangement of
various components in relation
to one another and to the
whole.

F. Unity and Variety

The principle of art concerned
with diversity or contrast is
that of variety. Variety is
brought about by using
different colors, sizes, and
shapes in a work of art.

While unity conveys a sense of

completeness, pleasure when
viewing the art, and
cohesiveness to the art, and
how the patterns work
together brings unity to the
picture or object.

G. Pattern/Repetition
The way something is
organized and repeated in its
shape or form and can flow
without much structure in
some random repetition.

Patterns might branch out

similar to flowers on a plant or
form spirals and circles as a
Ezra Dean R. Fabros
12 ABM - Fabella
Certain elements are repeated yet
still look and feel similar. Not
monotony and not chaos,
harmony is that perfectly honed
combination of both.

I. Scale
The size of objects but in
relation to what you’d expect
them to be in reality.

If an object occurs in a natural

scale, then the object is the
size we would expect to find it.

A. Diminutive
Refers to an object being
smaller than expected,

B. Monumental
Refers when the object is
much larger.