Art Elements

Understanding the basic elements of art helps us to think more deeply about our own artwork, and work by other artists.

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A line is the path of a moving point.  It is a mark left by a tool, for example a brush, pencil, pen or stick. Lines can be straight or curved, long or short, thick or thin.  They can also go in different directions.

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Colour can be used to create different moods and effects. During observational artwork we try to carefully mix and reproduce colours, but artists can have fun with colour too! The colour wheel shows us the primary and secondary colours, and colours which complement each other.

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Texture refers to the way something feels when you touch it. Artists also create the illusion of texture in artworks such as paintings, drawings and prints.

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When lines meet, shapes are formed. Shapes are flat. Some shapes are geometric, such as squares, circles, triangles, rectangles and ovals. Other shapes are organic or irregular.

   

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Forms are three-dimensional. They have height, width and thickness. Whenever we create a sculpture, we are creating a form. Here are some common forms with recognisable names:

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Space is an empty place or surface in or around a work of art.   Space can be positive or negative. Space is also about the feeling of ‘depth’ in a piece of art, brought about by the use of perspective.

  

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Tone (also known as ‘value’) is the lightness or darkness of a colour. You can get different values of a colour by mixing its shades (by adding black) and tints (by adding white). Tone is used when shading during drawing. We can use different pencil leads, and can press down harder or softer on the paper.

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Pattern is the repetition of a line, shape, form, colour or texture within a work of art.

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Art Media

‘Media’ refers to the materials used to make a work of art.  All of the artwork that you produce will fall under at least one of the following categories:

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Drawing is not just about using your sketch pencils! Instead, you could use pen, charcoal, chalk, pastels or colouring pencils. Can you think of any other media you could draw with?

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Paints come in many varieties. Powder paint, watercolour, ready-mix paint, block paints, oil paint and acrylics are just a few. You can paint on paper, fabric or materials used for sculpture or collage.

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Printing involves transferring an image onto a surface using another object.  You can print with stencils, string, polystyrene sheets, plasticine or ‘found items’ such as potatoes, cotton reels, cotton wool or leaves.

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Collage is a French word, meaning to ‘cut and glue’. All kinds of different materials can be used in collage, not just paper. Lots of different textures can be made, for example by twisting and scrunching.

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Artwork created from fabrics or yarns is known as textile work. This sometimes involves sewing, but textiles can also be used creatively in a number of other ways.

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Sculpture is the name used for any 3D creation. Familiar materials used for sculpture include clay, plasticine, salt dough and cardboard boxes. Wire, wood, willow and Modroc can also produce very interesting sculptures.

 

Art Elements

Understanding the basic elements of art helps us to think more deeply about our own artwork, and work by other artists.

image

A line is the path of a moving point.  It is a mark left by a tool, for example a brush, pencil, pen or stick. Lines can be straight or curved, long or short, thick or thin.  They can also go in different directions.

image
image

Colour can be used to create different moods and effects. During observational artwork we try to carefully mix and reproduce colours, but artists can have fun with colour too! The colour wheel shows us the primary and secondary colours, and colours which complement each other.

image
image

Texture refers to the way something feels when you touch it. Artists also create the illusion of texture in artworks such as paintings, drawings and prints.

image
image

When lines meet, shapes are formed. Shapes are flat. Some shapes are geometric, such as squares, circles, triangles, rectangles and ovals. Other shapes are organic or irregular.

   

image

Forms are three-dimensional. They have height, width and thickness. Whenever we create a sculpture, we are creating a form. Here are some common forms with recognisable names:

image
image

Space is an empty place or surface in or around a work of art.   Space can be positive or negative. Space is also about the feeling of ‘depth’ in a piece of art, brought about by the use of perspective.

  

image

Tone (also known as ‘value’) is the lightness or darkness of a colour. You can get different values of a colour by mixing its shades (by adding black) and tints (by adding white). Tone is used when shading during drawing. We can use different pencil leads, and can press down harder or softer on the paper.

image
image

Pattern is the repetition of a line, shape, form, colour or texture within a work of art.

image

Art Media

‘Media’ refers to the materials used to make a work of art.  All of the artwork that you produce will fall under at least one of the following categories:

image

Drawing is not just about using your sketch pencils! Instead, you could use pen, charcoal, chalk, pastels or colouring pencils. Can you think of any other media you could draw with?

image

Paints come in many varieties. Powder paint, watercolour, ready-mix paint, block paints, oil paint and acrylics are just a few. You can paint on paper, fabric or materials used for sculpture or collage.

image

Printing involves transferring an image onto a surface using another object.  You can print with stencils, string, polystyrene sheets, plasticine or ‘found items’ such as potatoes, cotton reels, cotton wool or leaves.

image

Collage is a French word, meaning to ‘cut and glue’. All kinds of different materials can be used in collage, not just paper. Lots of different textures can be made, for example by twisting and scrunching.

image

Artwork created from fabrics or yarns is known as textile work. This sometimes involves sewing, but textiles can also be used creatively in a number of other ways.

image

Sculpture is the name used for any 3D creation. Familiar materials used for sculpture include clay, plasticine, salt dough and cardboard boxes. Wire, wood, willow and Modroc can also produce very interesting sculptures.