Art Elements Explained for Beginner Artists.
As a new artist, understanding the seven elements of art is your first step to creating captivating and meaningful pieces.
In this article, I will explain what are the basic elements of art by providing you with elements of art definitions, 7 elements of art examples, and more.
These elements—colour, form, texture, line, shape, value, and space—are the building blocks of every artwork. They help you communicate your ideas and emotions effectively.
This blog post is all about mastering the basics of art elements.
Elements of Art: Colour
Colour breathes life into your artwork. It sets the mood, conveys emotions, and draws the viewer’s eye. Imagine a bright yellow sun in a clear blue sky—how happy and energetic it feels! In contrast, dark, muted colours can create a somber or mysterious atmosphere.
Throughout art history, artists have used colour to evoke emotions and tell stories. The Impressionists, like Monet, loved using vibrant colours to capture light and movement. On the other hand, the Baroque painters used dramatic contrasts between light and dark colours to create intense emotional scenes.
Examples in Art
- Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night”:
- Van Gogh’s swirling blues and yellows create a dreamy, almost magical night scene.
- Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies“:
- Monet’s use of soft, pastel colours gives a peaceful and serene feeling, inviting viewers to relax and enjoy nature.
Starry Night
Credits: Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Practical Tips and Exercises
- Experiment with a colour wheel. Try mixing primary colours (red, blue, yellow) to create secondary colours (green, orange, purple).
- Create a mood board with different colours and see how they make you feel. Does red feel exciting? Does blue feel calming? Play around and see what works best for your art.
Resource for you: Understanding Colour Theory & The Colour Wheel Simplified For Beginners
Elements of Art: Form
Form adds depth and dimension to your artwork, making it look more realistic. It transforms a simple shape into a three-dimensional object. Think of a flat circle turning into a ball or a square becoming a box.
Artists like Michelangelo mastered the use of form to create lifelike sculptures and paintings. The Renaissance was all about perfecting realistic forms to show the beauty of the human body and the world around us.
Examples in Art
- Michelangelo’s “David”:
- This statue is a perfect example of form, with its lifelike muscles and detailed features.
- Georges Braque’s Cubist Paintings:
- Braque broke objects down into geometric forms, showing them from multiple angles at once.
David
Credits: Jörg Bittner Unna, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Practical Tips and Exercises
- Practice drawing simple 3D objects like cubes, spheres, and cones. Notice how shading can make them look more realistic.
- Sculpt something out of clay or playdough. Feel the form with your hands and see how you can shape it into different objects.
Elements of Art: Texture
Texture gives your artwork a tactile quality, making viewers want to reach out and touch it. It can be smooth, rough, soft, or hard, and it adds another layer of interest to your work.
Artists have always played with texture to enhance their art. Vincent van Gogh used thick, expressive brushstrokes to give his paintings a textured feel, while Leonardo da Vinci used delicate, smooth textures in his portraits.
Examples in Art
- Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night”:
- The thick, swirling brushstrokes make the painting feel alive and dynamic.
- Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”:
- The smooth, soft texture of her skin makes the portrait look almost lifelike.
Mona Lisa
Credits: Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Practical Tips and Exercises
- Try different painting techniques like stippling, cross-hatching, or impasto to create various textures.
- Collect different textured materials (like fabric, sandpaper, or leaves) and use them to create a mixed-media artwork.
Elements of Art: Line
Lines can guide the viewer’s eye, create movement, and build structure in your artwork. They can be straight, curved, thick, or thin, and each type of line brings a different feel.
Artists like Albrecht Dürer and Pablo Picasso used lines in unique ways. Dürer’s detailed engravings relied on fine lines to create texture and depth, while Picasso’s abstract line drawings captured the essence of forms with simplicity.
Examples in Art
- Albrecht Dürer’s “The Rhinoceros”:
- The intricate lines give this engraving its detailed and textured appearance.
- Pablo Picasso’s “The Bull“:
- Picasso used simple, flowing lines to capture the form and spirit of a bull in just a few strokes.
The Rhinoceros
Credits: Albrecht Dürer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Practical Tips and Exercises
- Practice drawing with different types of lines. Try making a picture using only straight lines, then another with only curved lines.
- Create a line drawing that guides the viewer’s eye through your composition. Think about where you want the viewer to look first and how the lines can lead them there.
Elements of Art: Shape
Shapes are the foundation of your composition. They can be geometric (like squares and circles) or organic (like leaves and clouds), and they help define spaces and forms in your artwork.
Artists like Kazimir Malevich and Henri Matisse used shapes in revolutionary ways. Malevich’s abstract compositions with geometric shapes laid the groundwork for modern abstract art, while Matisse’s cut-out shapes created vibrant, lively pieces.
Examples in Art
- Kazimir Malevich’s “Black Square”:
- This painting uses a simple geometric shape to make a bold statement about art and space.
- Henri Matisse’s “The Snail“:
- Matisse used colourful, organic shapes cut from paper to create a dynamic, playful composition.
Black Square (Black Suprematic Square)
Credits: Kazimir Malevich, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Practical Tips and Exercises
- Draw a picture using only geometric shapes. What can you create with just circles, squares, and triangles?
- Try a collage with cut-out shapes. Use different colours and textures to make your shapes stand out.
Elements of Art: Value
Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a colour. It helps create contrast, depth, and emphasis in your artwork, making it more dynamic and visually interesting.
Artists like Rembrandt and Caravaggio were masters of using value to create dramatic, lifelike scenes. They used strong contrasts between light and dark (called chiaroscuro) to give their works a three-dimensional quality.
Examples in Art
- Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch“:
- The dramatic use of light and shadow creates a sense of depth and highlights the main figures.
- Caravaggio’s “The Calling of Saint Matthew”:
- The intense contrasts between light and dark draw attention to the key moments and figures in the painting.
The Calling of Saint Matthew
Credits: Caravaggio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Practical Tips and Exercises
- Create a value scale from light to dark using a single colour. Practice shading objects to show where the light hits and where the shadows fall.
- Draw a simple object and shade it using different values to make it look three-dimensional.
Elements of Art: Space
Space refers to the area around and between objects in your artwork. It can create a sense of depth, making your two-dimensional work feel three-dimensional. Positive space is where objects are, and negative space is the empty area around them.
Artists like Johannes Vermeer and M.C. Escher played with space in intriguing ways. Vermeer’s paintings often feature carefully balanced compositions with a clear sense of depth, while Escher’s works challenge our perceptions of space and perspective.
Examples in Art
- Johannes Vermeer’s “The Milkmaid”:
- The use of perspective and space makes the room look realistic and inviting.
- M.C. Escher’s “Relativity“:
- Escher’s playful use of space and perspective creates a mind-bending, surreal scene.
The Milkmaid (Vermeer)
Credits: Johannes Vermeer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Practical Tips and Exercises
- Practice drawing with one-point perspective to create a sense of depth. Start with a simple scene, like a road disappearing into the distance.
- Use negative space creatively. Draw an object by focusing on the space around it rather than the object itself.
7 Elements of Art Posters and Printables
To help you dive deeper into understanding the 7 elements of art, here are some handy resources we have collated for you. These posters and printables can serve as quick references and inspiration as you create your masterpieces. Check out these resources:
This article explained the basics of art elements.
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