Arts
Elements and principles of art
Line, shape, colour and more, and the ways artists arrange them.
Elements of art
The elements are the building blocks of art: the things an artist uses to make a picture, sculpture or design.
- LineA mark made by a moving point. Lines can be straight, curved, zigzag, thick, thin or dotted.
- ShapeA flat, closed area. Geometric shapes have straight sides or perfect curves. Organic shapes are free and wobbly, like leaves and puddles.
- FormA 3D shape with length, width and depth, like a sphere or a cube. Light and shadow make a flat drawing look solid.
- ColourWhat we see when light bounces off things. Hue is a colour's name, like red or blue. See the colour mixing guide.
- ValueHow light or dark a colour is. Add white to make a lighter tint, or black to make a darker shade.
- TextureHow something feels, or looks like it would feel if you touched it: rough, smooth, fluffy, bumpy or spiky.
- SpaceThe area around, between and inside things. Things far away look smaller and higher up the page.
Principles of art
The principles are the ways an artist arranges the elements, to make the art feel a certain way or to guide where you look.
- BalanceHow the weight of a picture is spread out. Symmetrical balance is the same on both sides. Asymmetrical balance uses different things that feel just as heavy.
- ContrastPutting very different things side by side, like light and dark, big and small, or rough and smooth, so they stand out.
- EmphasisMaking one part catch your eye first, using size, colour or where it sits. This part is called the focal point.
- MovementThe path your eye follows through the art. Lines, shapes and directions can lead it around the picture.
- PatternShapes, lines or colours repeated in a regular way, like tiles, stripes or wrapping paper.
- RhythmRepeating things with small changes, so the art feels like it has a beat, like music.
- ProportionHow big things are compared with each other, like a person next to a house, or a head compared with a body.
- UnityWhen all the parts look like they belong together, so the art feels whole. Using similar colours or shapes helps.
Look closer
Pick a picture book cover, a poster or a painting and ask:
- What do I notice first? That's the emphasis.
- What kinds of lines and shapes can I find?
- Where is it light, and where is it dark?
- Is it the same on both sides, or balanced a different way?
- Which way does my eye travel around it?