Element of Design: Line
Line is probably the most fundamental of all the elements of design. It is the
starting place for most artistic creation whether one is starting a fine drawing
or painting or even sketching ideas for a sculpture. most design begins with
line. So, what is line?
A math teacher would say that line consist of only one dimension, length. In
the real world of creating art though a one-dimensional line would not be
practical. A more usable definition might be that line is the path of a dot,
point etc. through space and that is always has more length than thickness.
Lines are not all the same, especially in art.
Types of Lines
Vertical lines: are straight up and down and perpendicular to horizontal
lines.
Horizontal lines: are straight up and down and perpendicular to vertical
lines.
Diagonal lines: are lines that straight in any direction except vertical or
horizontal.
Zigzag lines: are a series of diagonal lines joined end to end.
Curved lines: are lines that bend in any amount of degree; they may be
gently wavy to tightly wound spirals.
Variations of Lines
Lines come in many varieties. They may:
be long, short or anything in between
be thick, thin
be smooth or rough
be continuous, implied, dotted, dashed
change direction
change in degree of curve (curved Lines)
be any of the above combined
Some ways Artists use line
to outline; a starting place for many drawings or paintings
to suggest moods or emotion; lines can appear calm, nervous, angry,
etc.
to lead the viewer’s eye through a work of art
to create lightness or darkness; lines placed close together appear
darker than those placed further from each other
to create texture; roughness or smoothness
LINE – is an important element at the disposal of every artist. Through the
lines of painting or sculpture, the artist can make us know what the work is
about.
COLOR – of all elements of art, color has the most aesthetic appeal. Delight
in color is a universal human characteristic. Color is a property of light. When
the light goes out, color goes with it.
HUE – is the dimension of color that dimension of color that gives color its
name. When we say the flower is yellow, we are naming its hue.
BLUE, RED, AND YELLOW are the primary hue
ORANGE, GREEN, and VIOLET are the secondary hues
red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet.
VALUE – sometimes called chiaroscuro, refers to the lightness or darkness of
a color. It is quality which depends on the amount of light and dark in the
color.
INTENSITY -is the third dimension of color. It refers to the brightness or
darkness of color. It gives color strength.
TEXTURE –is a color element that deals more directly with the sense of
touch. It has to do with the characteristic of surface which can be rough or
smooth.
PERSPECTIVE – deals with the effect of distance upon the appearance of
objects, by means of which the eye judges the spatial relationship.
SPACE – In painting, as in architecture space is the great importance. The
exterior of a building is seen as it appears in space, while the interior is seen
by one.
FORM – applies to the overall design of an artwork. It describes the structure
or shape of an object.
VOLUME – the term volume refers to the amount of space occupied in their
dimension.