RONGAI TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE

DPTE – ART AND CRAFT

ELEMENTS OF ART AND PRINCIPLES OF ORGANISATION

ELEMENTS OF ART

 There are five elements of art which are expressed on flat surfaces.
 They can be termed as simple units used in art as building blocks to construct a work of art
i.e. (They are optical units used as tools in a work of art). All of them need space on which to
be executed
 These are:
(i) Line
(ii) Shape and space
(iii) Value
(iv) Texture
(v) Colour

1. LINE

 A line in a track or mark made by a moving point

 Line is one of the tools used to describe the appearance of a form or object.
 It is thought of as a chain of dots joined together to move in space.
 It may be described as a mark or track made by a moving point of a pen, pencil, wire,
Etc.

 A Line may be vertical, horizontal of diagonal depending on the direction.

 It may also be zigzag, spiral, wavy, curved etc.
Examples:

Diagonal line Vertical Line Spiral Line

Horizontal line Zigzag Line Wavy line

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USE OF LINE:

i). A line can be used to express a variety of emotions, ideas or feelings.

It gives certain feelings either in isolation or when grouped together.

- Horizontal lines indicate or suggest tranquility or calmness, rest or stability.

Tranquility or calmness Joy

Several lines crossing each other in opposite direction and at different angles will indicate
conflict or disagreement

ii) A line can be used to create tones (lightness and

iii) A line can be used to describe the shape of an object

 Shape is therefore the outline of an object.

Shapes of a Cylinder and a Cube Shape of a Mushroom

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iv) Lines can also be used to suggest movement, e.g., lines may be used to represent objects that
are in motion e.g. waves and wind.

Wavy Lines denoting movement just like waves

Objects drawn using vertical lines tend to appear stable while forms drawn slanting (diagonal) seem
to be in motion in the direction of their learning.

Stability Instability

2. SHAPE & SPACE

 Shape is an area having specific character defined by a contour or by a contrast of colour value
or texture in the surrounding area.
 Shape occupies space and may have or may not have volume.
 Shape may be geometric, organic, curvilinear, biomorphic (animal life) or amorphous (liquids
amoeba)
 A shape may also be defined as an area of colour, value, texture or line or all four possessing
more or less measurable dimensions

USES OF SHAPE

Shape can be used to:

a) Represent and define objects

b) Shapes create the illusion of volume and depth on a flat surface by overlapping.
c) Suggest movement on a surface in a composition
d) Shape has the ability to express emotions ideas or feelings

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Overlapping Shapes

TYPES OF SHAPES

There are two basic types of shape:

i. Organic - Natural – occur in nature

ii. Geometric / man-made shapes
iii. Abstract shapes

SPACE:

 Is the interval between any two points

 There are two dimensional (2-D) spaces and three –Dimensional (3-D) Spaces.
 2-D- Planular from plane (depthless/ flat).
 3- D Plastic space (physical present space)
SPACE FILLING

 It is the arrangement of simple motives on a given surface using either abstract or natural forms.
 A filled up space has got areas known as positive or negative spaces.

Positive Areas

Negative areas

WAYS OF FILLING UP A GIVEN SPACE

a) Painting
b) Drawing
c) Printing
d) Modeling
e) Casting
f) Molding
g) Etching
h) Engraving
i) Pasting

3. VALUE/ TONE

- Value is termed as a Tone

- It may be defined as the relative lightness or darkness given to a surface by the amount of light
reflected from it. (The direction from which light is coming determines the length and direction
of the shadows cast)
- Values can be created on a surface by two techniques, i.e.
-Shading

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 - Tinting

a) SHADING
 Refers to the process of darkening a surface or a medium (colour) by adding a darker medium
e.g. ink or colour (black)
 Shading, therefore, means reducing the ability of the surface or medium to reflect light.
 For example; white paper reflects a lot of light but if a paper will become darker, it will not
reflect as much light as before e.g. Blue + Black =Dark Blue

b) TINTING
 Refers to the process of lightening a surface or a medium (colour) by adding white to the colour
being used.
 Tinting increase the ability of a surface to reflect light and hence appear lighter
 The degree of lightness depends on the amount of white added e.g. – Blue + White= Light Blue

TECHNIQUES OF CREATING VALUE

Use of lines

Dot/ stippling

Shading

Tonal range use of lines

USES OF VALUE

 To model form
Value is used to create an illusion of volume or three –dimensional (3-D) quality of objects e.g.

 When areas of an object which appears darker are shaded and those parts which appear lighter
are covered with tinted colours, the shadows and light areas emerge making the form appear 3-
dimensional.

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 Use of dots to model form

 To create illusion of depth and atmospheric effect.

Atmospheric effect

 To suggest movement. This is done in a composition by creating a path of objects with

closely related value. This tends to attract the eye to follow the path.

4 TEXTURE

 Texture is the surface quality (surface treatment) of an object

 Texture can also be defined as the feel of a surface to touch.
 Our sense of touch helps us feel the roughness or smoothness of object e.g., the surface of a
glass wall may be smooth while that of a bark of a tree will be rough.
 Texture may be found in natural objects e.g. Bark of a tree, shells and man-made objects such as
paper, bricks and clothes
 There are two ways by which we experience texture:

i) Tactile texture (Touching)

ii) Visual texture (Seeing)

 When the surface quality is experienced by touching, it is called ‘tactile texture’

 When it is experienced by seeing in a work of art or design it is referred to as “visual texture”

 Tactile texture:
Tactile texture in used in art and design when producing three dimensional (3-D) forms such as
sculpture, basketry, ceramics, ornaments and collage.

 Visual texture:
Visual texture is a feeling of roughness or smoothness of a surface which is represented on a
surface by drawing or painting.

It is visual texture because it is seen and interpreted as smooth or rough, yet it is not real.

 Textures are divided into three categories:

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 i) Actual texture

ii) Simulated texture

iii) Invented texture

 Actual texture
This type of texture can be exploited when the actual use of grass, stones, sand, grains,
newspapers, clothe etc. are stuck to the surface of a collage in picture making

 Simulated texture
In this type of texture, you emphasize light and dark patterns on the object you are drawing as
accurately as possible almost as if you were creating actual object through shading, colour tones
and tint.

 Invented texture:
This is texture that is made to look rough, smooth or any other feel, but is purely made up by the
artist. It may not look like the real texture of the object portrayed.

USES OF TEXTURE

Texture is evident on all sorts of surfaces such as walls, floors, fabrics, upholstery and on almost
everything we use and value in our daily living. In art and design, texture is used to;

i) Enrich a pictorial area but only if kept within the bounds of judicious restraint (proper use) e.g. it
may enrich the drawinig of a human portrait or a given surface.

ii) Enhance emotional expression. We can equate texture with tactile sensations with attributes in
character & therefore it functions as a supplementary psychological device.

iii) Create illusions of space and depth on a 2-D surface by using it to model forms.

This creates the feeling that the forms has volume and in space which has depth.

Illusion of space and depth

iv) Make the surface of a form lively and active to look at e.g. if a cylindrical form has a surface and
the artist wants to make this surface active and lively, they should apply rough texture on some
parts to contrast with the smooth areas.

v) Create visual harmony between forms shapes and spaces in any given work.

This is done by repeating a specific type of texture in various parts of composition.

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However the texture may be varied by making some bold, faint or making some smooth.

vi) Express ideas, feelings, imaginations and mood. Rough textures denote ruggedness, strength,
discomfort, old age, while smooth texture denote beauty, softness, slipperiness and delicateness etc.

5. COLOUR

 Colour can be defined as the characteristic response or vision to the wave length of light created
or reflected by the surface of an object.
 Colour is perceived by the sense of sight.
 Colour is also perceived because of light.
 Light as the primary source of colour consists of seven colours of the spectrum
 To prove this, take a glass prism and pass a ray of white light through it.
 The ray of light will be split into seven colours namely; Red, Orange, Yellow green, blue, indigo
and violet.
 Pigment is the colouring matter of objects. It is the secondary source of colour.
Pigment paints are used by an artist to create the effect of colour on a surface, such as water
colours.

 Despite there being only a few colours, there are hundreds of colour variations such that every
colour of the spectrum exists in many forms, although, this colour may continue to bare the
simple spectrum name, e.g. Different kinds of Red’s- (pink, scarlet, crimson, vermillion, maroon)
 Every colour can be described in terms of 3 - physical properties i.e.
i. Hue
ii. Value
iii. Intensity
1) Hue

 Hue is the name of a colour, e.g. blue is a hue.

 It is also the property that makes a colour appear different from another, e.g.- blue is
different from Red

2) Value

 Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a colour.

 For example, the value of green ranges from light to dark i.e. - light green to dark green.
 Light values are called tints and dark values are called shades.
 Values of a colour can be changed by adding white to make it light and black to make it dark.

3) Intensity

 Intensity refers to the brightness or dullness of a colour.

 Colour of high intensity is pure, clean and saturated.
 This, however, can be changed by adding white or black or the complimentary of the colour

CLASSIFICATION OF COLOURS

1. Primary Colours
 There are three basic hues known as primary colours. These are Red, Blue and Yellow
 These are unique colours that cannot be obtained by mixing any other colours.

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  There are three basic primary colours i.e. red, yellow and Blue.
 These colours can be mixed in various proportions to get other colours.

2. Secondary Colours

 These are colours obtained by mixing any two primary colours in equal proportions

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 Colour star Identify the shaded colours

For example: - Blue + Red = Violet /purple

- Red + Yellow = Orange/ Amber

- Yellow + Blue = Green

3. Tertiary Colours

- Obtained by mixing a primary and

a secondary colour e.g.

Red + Purple = Red-Purple

Yellow + Orange = Yellow-Orange

Blue + Green = Blue-Green

ColourWheel

4. Neutral Colours

These are;

i. Black
ii. White
iii. Grey

These colours are used to lighten or darken other colours.

5. Complementary Colours

Complementary colours lie directly opposite each other on the colour wheel.

They are contrasting colours e.g. red and green, blue and orange, yellow and violet (purple)

Complementary colours wherever mixed neutralize each other to give a grey.

6. Analogous Colours

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 These are colours which lie next to each other on the colour wheel. When placed next to
each other, they bring out harmony.

Red analogous colours: Red, Orange, purple, Crimson, Scarlet, Vermilion, Citrine,

Russet, Olive, Marigold, Grey, Black

Blue analogous colours: Blue, purple, Cyan, Indigo, Grey, Crimson, Olive, Russet,

Green, emerald green, citrine, black.

Yellow analogous colours: Yellow, Green, Orange, Marigold, Scarlet Cyan, emerald,Green, citrine,
olive, Russet, Grey, Black.

Colour contrast

 Can be described as the effect obtained when comparing two- diametrically opposing tonal
values. such as black and white and any two complimentary colours

NB:

 A single colour can be given the term monochromatic.

 Any surface with many colours is called polychromatic.

7. Colour harmony

 Is the use of a pleasing combination of colours that tend to go together as a result of tints
and shade and analogous colours

Colour can also be classified as either warm or cool.

Warm Colours / Active / Preceding

Warm colours are red, yellow and orange.

They seen warm because they are associated with sources of heat such as fire and the sun.

When used, they project and tend to advance towards the viewer.

Cool Colour/Passive/ Receding

Cool colours are blue, green, and purple and are often associated with sources of water.

They are restful (calm) and tend to recede away from the viewer and they are used to
suggest distance.

NB:

Warm colours advance and cool colours recede

The artist exploit this when painting a landscape by using warm colours in the foreground
and cool colours in the background to express the concept of distance or perspective.

USES OF COLOUR

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 1. Colour can be used to create an illusion of volume and depth (space) e.g., a circular shape
can be painted in such a manner that appears to have volume like a sphere and stand in
space which has depth.
2. To suggest movement.
3. To arouse emotions.
4. Colour can be used to express one’s own personal emotions and feelings

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON COLOUR

Colour is a form on light energy that has a wavelength. It is also a form of matter that
reflects light.
NOTE:
 Light is the primary source of colour. Without light, no colour can be seen.
 Pigment is the secondary source of colour. Pigment is the colouring matter which
gives colours to objects.
 Light is a form of energy but pigment is matter.
 Pigments are found in form of dyes, inks, paints, etc.

Properties of colour
1. Hue
 It is the property of colour which makes colours to appear different from
each other. E.g. blue appears different from red.
 Hue enables us to locate colour on the colour wheel.
 Sometimes the term hue is used to mean colour.
2. Value
 It is the lightness or darkness of a colour.
 Each colour has ranges from the very light to the very dark tone.
 Lighter values are called tints while darker values are called shades.
 When the value of a colour is raised, it reflects more light and if the value is
lowered, it reflects less light.
 Value can be raised by adding white and it can be lowered by adding black.

Class exercise in producing value bars of colours of choice.

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 3. Intensity
 It is the degree of purity and saturation of a colour. It is also referred to as
colour chroma.
 When a colour is intense, it is pure and clean. If any other colour is added to
it, it reduces its intensity.
 The intensity of a colour is also affected by the area surrounding the colour.

COLOUR CLASSIFICATION
 Pigments have three basic hues, also called Primary Colours. These colours cannot
be obtained by mixing any colours. These are Red, Yellow, and Blue.
 Primary colours can be mixed in various proportions to obtain other colours.
 If the three primary colours are mixed in equal proportions, the result is Chromatic
grey.
 If two primary colours are mixed in equal proportions, the result is a Secondary
Colour. They are as follows;
 Yellow + Red = Orange
 Yellow + Blue = Green
 Blue + Red = Purple
 If a primary colour and a secondary colour are mixed in correct proportions, the
result is a tertiary colour. For example;
 Red + Orange = Red Orange
 Yellow + Orange = Yellow Orange
 Blue +Purple = Blue Purple
 Blue + Green = Blue Green
 Yellow + Green = Yellow Green etc.

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  These classes of colours can be best understood when represented on a triangle, for
primary colours, and a colour wheel as shown;

 When the colours presented above are placed next to each other they produce the
following effects;
1. Harmonious/ Analogous/ Supplementary colours
 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
(Give some examples)
2. Contrasting/ Complementary colours
 Colours which are opposite each other on the colour wheel create a feeling of
contrast when placed next to each other.
 Any two complementary colours intensify each other when placed next to
each other. For example, if Red is placed next to green, the Red will look
brighter and the Green will look greener.
 When any two complementary colours are mixed, they counsel each other to
form a very dull colour called chromatic grey.
 The sensations where by complementary colours intensify each other and at
the same time counsel each other is called Simultaneous Contrast.

 Colours are categorised as cool or warm

Cool colours
 They are often associated with sources of water.
 They appear restful and do not seem to disturb the eyes in a painting.
 They tend to recede away from the viewer.
 These colours are mainly used to suggest distance. E.g. the sky and hills are often
painted pale blue to suggest that they are far away.
(Give examples of cool colours.)
Warm colours
 They are associated with sources of heat such as fire and the sun.
 They are conspicuous, cheerful and stimulating.
 When used they project and tend to advance towards the viewer.
(Give examples of warm colours)

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Uses of colour
1. To describe form.
2. To model form and create illusion of depth.
3. To suggest movement.
4. To express ideas and feelings: create mood
5. To arouse emotions.

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