Formal Elements in Art

LINE

In a literal sense, line in art is the path left by a moving point, such as a pencil or paintbrush. It is not restricted and can be horizontal, diagonal, straight, curved, and can change over the length of the line. They can show contours, movement or even expression depending on the execution of the line. 

SHAPE

A shape is an area which is enclosed by a line. This does not have to be shaded or filled in, but could merely be an outline. They could be geometric or irregular. The shapes created in between other shapes are known as negative space. Proportion is important to take into consideration when creating shapes, as well as size and positioning in relation to shapes around the one being drawn.

FORM

Form is a 3 dimensional shape such as a cube, sphere or cone. In 2D art, tone, perspective and shading can be used to create the illusion of form. Sculpture and 3D design are about creating forms. 

TONE

Tone refers to the lightness or darkness of a shape, for example the shading or colour of an object. Tones are created in real life by the way light falls onto a 3D object, which can then be replicated through shading and mixing colours in art. The areas of the object which has the most light on it is highlighted, and the darker areas, in shadow. This is not a monochromatic process, however, as many tones are used between the highlights and the shadows. 

COLOUR

There are three primary colours in art; red, yellow and blue. These cannot be made using a mix of any other colours, however in theory all other colours can be made from these three. The mix of two primary colour is called a secondary colour. Tertiary colours can be created by mixing a primary and secondary colour together. 

The colour wheel shows which colours are harmonious (next to each other on the wheel), complimentary (opposite on the colour wheel), warm (on the red side of the spectrum) or cold (on the blue side of the wheel). Black, white and grey fall under the umbrella title of neutral colours. 

TEXTURE

Texture is the surface quality of an object which affects the way it looks and feels. There are two types of texture; actual and visual.

Visual texture is created using marks and lines to represent actual texture. It is used to give the illusion, or recreate the look of, a particular texture, however it is smooth to the touch as it is only the concept of the texture itself. 

Actual texture is the physical distortion of a surface and object. It is created by changing the surface of your artwork, for example collage or scrunching, similar to sandpapering fabric to make it more worn. Combining material techniques enables you to create very interesting textures.

PATTERN

A pattern is a design that is created by using repetition of lines, colour, tones or shapes. The singular design that is used in repeat to create the pattern is most commonly referred to as a motif, which can either be a simple shape or a more complex composition. Patterns can either be man made, like a design, or natural, such as the markings on animal fur. 

MONOCHROMATIC

Monochrome means one colour, derived from the medieval latin monochrōma and feminine Greek monokhrōmos meaning of one colour. In terms of art, monochromatic work is created exploring the tone and intensity of one select colour. It does not exclude shading and hues of the colour, which can be added through mixing a complimentary colour in with the medium or adding black or white. A white addition creates a tint whilst black creates a tone. There is also the possibility of creating alternate tones through the use of saturation. The more water added to paint, for example, the lighter and weaker the colour. The more paint in the paint:water ratio makes it darker. 

COMPOSITION

Composition is the intentional formatting of any artwork. This means that there is conscious thought behind how a piece of art is created and is usually synonymous for design, form, visual ordering, or formal structure depending on its context. 

One main consideration when ordering a composition is whether the art is aesthetically pleasing. Artwork is most commonly considered aesthetically pleasing when arranged in a balanced compositional way, meaning that the individual elements of the artwork unite. However there are artists, such as Salvador Dali or Picasso, whose artwork is composed deliberately in such a way that disrupts balanced and traditional composition, and challenge viewers to reconsider how balance and design is used within artworks. 

Some compositional techniques include the rules of thirds, odds, and space; simplification, limiting focus, geometry, symmetry, movement, direction, perspective, centres of interest, and contrast. These principles are not all necessary to take into consideration when creating a piece of artwork and can be selected from in order to achieve the goal of the artist, however they cannot be applied separately to each other.