Seven Elements of Art
Building Blocks of any Composition
Line (a path of a moving point)
Shape (defines an area)
Space (the area inside and around an object)
Texture (feel of a surface)
Color (the way we see the light reflected from a surface)
Value (amount of brightness and darkness)
Form (a three-dimension shape)
The elements of art are the building blocks of any composition.
But did you ever wonder why?
When you look at any composition, you always recognize some, if not all, elements of art. Our eyes learn to recognize them since we are born, and most of the time, we do it without realizing it.
So why are the line, shape, space, value, texture, color, and form considered the seven elements of art?
Because you always see them even if they are not represented in an obvious way.
The truth is that some elements complement each other. Usually, the line is referred to as the first element of art but isn’t a line made out of dots?
Dots make Lines
Lines make Shapes
Shapes define Space
Value creates Forms
Texture is made out of Lines
The pointillism technique uses dots, color, and value to create forms and shapes.
When you play with the value, you make forms that usually are referred to as 3-dimensional shapes.
You can have fun with all these elements of art and create them without using them. However, you will have to use other elements of art to do that.
When you play around with these elements, you will realize their importance.
Be creative!
