Principles and Elements of Art and Design

Elements of Art and Design

(from left to right)

- Value: this image demonstrates good value because there is black, white and many shades of grey in between.

- Texture: The cherry is glistening in this photo, highlighting its shiny surface and thus conveying its moist texture.

- Shape: This striking shape of a lamp is emphasized by the shadows running from the center like lines of darker gold.

- Line: Almost everything in this picture makes use of definitive lines. The downward lines created by the legs bring the viewer's focus to the weighing scale, with the center of the scale being further emphasized by the line of the blue carpet.

- Space: This picture creates a sense of space through the use of lines of the path which extend as far as the eye, including the dog's eye, can see.

- Color: The color in this picture is particularly striking because it is outside the window. The subdued browns of the cat and seat inside the window are brought to life by the vivid greens and red-brick wall outside the window creating a sense of warmth and space.

- Form: The form of the trees, particularly the one in the foreground, is captured by the lighting, creating a stark silhouette of the natural branches, in stark contrast to the man-made street.



Principles of Art and Design

(left to right)

- Variety: There are a variety of things in this picture, emphasized by them taking up almost the entire picture and their saturated, contrasting colors.

- Unity: Unity is created in this picture through line (the pave-walk crack, and the feet of human and dogs all follow the same line) and motion blur, depicting how all three individuals are walking together, in the same direction, to the same place.

- Proportion: My very tiny Jack Russell looks large and powerful, with her head above the background line of trees, and her dark figure and shadow complimenting the dark shade of green trees and foreboding, cloudy sky.

- Harmony: There is a harmony of colors created in this photo, taken at dusk, The noise adds to the dusty quality shown in the grey concrete, the dusty blue sky, and purple-looking cherry blossom.

- Movement: The motion blur on the back two fish create a sense of movement which is transferred onto the fish in the foreground. This movement is clearly limited by the top of the water, which the bubbles rise to and whose outer black air emphasizes the colors within.

- Rhythm: There is a sense of rhythm in this photo due to the repeated pattern of foam on the sea, which creates a sense of movement.

- Contrast: The gleaming white of the symmetrical church makes it very imposing against the dark background of the night sky and the arch which frames it.

- Emphasis: The fine detail of the dandelion is clearly the focus of this picture, perhaps counter-intuitively so, as there is a dog in the background. As well as the shallow depth of field (large aperture), the white of the dandelion contrasts with the green grass, allowing the dandelion to be more easily emphasized.

- Balance: Despite the cat being balanced on the window edge, there is a sense of imbalance created in this photo due to the majority of the cat's body being on one side, whereas the big fall to the outside world takes up less than half the picture.