Visual Elements

LINE

• Line types– Actual– Implied

• Line in Two-dimensional Art

• Line in Three-dimensional Art

Line Variations. a. Actual line.

IMPLIED LINE

• A series of points that the eye recognizes as a line; a perceived line where areas of conrasting color or texture meet.

Line Variations. b. Implied line.

Line Variations. c. Actual straight lines and implied curved line.

Marc Chagall. I and the Village. 1911.75 5/8" x 59 5/8".

GESTURAL LINE

• Line that conveys the energy of the artist’s hand as it moves across the drawing surface.

Line Variations. h. Dance of curving lines.

CONTOUR LINE

• An actual line or implied line that defines the outer limits of a three dimensional object or two-dimensional shape; used synonymously with “outline”.

SHAPE

• Geometric or Organic• Figure and Ground• Positive and Negative

Shape• Amorphous Shape• Three-dimensional

Shape

Geometric Shapes

Organic Shape

Amorphous (irregular) shape

POSITIVE SHAPE

• A dominant shape on a ground.

NEGATIVE SHAPE

• A shape “left over” or around a dominant shape.

Figure (or ground) can be either dark or light…

FIGURE

• A shape on a background.

GROUND

• A background on which marks, shapes, or figures are placed.

Figure- Ground Confusion

MASS and VOLUME

• Mass: the physical bulk• Volume: the measurable area that an

object occupies• Mass and volume can be actual or implied

MASS

• An actual or illusory three-dimensional bulk.

VOLUME

• The measurable area that an object occupies-its height, width, and depth.

Actual Space

• The Psychology of Space

• Architectural Space

• Interior Spaces• Artifacts within

Spaces

Actual Space

• Three-dimensional Artifacts– In the Round– In Relief– Positive and

Negative Space

SPACE

• An expanse of three-dimensionality in which objects and events occur.

Illusional Space

• Indicators of Illusional Space– Foreground, middle ground, and background– Size– Overlap– Transparency– Placement

ILLUSIONAL SPACE

• The appearance of depth, height, and width on a two-dimensional surface.

PERSPECTIVE

• The illusion of space on planar surfaces, created by techniques for representing three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface.

Types of Perspective

• Atmospheric Perspective• Linear Perspective

– One-point perspective

– Two-point perspective

– Three-point perspective

Types of Perspective

• Points of View– Bird’s-eye view– Worm’s-eye view– Foreshortening

• Isometric Perspective• Multiple Perspective

LINEAR PERSPECTIVE

• A system of rendering the appearance of three dimensions on a two-dimensional plane by making objects appear smaller as they recede and by making parallel lines converge in the distance at a vanishing point on a horizon line.

VANISHING POINT

• Where converging lines drawn in linear perspective seem to disappear into a distant dot on the horizon line.

ORTHOGONAL LINES

• Lines or edges in a picture that lead the viewer’s eyes to the vanishing points in an illusional three-dimensional space.

Raphael. The School of Athens. 1508.Study.

ATMOSPHERIC (AERIAL) PERSPECTIVE

• The technique of representing dimensional space by making objects close to the viewer appear crisp and vibrant and making them fuzzy and less intense in color and tone as thet recede.