The formal elements
- Line: marks that show outline, movement and energy; they can be thick, thin, broken or expressive.
- Tone: how light or dark something is; tone creates form and mood.
- Colour: hue, and how light (tint) or dark (shade) it is.
- Shape (2D) and form (3D): outlines of flat areas, and objects with volume.
- Texture: how a surface feels or looks as though it would feel, such as rough bark.
- Pattern: repeated lines, shapes or colours.
- Composition: how everything is arranged in the artwork.
Colour theory
- Primary colours are red, yellow and blue; mixing two makes the secondary colours orange, green and purple.
- Complementary colours are opposite each other on the colour wheel (red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple). Placed together they make each other look brighter.
- Harmonious (analogous) colours are next to each other on the wheel and look calm together.
- Warm colours (reds, oranges, yellows) seem to come forward; cool colours (blues, greens) seem to go back.
- A tint is a colour mixed with white; a shade is a colour mixed with black.
Composition
- The rule of thirds places the focal point about a third of the way into the picture, which often looks more interesting than the centre.
- Foreground, middle ground and background create depth. Perspective uses vanishing points to show distance.
- Balance can be symmetrical (formal) or asymmetrical (more dynamic).
Key terms
- Tone
- How light or dark something is.
- Complementary colours
- Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel.
- Harmonious colours
- Colours next to each other on the colour wheel.
- Tint
- A colour mixed with white.
- Shade
- A colour mixed with black.
- Composition
- How the parts of an artwork are arranged.
- Rule of thirds
- Placing key features a third of the way into the picture.
- Focal point
- The part of an artwork the eye is drawn to first.