Elements of Art

Line

is the most basic building block of formal analysis, can be used to create more complex shapes or to lead your eye from one area in the composition to another

Value

is the degree of light and dark in a design. It is the contrast between black and white and all the tones in between. Can be used with color as well as black and white. Contrast is the extreme changes

Shapes

are created when lines are combined to form a square, triangle, or circle. Can be organic (irregular found in nature) or geometric (with strong lines and angles such as circles, triangles, and squares).

Form

are three-dimensional shapes with length, width, and depth. Balls, cylinders, boxes and pyramids

Space

is the area between and around objects. Increasing or decreasing the amount of it around an object affects the way we view that object.

Color

differentiates and defines lines, shapes, forms, and space. Even black and white images have a huge number of different shades of gray.

Texture

is the surface quality that can be seen and felt. Can be rough or smooth, soft, or hard. it is are often implied. For instance, a drawing of rock might appear to have a rough and hard surface, but in reality, is as smooth as the paper on which it is drawn.