Formal Elements
What are Formal Elements in Art and Design?
Formal Elements can be thought of as INGREDIENTS - similar to a chef creating a dish with certain ingredients. If you leave some out it could affect the taste.
In art, some ingredients can be left out if they are not appropriate but they should ALWAYS be considered.
What are Formal Elements?
They are things you should think about when drawing or painting and include things like:
- Composition.
- Line.
- Tone.
- Value.
- Colour.
- Texture.
- Shape.
FROM BBC BITESIZE WEBSITE:
Let's look at the first of these from the BBC Bitesize website.
https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/z3pp3k7/revision/4
Line
A line is a mark made on a surface that joins different points. Lines can vary in length, width, direction and shape. Artists and designers can use lines for many different reasons:
Lines can show the subject's physical appearance:
- the outline of shapes and objects
- details of features and patterns
- surfaces and texture
- tone, light and shade
Lines can suggest something more than just what can be seen:
- movement
- mood and atmosphere
- the subject's emotions
- the artist's emotions and ideas.
Contour lines
Lines that are used to define the shape or form of an object or to show key details are called outlines or contour lines.
Descriptive lines
Descriptive lines tell us more about a subject. They help make a shape look more like a three-dimensional object by showing light, shade and texture.
Expressive lines
Lines can be added to an artwork using a range of different media such as pencil, charcoal, oil paint and watercolour. These different media will give the lines a different quality, they may be thicker or thinner, bold or smudged.
The way lines are created can be used to express emotions and to create mood.