STUDY GUIDE FOR 2D DESIGN FINAL EXAM ♣ Ms. Patrick ♣

Name: _______________________________________________ Hour: ____________

THE ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

LINE * SHAPE * FORM * VALUE * COLOR * TEXTURE * SPACE

LINE

Line - Any long narrow mark made by a

person with a pencil or other

drawing/painting tool such as: wavy,

zigzag, loopty-loop (Curly-Q), straight,

and/or combinations & variations there of

(thick, thin, short, long, etc.)

Line Combinations – Attaching two types of lines (such as a zigzag onto a wavy line) to

form a new looking and interesting line

Linear – Relating to, or consisting of, a line or lines

Line Direction – A mark or several marks that lead a

viewer’s eye to a specific area within an artwork

Line Variations – A change in the appearance of the basic

line such as: thick/thin, tall/short, long/short, different

directions (vertical, horizontal and/or diagonal),

combinations, etc.

An example of line variety

Weight - Visual weight can be attained by a concentration of multiple lines, with the

broadside of a pencil or other writing implement.

visual weight

Contour - To quickly draw the outline, including only the

main details, without lifting your pencil off the paper.

Hatch and Cross-Hatch Lines - A series

of lines that are more or less parallel to

each other are called hatch lines. Bisecting

those lines in series format will yield

cross-hatched lines.

Outline – To draw the silhouette of a subject with one continuous single line.

COLOR

Primary Colors - Red, Yellow, & Blue are the first basic

colors on the Color Wheel chart. From these three (3)

colors, an artist can mix all of the other colors that appear

on the Color Wheel

Secondary Colors - The various mixing combinations of

the primary colors; which yield Orange, Purple, and Green

Intermediate/Tertiary – These colors are formed when a

primary color is mixed with a secondary color that is

immediately next to it on the Color Wheel; which yields

the colors Red-orange, Red-purple, Blue-purple, Blue-

green, Yellow-green, yellow-orange

Shade -A change in a color’s Value from the lightest/brightest towards the

darkest/dullest; and includes the value scale of grays from white to black.

Tint - A change in a color’s Value from the darkest/dullest towards the lightest/brightest;

and includes the value scale of grays from black to white.

Neutral – Having little or no decided color

Hue – The name of a particular color. In casual speech and writing, the words color or

hue are used synonymously

Tone - A relative measure of a color’s lightness or darkness; often-called value. When

grey is added to any color we get tones of that color.

Complimentary color scheme: Colors that are directly opposite

of one another on the color wheel.

blue and orange

Analogous color scheme: Three or maximum four colors,

which are directly next to each other on the color wheel.

(For example: yellow-orange, orange, and red-orange)

Monochromatic color scheme: One color and all the shades

and tints of that color. Neutrals may also be added to this type

of color scheme

An example of a red monochromatic palette

Color wheel – An abstract illustrative

organization of color hues around a circle that

shows relationships between primary colors,

secondary colors, complementary colors etc.

VALUE

Value - A range of various shades and tints and/or white to black; including all the

tones/hues that occur between the two extremes.

value scale

Gradation - Noticeable variations/changes in value, tones, sizes, shapes, forms, etc.

gradation

Light Source/Sun Source – In painting and drawing, the location of the light/sun

source(s) illuminating the subject is critical. Shadows that are important to the entire

effect of the artwork is dependent on the light/sun source – moving the light can change

everything. The artist should always be aware of the problems that extreme differences in

lighting may cause

SHAPE

Shape - Objects that have both height and width. The word ‘shape’ is associated with 2 -

dimensional artworks

Two Dimensional or 2D - Objects that have or only appear to have both height and

width

Geometric Shapes – The basic geometric

shapes predominantly used in art are the

square, rectangle, triangle, oval and circle

Overlapping - One subject on top/beneath of

another or in front/behind of another subject.

Organic Shapes – Not having angular edges and/or corners; rather

smooth and curvilinear in its shape or form. It is sometimes

referred to, and/or inspired by nature or biomorphic shapes and

forms

FORM

Form - The three dimensional (3D) characteristics of an object – that is height, width and

depth. The word ‘form’ can be used when describing both 2 and 3-dimensional artworks

example of a 3D form

example of a 2D form

Size Variation - A change in height, depth

and/or width

Perspective - Also known as Linear Perspective; which is the art of drawing and painting

where objects appear to have depth and distance. Developed in the 15th

century AD, all

parallel lines in a given field converge at a vanishing point(s) on the horizon line

Vanishing Point - A point at which receding lines meet in linear perspective

Horizon Line - The imaginary line where the sky and earth meet

One Point Perspective - Linear perspective that uses only one vanishing point

Two Point Perspective - Linear perspective that uses two vanishing points

TEXTURE

Texture - The use of various techniques to increase either the actual or the apparent

tactile quality of a surface (how it really feels in a 3-D artwork, or how the surface in a 2-

D artwork appears to have a tactile quality such as rough or smooth)

example of texture in a 2D artwork

example of texture in a 3D

artwork

SPACE

Positive Space: The artwork’s subject, shapes, and/or forms themselves

Negative Space: The empty or open area that is above, below, in-between and/or all

around the defined object

Background/Deep Space – All areas of an artwork that appear to be behind the emphasis

or focal point.

background

mid-ground

foreground

Foreground/Shallow Space – All areas of an artwork that appear in front of the

emphasis or focal point.

THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

PATTERN * RHYTHM * MOVEMENT * BALANCE * EMPHASIS * CONTRAST *

UNITY / HARMONY

PATTERN – Lines, shapes and/or forms that are repeated over and over in a planned

way

RHYTHM – A visual tempo or

beat. A way of combining visual

elements to produce a sense of

action. It is often achieved through

the careful placement of repeated

components which invite the

viewer’s eye to jump rapidly or glide

smoothly from one to the next.

MOVEMENT – A combination of elements that helps the viewer’s eye sweep over the

work in a planned direction

BALANCE – How the different parts of an artwork are arranged to create equal weight

and/or interest

The butterfly below by itself is essentially

symmetrical. Both sides are similar in visual

weight and almost mirrored. Because symmetrical

balance often looks more stiff and formal,

sometimes it is called formal balance.

This image by Robert K. Everest exhibits a sense of balance through

its use of color and shape. The colors seem to flow in a similar

fashion: the dark blue at the top which is contrasted by the yellows

and greens, which therefore moves into reds and purples near the

bottom of the painting. The image is asymmetrical in balance.

EMPHASIS / FOCAL POINT (Dominance) – Areas in an artwork that catch or hold

the viewer’s attention

Emphasis refers to the object or

element which first catches our

attention. In this painting, our eye is

first drawn to the woman's face on

the right edge. It has been

heightened in the value contrast,

color intensity, color contrast

(orange hair and bright red lips

contrast with the green of her

forehead), and proportion (she is the

largest person).

CONTRAST (Variety, or Gradation) - The use of different lines, shapes, textures,

colors and other elements of design to create interest in a work of art. Closely related to

the principle of design, emphasis, this term (contrast) refers to a way of placing elements

of art side-by-side to stress the differences between them. For example, a painting may

have bright color, which contrasts with dark colors or angular shapes which contrast with

curvaceous shapes. When used this way, contrast can excite, emphasize and direct

attention to points of interest within the artwork.

Melissa White’s painting shows strong

contrast between the foreground and

the background of this costal scene.

The sunny, orange shades of the

background give more emphasis to the

dark shape of the coast. The reflection

of the sun in the water also helps to

create a contrast of the coast.

UNITY / HARMONY - A pleasing agreement of all the individual parts (elements)

within one particular artwork

Theresa Andreas-O’Leary’s

painting exhibits unity through

the consistency of lines and

shapes. The background remains

relatively similar throughout the

whole picture and the trees, which

are all the same kind of tree but

all look different, are placed

within the foreground. These

shapes and lines display a

“coherence of the whole”.