The Design Fundamentals of Art
...referred to as negative space. Value: Value refers to a composition’s light and dark elements. Every shade (dark value) and tint (light value) of every color or hue can be thought of as having a place on a value scale. Famous American artist Georgia O’Keefe’s college professor emphasized that the pattern created by the different values was interesting. Color: Color has three properties: hue, the name of the color; value, the lightness or darkness of the color; and intensity (saturation), the brightness or dullness of the color. Limitation definitely plays an important role in mastering color orchestration. Students may be advised to limit their palettes or to use analogous or related colors. To avoid pitfalls of clashing color, students should be counseled to minimize the intensity of colors in a composition. This process is sometimes referred to as neutralization. Dark, cool colors generally recede; bright, warm colors usually advance. The character, identity, and impact of a color depend on the colors that are adjacent to or surrounding it. To make colors beautiful, we must first consider the value. Space: Space is an element both in pictorial composition and in abstract design that often confuses the student. In two-dimensional art expression, space sometimes is designated as the negative area between positive objects. This kind of space is often referred to as decorative or surface space. Another category of space to be considered is space-in-depth; this is often studied as if comprised of three sections; foreground, middle ground, and background. A related concept about objects in space is point-of view. Is the art depicted from above or below? Does the art offer a close-up view or a distant view? Texture and Pattern: Texture and pattern usually are considered as elements that add richness and variety. But they may also be the main feature of the design. Some names for textures are rough, smooth, actual, implied, or bumpy. Some types of patterns are regular, stripes, scallop, notched, and checkerboard. Both pattern and texture can be created by the repetition of individual elements. Patterns are usually made up the repetition of one or more shapes. In textures, one or more elements are merged into the whole and are difficult to distinguish. When texture changes in a progressive way, it...