assignment two in humanities: designs

8/13/2019 Assignment Two in Humanities: Designs

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Name: Tehanie Christy G. Molarto Assignment No. 1

Section: 25N Date: June xx, 2013

What is Design?

Design is the PROCESS of SELECTING and ORGANIZING elements or

components in order to fulfill a specific purpose. This purpose may be functional

or aesthetic, or (frequently) both.

The elements and principles of design are the building blocks used tocreate a work of art. The elements of design can be thought of as the things thatmake up a painting, drawing, design etc. Good or bad - all paintings will containmost of if not all, the seven elements of design.

The Principles of design can be thought of as what we do to the elementsof design. How we apply the Principles of design determines how successful weare in creating a work of art.

Principles of Design

BALANCE

Balance in design is similar to balance in physics

A large shape close to the center can be balancedby a small shape close to the edge. A large lighttoned shape will be balanced by a small dark tonedshape (the darker the shape the heavier it appears to be)

GRADATION

Gradation of size and direction produce linear perspective. Gradation ofcolour from warm to cool and tone from dark to light produce aerial

perspective. Gradation can add interest and movement to a shape. A


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gradation from dark to light will cause the eye to move along a shape.

REPETITION

Repetition with variation is interesting, without variation repetition canbecome monotonous.

The five squares above are all the same. They can be taken in andunderstood with a single glance.

When variation is introduced, the five squares, although similar, are much moreinteresting to look at. They can no longer be absorbed properly with a singleglance. The individual character of each square needs to be considered.

If you wish to create interest, any repeating element should include a degree of

variation.

CONTRAST

Contrast is the juxtaposition of opposing elements eg. opposite colours onthe colour wheel - red / green, blue / orange etc. Contrast in tone or value - light /dark. Contrast in direction - horizontal / vertical.

The major contrast in a painting should be located at the center of interest.

Too much contrast scattered throughout a painting can destroy unity and make awork difficult to look at. Unless a feeling of chaos and confusion are what you areseeking, it is a good idea to carefully consider where to place your areas ofmaximum contrast.


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HARMONY

Harmony in painting is the visually satisfying effect of combining similar,related elements. eg.adjacent colours on the colour wheel, similar shapes etc.

DOMINANCE

Dominance gives a painting interest, counteracting confusion andmonotony. Dominance can be applied to one or more of the elements to giveemphasis.

UNITY

Relating the design elements to the the idea being expressed in a paintingreinforces the principal of unity.eg. a painting with an active aggressive subjectwould work better with a dominant oblique direction, course, rough texture,angular lines etc. whereas a quiet passive subject would benefit from horizontallines, soft texture and less tonal contrast.

Unity in a painting also refers to the visual linking of various elements ofthe work.


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Elements of Design

LINE

Line can be considered in two ways. The linear marks made with a pen orbrush or the edge created when two shapes meet.

SHAPE

A shape is a self contained defined area of geometric or organic form. Apositive shape in a painting automatically creates a negative shape.

DIRECTION

All lines have direction - Horizontal, Vertical or Oblique. Horizontalsuggests calmness, stability and tranquillity. Vertical gives a feeling of balance,formality and alertness. Oblique suggests movement and action

The element of direction can have a powerful influence on the mood of a

painting. It is something often overlooked, but making a conscience decisionabout the dominant direction in a painting can have a noticeable effect on theatmosphere of the work.

Sometimes the subject will dictate the dominant direction. Sometimes thesubject will allow you to impose a direction on it.


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SIZE

Size is simply the relationship of the area occupied by one shape to that ofanother.

TEXTURE

Texture is the surface quality of a shape - rough, smooth, soft hard glossyetc. Texture can be physical (tactile) or visual.

Texture is an obvious and important element in a painting. To saveconfusion it can be broken into two parts.

Physical Texture is the texture you can actually feel with your hand. The build

up of paint, slipperiness of soft pastel, layering of collage - all the things thatchange the nature of the papers surface.

Visual Textureis the illusion of physical texture, created with the materials youuse. Paint can be manipulated to give the impression of texture, while the papersurface remains smooth and flat.

Traditional transparent watercolour makes little use of physical textureother than the roughness of the paper. Mixed media allows advantage to betaken of physical as well as visual texture.

Understanding the difference between physical and visual texture helps ustake full advantage of this element.

Things to consider

Texture is often something that finds its way into a painting in anaccidental sort of way, particularly with mixed media. Lumps, bumps andscratches pop up all over the place, often bearing no relationship to the painting.Make it a habit to question whether these marks help the work or just addunnecessary confusion.

Some heavily textured watercolour papers can have an overbearing effecton a painting. Always try and relate this type of paper to your subject

Texture can have more impact through variation and relief - contrastingrough, course areas with orderly patterned areas and providing smooth areas ofrelief will make a painting far more interesting than an even, unrelieved texturerunning from edge to edge.

Remember - creating textures is easy, its where and how you place themthat makes the difference between a good painting and an ordinary one.


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COLOUR

Also called Hue

The 12 part colour wheel below is based on the three primarycolours (

Red, Yellow and Blue ) placed evenly around a circle.

Between the three primaries are the secondary colours (Green, Orangeand Violet) which are mixtures of the two primaries they sit between.

The tertiary colours fall between each primary and secondary. Betweenyellow and orange, for example, is yellow orange, between blue and violet is blueviolet and so on.

All these colours around the outside of the colour wheel arecalled saturatedcolours. They contain no black, no white and none of

their complimentaryor opposite colour.

Compoundcolours are colours containing a mixture of the threeprimaries. All the browns, khakis and earth colours are compound colours

Imagine a colour wheel filled in with all the compound mixtures betweenall the complementary colours. If this colour wheel is placed in the middle of acylinder with progressively darker shades of all those colours below andprogressively lighter tints above, the cylinder would contain every possiblecolour!

VALUE

Value is the lightness or darkness of a colour. Value is also called Tone.

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