Basic elements of Basic elements of visual language visual language Dots, lines and shapes
Basic elements of Basic elements of visual languagevisual language
Dots, lines and shapes
We are going to...We are going to...
Talk about the main elements of the images: dots, lines and shapes.
Discover and practise an art style: The Pointillism.
Work with linesWork with shapes
1. The dot1. The dot
The dot is the smallest graphic element that can be used.
There are two types of dots:◦Geometric dots◦Graphic dots
1. The dot1. The dot
Geometric dot: in technical drawing, two lines cross themselves in a geometric point.
Graphic dot: is the simplest element we can use to draw. It’s always small and nearly round.
1. The dot1. The dot
Dots build images:◦Our brain groups the dots to see figures and
shapes.
1. The dot1. The dot
We can use dots to draw objects, delimit shapes and give them volume and shadows. The dot can also give us important information about colours and textures.
PointillismPointillism
At the end of the XIXth century, some French artists began to paint using small coloured dots.
Those dots create an optic effect in our eyes that mixes the colours.
This style is called Pointillism, and some of the most important painters were Paul Signac (1863-1935) and Georges Seurat (1859-1891).
PointillismPointillism
Georges Seurat Le cirque
Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte
PointillismPointillism
Paul Signac Dimanche
Other artistsOther artists
In the XXth century, other artists have used coloured dots in their paintings.
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997)
ActivitiesActivities
1. Look at the image and try to draw it in pointillistic style. To do this: first, draw it in a schematic way using the soft lead pencil. After, use the black pen to draw the dots. They must always have the same shape. Put a lot of dots in the darkest parts, and only a few in the brightest.
ActivitiesActivities
2. Create a painting in pointillistic style. You can draw and paint what you want (a portrait, a landscape, a still life...). Use felt tip pens in an A4 cardboard.
2. The line2. The line
2. The line2. The line
Lines, dots, shapes, textures and colours are the basic elements of visual language.
The dot is the most simple element, and it’s very important in graphic expression, arts and digital image.
If we observe a picture in detail, we’ll be able to see the grid of pixels. Pixels define the quality of a digital picture. We call them “map of bits”.
2. The line2. The line
A line is the track made by a point moving in space.
There are two types of lines: geometric and graphic.
The geometric line is the intersection between two planes.
Geometric line
2. The line2. The line
The graphic line can have a great assortment of shapes, colours and textures, and its trace can be done using a lot of different tools.
Line’s characteristicsLine’s characteristics
Intensity: depends on the pression we are doing with the drawing tool (pencil, brush, crayon...). If we press, the line is stronger: it has a higher intensity.
Line’s characteristicsLine’s characteristics
Thickness: as bigger is the line’s intensity, as thicker is the line: when we press, the line is more instense and thick.
Line’s characteristicsLine’s characteristics
Colour and uniformity
Types of lines and expressivityTypes of lines and expressivity
◦Using different tools and materials for drawing, we can get different types of lines.
◦Lines can express ideas, emotions and feelings.
◦Lines show the personality of the artist, as a signature does.
Types of lines: horizontal linesTypes of lines: horizontal lines
The lines can be horizontal, vertical, oblique or curved.◦Horinzontal lines express sensation of peace,
quietness and coldness.
Types of lines: vertical linesTypes of lines: vertical lines
oVertical lines express strength, elegance,
spirituality.
Types of lines: oblique linesTypes of lines: oblique lines
Oblique lines transmit sensation of inestability. If they begin at the same point, they give us sensation of depth.
Types of lines: curved linesTypes of lines: curved lines
Curved lines give us sensation of movement.
Lines in art creationLines in art creation
◦In drawing and painting, lines are used to represent shapes.
◦They also can be used as guides in a composition: they are called master lines or strength lines.
Lines in art creationLines in art creation
◦ In Art History there have been art styles that have used lines as very important elements.
◦Modernism: begins at the end of XIXth century, and lines are everywhere. Modernists like wavy and sinuous lines.
“The life tree” by Gustav Klimt
Lines in art creationLines in art creation
Modernists also build buildings full of wavy lines.
“Parc Güell”, by Antoni Gaudí.
Lines in art creationLines in art creation
Neoplasticism: A Dutch painter called Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) was the first who painted using only vertical and horizontal lines, and only a few colours (white, black, red, blue and yellow).
CuriositiesCuriosities
Look at this cartoon about types of line. It reproduces a painting of Franz Marc (1880-1916), an expressionist german painter.
Tiger, by Franz Marc
ActivitiesActivities
Activities from “The Artist’s Toolkit”Choose a picture of a magazine and draw
it using lines. Use felt-tip pens.