Principles of Art: A Lesson on the 7 Principles of Art & Design

Although all you need to get started in art is a pencil and a piece of paper these days, there is core information that not all beginners are privy to that you need to know as you go further along your journey into the art world.

One such critical piece of information is the Principles of Art. Also called Principles of Design by artists in other fields (i.e., interior decoration, photography, etc.)

The principles of art are the principles that artists use to organize the elements of their composition. If you want to know what this means and how it will affect your art journey, make sure to continue reading the article below!

What Are the Principles of Art?

The principles of art are the rules, or guidelines, so to speak, by which artists organize all the visual elements of their artwork. Put simply, you can think of these principles and visual elements as the building blocks of the art community.

They make up everything that counts as art in this world and guide artists on how they should move forward with their compositions.

Don’t look at this and think it’s all reference stuff like other beginners do!

Only when you get to know the principles of art by heart will you be able to truly become a master artist. With them, you’ll be able to tell better stories with your compositions and guide the viewer to experience the emotions that you poured into each individual stroke of your brush.

Overview: The Principles of Art At a Glance

The 7 Principles of Art

To help deepen your understanding of these seven different principles, we’ll be following up with a more detailed explanation below:

Principle #1: Balance

Balance in art, also referred to as “visual weight” by artists, can be categorized into three types. The first category is symmetrical balance, also called “formal balance”.

As can be guessed from the name, this type of balance refers to a composition where two sides of a piece of artwork are equal or mirror versions of each other. This type of symmetry is divided into horizontal, vertical, or diagonal symmetry depending on where the central axis is placed.

The American “Cutout of Animals” is an example of a piece with strong symmetrical balance. Here, the horizontal central axis is very obvious. Note, even though both sides “mirror” each other, they are not completely identical. This aspect can be exaggerated as needed.

Moving forward, the next type of balance is called asymmetrical balance. This refers to a composition where different elements are arranged on opposite sides of the composition.

The famous “The Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh is a good example of a composition with asymmetrical balance. One side has a tall tree that takes up almost half of the available space, while the other side is far emptier and is mostly made up of the starry sky.

As for the last type of balance, it is called “radial” art balance. This type of art balance refers to a composition where all the different elements “radiate” from a central point. This type of balance is not as commonly used as the other two, but it can still be seen in some mandalas or stained-glass rose windows throughout Europe.

Principle #2: Contrast

Of the art principles, contrast is in charge of sparking interest and diversity.

Art without contrast looks bland, with nowhere for your eyes to rest. Art with contrast has a focal point that stands out from all the elements surrounding it, bringing visual weight that guides that viewer’s eye.

One example of a composition with great use of contrast is “The Night Watch” by Rembrandt. Here, there is a strong value contrast between the two foremost figures (the Captain and his lieutenant) and the rest of the company.

The company in the back is painted in dark values and shadows, putting them firmly in the middle ground and background, whilst the bright lights and brilliant reds and yellows make the two focal points in the front stand out. This value contrast creates visual weight that grabs the viewer’s attention.

Other ways of creating contrast is through the use of complementary colors and negative and positive space. In short, contrast incorporates all visual tools where one is ‘stronger’ than the other or in ‘conflict’ with the other.

Principle #3: Emphasis

Emphasis can be created by creating a focal point that is visually dominant and commands the viewer’s attention.

Most of the time, emphasis is created with contrast. Like the previous example with “The Nightwatch” — the value contrast provided visual weight to the two focal points of the composition.

Of course, there are other ways of creating emphasis, including but not limited to:

• Convergence: Emphasis is created with lines or ‘implied’ visual lines that guide the attention of the viewer towards a central figure.

• Isolation: The method of using isolation to create emphasis is to separate the main subject from the rest of the elements in the artwork.

• Exception: Exception in art describes something that is different from the rest or something that does not comply with the usual rules.

To give you an example of one of these types of emphasis, take a look at Andrew Wyeth’s “Christina’s World.” Here, the main focal point, Anna, is isolated or separated from the house by a wide-expansive field. The viewer’s eye will naturally fall on Anna first before moving to other elements of the composition because of the separation between them.

As for the exception, one of the most famous examples is René Magritte’s “The Son of Man”. In this surrealist painting, we see a man in an overcoat. It’s a normal enough subject matter, but the striking green apple that covers his face creates an exception that the subconscious mind can’t help but pay attention to.

Principle #4: Movement

Of the principles of art, Movement is perhaps one of the most illusory. After all, it’s not like there’s anything actually moving! However, no matter how subtle introducing a certain action is to an element in a composition may seem, it can have a great impact.

The most critical effect of introducing movement is to guide the viewer’s eye to the focal point of the composition. This can be done by posing a human figure to point towards or lean towards something like in Christina’s World.

Of course, movement is not limited to living objects. In “A Gust of Wind” by Jean-Baptiste, the tall trees swing towards a negative space, which implies that there are strong winds moving in that direction.

More importantly, after guiding the viewer’s attention towards that empty space, their eyes will naturally be led towards the figure walking against the wind with the use of contrast and guiding lines.

Principle #5: Pattern

The fifth of the principles of art in this list is patterns. Its existence as a core principle of art is related to a very real human tendency to seek patterns in seemingly meaningless data. In other words, humans subconsciously look for patterns as they go about their day-to-day life.

And, because this instinct also applies to visual art, it can be used as a way to measure how your audience will react upon first seeing your artwork. Simply put, whether you artificially or deliberately arrange certain patterns in your artwork, you can be certain to have some control over where your viewer’s eyes will fall.

Have a look at the “Portrait of Adele Block-Bauer I” by Gustav Klimt. Here, he makes great use of patterns — both organic spirals and ovular eye shapes — and naturally guides the viewer’s attention to the central figure’s own eyes. Many of his other artworks from the same era follow this example, including his most famous work, “The Kiss”.

Principle #6: Rhythm

Making use of patterns as an art form is to take advantage of analogous elements to draw the audience’s attention to the main visual interest. Meanwhile, our next principle of art, Rhythm, is the ‘repetition’ of related elements.

The two art principles may seem similar on the surface, but they involve different fields. The way to use rhythm in your artwork is to create repetition in your composition.

Whether it be by similar colors, shapes, lines, texture, etc. By repeating the same elements and introducing different elements as contrast, you can create a rhythm in your artwork that the viewer will naturally follow.

“A Row of Poplar Trees Line the River Epte” by Claude Monet is a good example of this use of ‘regular’ rhythm. Here, the trees are positioned parallel to each other and are all in vertical lines, creating a comforting sense of harmony.

Principle #7: Unity/Variety

The seventh principle involves two ideas, unity and variety. Unity in art is about tying everything together to create a whole, whilst variety is about sparking interest and adding complexity with the use of various visual elements.

One advocates harmony, whilst the other is all about chaos.

How it is applied to your composition depends entirely on what kind of experience you want to evoke in the viewer.

In “Fruit Displayed on a Stand” by Caillebotte, you have an entire stand full of different fruits arranged. If one were to judge the painting solely on the shapes and colors of these fruits, it can be said that the whole picture is a chaotic mess with no discernable patterns or sense of rhythm.

However, you really don’t have to look too closely to see the ‘unifying elements’. The wrappers used under each fruit are of the same color, which instantly makes the picture look harmonious. If you take a closer look, you’ll notice that Caillebotte also used this lavender shade to highlight the fruits displayed and, even, the leaves of the plants in the background.

In this way, this shade becomes an anchor that supports the entire painting, creating a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere that brings everything together.

Our next example is “The Ambassadors” by Hans Holbein. Here, we have a seemingly normal composition. The figures and the objects between them are meticulously rendered, seemingly ready to pop out of the frame at any time.

However, at the front is a dramatically skewed skull that pops out from the foreground. Just like this, a painting that is otherwise completely harmonious is able to capture the interest of the viewer by virtue of including the skull as a variable.

Of course, you don’t necessarily have to introduce variety into your composition in such a strange and dramatic way. Even a subtle color or value shift works fine and can capture the interest of the viewer just as well.

What Is the Difference Between Principles of Art and Elements of Art?

The seven elements of art are the visual tools that artists use in order to create a composition. Including lines, shapes, colors, value, form, texture, and space. As for the principles of art, they are the ideas and concepts by which the elements of art are used in order to tell the story that the artist wants to convey.

If you want to learn about it in more detail, take a look at our breakdown of the seven different elements of art below:

What are the 7 Elements of Art?

The elements of art serve as building blocks for the principles of art. Without them, there would be no art. With them, you have in your hands all the visual tools required to create a unique piece of artwork. As for what these elements are and how you can use them, we’ve outlined all the information below:

1. Line

Lines are marks that can be made using any tool. They can be drawn on with a pen or painted on with a brush. The line can be thick or thin. It can also be diagonal, curvy, wavy, zigzagging, etc. You can draw them prominently onto your paper or you can hint at lines with the use of other elements, like space or color.

In Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night”, we see swirling and dynamic lines across the starry night of a quaint little town, giving off a comfortable and dreamy experience.

In “Broadway Boogie Woogie” you can see a composition that gives off a bright and energetic feeling despite being composed almost entirely of squares and lines. These are just some examples of how lines can be applied to have different effects in a composition.

2. Color

The second of the elements of art on this list is color. Color is what the human eyes see because of reflected light. Light contains various wavelengths of energy that the brain automatically interprets as different colors.

If you’re familiar with color theory, you should know that red, blue, and yellow are primary colors and all the colors of your palette can be mixed entirely with these three colors. One example of a composition where the three primary colors feature heavily is Piet Mondrian’s “Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow”, which is Mondrian’s most famous work.

3. Space

The next element of art is space. Here, the word space is used to refer to the emptiness or area next to, around, above, below, or within other elements.

You’ve probably heard of both negative and positive space before. If not, positive space refers to any shapes or forms in a composition, whilst negative space refers to the empty space between shapes or forms.

Take a look at “Black Square” by Kazimir Malevich if you’re still confused about the concept of space. “Black Square” is an abstract painting that cannot be any more simple to use as a reference.

It’s just a black square against a white background. The white background and the black within the black square are negative space, whilst the texture within the black square takes up positive space.

4. Value

The next element is “value.” Value is all about the light and darkness of a color and it is critical in how one represents light in a composition. A successful artwork will have a full range of value to fulfill the requirements of the illusion of light.

Of course, you don’t have to include the entire value scale in order to create a beautiful piece of artwork. A lot of abstract work will exclude certain values entirely in order to get the desired effect.

An example of a famous painting where the values are mostly neutral is “Impression, Sunrise” by Claude Monet. In order to evoke a dreamy early morning atmosphere, the painting is painted mostly in soft, hazy colors, and dark values are focused on the sun and the boats.

5. Shape

Everyone knows about shapes. There are regular geometric and biometric shapes like circles, squares, triangles, stars, etc. However, in art, the word ‘shape’ is used a lot more freely. Basically, anything that is outlined or has edges is considered a shape.

In “Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2” by Marcel Duchamp, one is quickly attracted to the rectangular and spherical shapes representing the figure descending down a staircase. The overlapping flat shapes create a smooth visual tempo that draws the eyes. Even better, the longer you look at all the different shapes, the more you want to see.

6. Form

When shapes are given depth, you get the sixth element of art. That is, “Form!”

Giving an object form, or rather, the illusion of depth, relies entirely on value. As an artist, learning how to create forms is a necessary skill that must be practiced whether you find it useful or not.

If you want to create ultra-realistic paintings similar to Rembrandt’s “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp”, mastering form is a must!

7. Texture

There are different types of “texture” in art. There is actual texture, as in if you touch a painting, you can feel the texture with your fingertips. And then there’s implied texture, abstract texture, and invented texture.

As can be guessed from the name, implied texture is when an artist draws or paints something so realistically that it looks like there is something actually there. For example, have a look at “American Gothic” by Grant Wood. Here, the texture of the faces of the two figures, as well as their clothes, is so well rendered that it looks like you can feel it if you stretch your fingers out.

As for the other two types of texture in art, they are more popular with sculptors and those who prefer to make arts and crafts. With invented texture being a type of texture that doesn’t exist in real life and abstract texture being a type of texture where texture is given to something that should have a different texture.

How to Master Principles of Art Quickly?

If you want to master the principles of art quickly, you can take an online composition class or any advanced class. Most advanced courses will cover the principles in some way, even if it’s only practice and not theory.

As for learning theory, if you are feeling especially motivated, you can take a look at some of the most famous classic paintings in your favorite medium and slowly analyze how and why certain principles and elements are used in a given composition.

Doing so should open your eyes and give you a better understanding of how certain principles and elements of art will affect the experience the audience will feel after viewing a certain piece of artwork.

Deepen Your Understanding in Art!

Hopefully, this article has helped you deepen your understanding some more. Even better, hopefully, it sparked your interest to learn more! Only then will you be able to upgrade your skills and become a better artist

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