Principles of Design Matrix explained (2023)

Introduction

Video

Hi everybody today, we're going to be looking at the elements of art and principles of design and applying them to looking at some art by some black artists that we are going to be learning about, uh and adding to our black artist database.

So these are artists from the database you're going to be adding to this pool of names and images today.

But this is to start with some examples of the elements of the and of art and principles of design in action.

We're going to talk about the principles of design in depth today.

And how we apply the elements, which are like the ingredients in a recipe to the recipe so line shape form, texture value and color.

Those are all the elements of art.

And those are like your salt your pepper, your oil, all of the ingredients in a recipe, repetition, symmetrical balance or sometimes called, uh, formal balance variety, space and depth, contrast and emphasis.

Those are the principles of design and that's how we arrange the elements of art.

So let's, take a look at these at these ideas, these concepts in action.

Let me share my screen here.

So we're starting out here with the artists from the black artists database here we have an example of repetition.

Repetition is a pattern, a repeating image or set of elements that creates a visual rhythm that moves the eye around the page.

So all of that activity in the background, this repetition of the black and white lines and shapes within those rectangles creates this feeling of movement and rhythm.

And using the repetition, the repetition of those elements, the lines those black and white little tiny, uh pieces of the entire page.

So that background repetition creates a pattern that falls behind her and creates visual interest in the background.

It gives a feeling of movement or motion, almost like she's, moving in front of that, busy background, symmetrical balance or sometimes called formal balance.

We've talked about this one before too this.

One is what if you could imagine a an imaginary line to running down the middle of the page.

And the circle itself is symmetrical on both sides.

This is by one of my favorite artists, howard dean pindell, who makes beautiful abstract paintings.

I love the spectrum of color.

Here, variety variety is a single element with a variety of approaches to the same thing.

So the idea being that, if you look at the lines in the basquiat drawing, we have thick lines.

We have quick fast lines.

We have thin scraggly lines.

The lines have a different a variety of different kinds of qualities to them that shows a difference.

So we have a whole bunch that's, not boring.

When you look around, if you have a variety of lines in a drawing or a variety of colors, it creates a lot of visual interest and excitement looking at the work.

It makes it very dynamic space.

This is a painting by charles alston.

Uh, space is the feeling of distance or atmosphere in an artwork.

If you look at this painting, you can see that the streetcars are really small in the distance as they move higher on the page.

And then the streetcar that's closest to you and the figures that are closest to you are larger.

And that creates that feeling of depth or space, like you could walk right into the picture contrast is to show difference.

In this case of the gen taylor picket painting, you have this black background.

And then the contrast these bright bold patterns around the edges.

And then the bright color in the figure space that creates that dynamic contrast that draws your attention to the areas of interest in the artwork.

And finally, we have emphasis that's to create a focal point or area of interest, often using size color or contrast.

So here your eye goes straight to that figurative painting that that portrait and then the uh, wrapping around her eyes, it's because it's in such great contrast to both her skin tone and the bright brilliant red rectangle that's behind her head.

So you have three really bold marks that red the brown of the skin tone, and then the white of the wrap around your eyes.

And in the contrast, the background has all of these areas of pattern all of those details, bring your eye right to that area of the emphasis, which is across the model's eye in the in the painting.

This is a beautiful painting by louis malu jones.

So I'm going to stop screen share and we're going to change views we're going to take a look down and talk about how to complete your homework assignment, which is what you're going to be working on this afternoon, it's, not due right away.

You have lots of time to work on this.

I want you to take your time and do one row at a time really being mindful and using your best craft when you're making this work.

So it's, not so much about going through it quickly.

This is going to be a very easy assignment, it's, not going to take you a long time.

However, I want you to spend time to do your best work so that your drawings are beautiful.

If you look at the art teachers page that I posted in the module, it gives you some really excellent examples of some teenagers artwork to give you an idea of what's possible, even within a small area, how much variety and a visual interest you can create on the page.

So let's, take a look at the paper that we're working on.

Okay.

So let me straighten my matrix up here.

Okay, so we're gonna work our way down, okay, uh, going one column at a time.

In this case, we're gonna start with repetition and movement that was our pattern right that was that sort of where we started with pattern.

And my first element of art is line.

So I'm going to be making a pattern out of lines I'm going to use a pencil first.

And I want to create a feeling of movement so I'm going to repeat those lines.

It doesn't have to be a regular pattern.

It doesn't have to be even it can be at an angle.

In this case, I'm going to try to create the movement sort of like raindrops in that pattern or repetition.

I can then go over my lines with my brush pen to give it.

An interesting line quality varying the width of my marks.

If I'd like to create a dynamic use of line, okay, or I could go back with a fine point pen.

If I wanted to create a little more focus and maybe a slightly cleaner edge.

I can do that as well until I kind of ink my lines.

But I have a lot of different kinds of lines here and they're all in a pattern that shows repetition and movement.

Okay, for the second one I'm going to be drawing shape and I'm going to be creating a repetition and pattern movement with shapes that means I'm going to repeat the same shape or a variety of shapes, but they're going to be lines that are closed.

So a line is a moving point in space.

A shape is a closed line that can be a geometric shape like a triangle, or it can be an organic shape like a cloud so I'm going to create a flowing moving pattern that has both organic and geometric shapes.

So I like, uh, let's see let's do triangles.

I like triangles, a lot I'm going to have some flying triangles of different sizes, they're going to repeat themselves I'm going to let a couple go off the edge of the page here, my little tiny box page, okay.

And then maybe I have some organic floating shapes, too maybe do one behind.

Because remember I want to create repetitions I'm going to repeat the motifs of my shapes here.

The motifs being the shapes, the rectangular triangles, and then these organic sort of cloud, floaty shapes.

And again, I can go back with my pen going over my edges.

And then when I'm done I'm going to let the pen dry.

And I can erase my pencil lines to kind of make my product look better.

Okay, that's.

My sketch, that's going to be using shape, which is flat shapes and then using repetition and movement for the next line.

This one is the only one you're going to add color to.

And you can just use your colored pencils that's, fine just use your best craft.

And so you really you can make any kind of drawing here that you want.

It doesn't matter as long as you're showing me that you understand the concept of color.

So in this case, maybe all, um, I don't know, I'll draw a flower, or even just a four leaf clover, or some kind of abstract flower form, that's fine.

And then I can take the petals and make them different colors using my best technique and I'm going to fill in the whole box using my best technique and graft I'm, not going to spend so much time on this for the example, the sake of example, but I just want you to get the idea.

This is what I would do for color, something like this, where I have a variety of colors and trying to pick out different colors that makes my that make my sketch, pop.

Okay and I'm just going quickly for the sake of the video here.

I don't want to spend too much time on this I'm, not doing my best work, but I'm sure yours will look much more interesting and creative than mine.

I do want you to focus on going slow and doing your best work for this one, especially even if you just do, maybe a couple rows a day, you have plenty of time to work on this there's more than enough time to do it.

And it won't, take you that long, you can probably get a row done in 10 minutes if that okay for texture after we're done with color.

Here, the element of texture is that feeling of looking or touching something that has a surface.

So drawing textual hair, like curly hair or spiky hair, or imagining you're running your surface over the textural sort of wet surface of the ocean.

Anything that has if I could imagine touching it it, you know, uh, and this way that it feels in the drawing that would be can come a textural line.

So for example, if I had a spiky hair texture, it might be rows and rows of spiky hair I'm getting using a little bit of a finer brush pen here.

Okay.

And then for value.

This one I'm going to need to use my pencils to shade.

So for value again, repetition and movement.

I can do a shape that's repeated.

Okay.

And then have shade in a value scale here from light to dark using my technique I've developed.

So here I've got my darkest dark in the corner.

And then this line this section of the value scale is going to shift and get lighter remember, we're using repetition and movement here and lighter still lighter still.

So I can see those values shifting from light to dark.

When I take a look at the sketch inside this box, because this one is the combination of value, plus repetition and movement.

So I have a repetition of the lines.

And I also have the value that's running through it.

So that both ideas are exemplified, both the element of art and the principle of design or excuse me element of our principle of design.

So these are the principles of design at the top.

And then the elements of art here on this side, okay.

So we're going to do that for each one of these principles of design, just do one row at a time doing the best that you can okay.

So for things like a symmetrical balance, we know you want to maybe diagram the boxes so that you draw one side, whatever you draw on those one side with lines you're going to repeat the same thing on the other side.

You know, for example, in the element of shape if I have, um, you know, a big, again, we'll do a triangle here then I'm going to have the same triangle on the other side.

Whatever I do on one side of this central line is going to be repeated on the other side.

Okay.

Same thing with a color.

You know, maybe I have, you know a profile here and a profile here, whatever the shapes are I'm going to color them, but I'm going to make sure that they're opposite and that they are.

You know, reflecting each other that it's the same on both sides for some texture.

You know, if you want to think about drawing, something that has texture, that's.

Symmetrical that's, fine, that's, one way, good way to think about it.

You could even make hairdo, um, if you're doing, you know, the face because the face is symmetrical and has balance.

You could do a symmetrically balanced face and then do your hair, texture.

I'm.

Sure your drawings will be much better than mine here.

Okay.

And then for value, you would again, symmetrically balance.

But you'd be thinking about how to shade each one of the shapes that you're putting in here to create a light medium and dark shifting in value.

So I'm going to go ahead and make these into spheres.

Because I know that I need a value scale to shade a sphere, because I practice that before, I know how to do that? Okay, one row at a time thinking about how the element of art is applied to the principle of design.

Okay? Happy, drawing.

You.