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A point or mark is the smallest and most basic element. Often it is the personal ‘handwriting’ of the artist that can be natural or learned. These can vary in size, value, regularity or irregularity, and can be used alone or as a unit in a group which forms a line or shape in the image. Marks can be used to form a value or pattern (placed close together forms a darker value, further apart forms a lighter value), or to delineate space (larger means closer, etc.). A good example of the use of marks is the ink drawings of Van Gogh. The Impressionist painters used what could be called patches; and the Pointillists, such as Seurat, used the dot. Even though there is only one point or mark on a white blank page, it can catch our sight. If there are two points, we will make a connection and see a line. If there are three points, it is unavoidable to interpret them as a triangle; the mind supplies the connections. These are called as grouping, or gestalt. Gestalt is the fundamental tool the designer or artist uses to build a coherent composition.
This compulsion to connect parts is described as grouping, or gestalt.
Gestalt is the fundamental tool the designer or artist uses to build a coherent composition. The example of a student self-portrait seen on the left demonstrates how images may be built from points, with the variations in density producing the illusion of form.
- Line
A line is a form with width and length, but no depth. Artists use lines to create edges, the outlines of objects. A line is created by the movement of the artist’s pen. The direction of a line can convey mood. Horizontal lines are calm and quiet, vertical lines suggest more of a potential for movement, while diagonal lines strongly suggest movement and give more of a feeling of vitality to a picture.
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