THE PRINCIPLES OF ART

DEFINITION

The principles of visual art are the rules, tools and/or guidelines that artists use to organize the elements of art in an artwork. When successfully combined with the elements of art they aid in creating an aesthetically pleasing or interesting work of art. Some principles of art that have been identified are movement, unity, harmony, variety, balance rhythm, emphasis, contrast, proportion, and pattern. This list may vary, according to the art educator, but encompasses the generally accepted principles.

TYPES

the following are types of principles art.

(1)PATTERN.
Pattern refers to the repetition or reoccurrence of a design element, exact or varied, which establishes a visual beat.

(2)PROPORTION.
Proportion is a measurement of the size and quantity of elements within a composition. In ancient arts, proportions of forms were enlarged to show importance. This is why Egyptian gods and political figures appear so much larger than common people. The ancient Greeks
found fame with their accurately proportioned sculptures of the human form. Beginning. with the Renaissance, artists recognized the connection between proportion and the illusion of 3-dimensional space.

(3)BALANCE.
Balance is the impression of equilibrium in a pictorial or sculptural composition. The three different kinds of balance are symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial. Symmetrical (or formal) balance is the most stable, in a visual sense. When both sides of an artwork on either side of the horizontal or vertical axis of the picture plane are exactly (or nearly exactly) the same the work is said to exhibit this type of balance. It is also a principle that deals
with the visual weight of an artwork.

(4)VARIETY.
Variety is the quality or state of having different forms or types, notable use of contrast, emphasis, difference in size and color.

(5)HOMONYM/UNITY.
Harmony or unity is achieved in a body of work by using similar elements throughout the
work, and gives an uncomplicated look to a piece of artwork or sculpture. Color harmony or color theory is also considered a principle through the application of the design element of color.

(6)EMPHASIS.
Emphasis refers to the created center of interest, the place in an artwork where your eye first lands.

(7)RHYTHM.
Rhythm can be described as timed movement through space; an easy, connected path along which the eye follows a regular arrangement of motifs. The presence of rhythm creates predictability and order in a composition.