Bookmaking in Schools: Elements of Art & Design
Elements of Art & Design
Elements of Art & Design
The elements of art are the building blocks of any piece. They work together to make our art meaningful. Teaching the elements of art (even just one of them!) will help students to think about their illustrations, and to make purposeful decisions about how they want to convey their messages with art.
The elements of design are how we put it all together. Students can use them to help organize the text and illustration in their books to ensure a product that is engaging, and understandable.
Elements of Art
Elements of Art
| Line | They can be used to create shape and form, as well as give a sense of depth and structure. |
| Color | Color can be used symbolically or to create a pattern. It can be selected for contrast or to set a specific mood. |
| Shape | The result of closed lines, shapes are two-dimensional, flat, and only have height and width. Shapes can be used to control how we perceive a composition. |
| Form | When a shape acquires depth and becomes three-dimensional, then it takes on form. Cylinders, pyramids, and spheres are some of the more common forms. |
| Value | The lightness and darkness of a color. Playing with value can not only change certain forms, but also influence the mood of the artwork. |
| Space | Positive space is an area occupied by an object or form, while negative space is an area that runs between, through, around, or within objects. |
| Texture | Texture is an element of art that also plays to our sense of touch. Smooth, rough, hard, soft, furry, fluffy, and bumpy are just some different textures that evoke different responses. |
Elements of Design
Elements of Design
| Balance | The distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space. |
| Emphasis | The part of the design that catches the viewer’s attention. |
| Movement | The path the viewer’s eye takes through the work of art, often to focal areas. |
| Pattern | The repeating of an object or symbol all over the work of art. |
| Repetition | This works with pattern to make the work of art seem active. |
| Proportion | The feeling of unity created when all parts (sizes, amounts, or number) relate well with each other. |
| Rhythm | When one or more elements of design are used repeatedly to create a feeling of organized movement. |
| Variety | The use of several elements of design to hold the viewer’s attention. |
| Unity | The feeling of harmony between all parts of the work of art. |
Color
Color
Students can watch this video to understand how colors interact with each other. As they make their books, they can choose a color palette that reflects the mood of the story and ask themselves questions like these:
- How can I make this color pop?
- What feeling will this color give my page?
- What other colors will work well with this color?
Typography
Typography
Students can watch this video to see what type can do for a product. They will learn to see typography all around them, and think about they way it impacts everyday messages that we see all the time. It will also set up some dos and don'ts for using typography. Afterwards, students can ask themselves:
- Where should words go to convey a message?
- What can you do to certain words to emphasize them?
- Which words are the most important on a page.
ProTip! Have students design their own font to convey a particular message!
Composition
Layout & Composition
The video introduces students to the vocabulary of layout and composition, how things fit together. They also learn different ways to arrange things on a page to create the best visual effect.
- Tips for CompositionUse these tip cards to design an activity for students. Louise gives students one of the cards, a phrase like "on sale" and an object, like an apple. Then, the students make a design that purposefully bring all those elements together.
Art Books
You Can Draw Anything
If you look, really look, and see the lines and shapes that things are made of, you can draw anything A popular picture-book illustrator shows kids how they can draw anything they want. Kids will learn that if they can write numbers and the letters A-Z, they can draw anything. With step-by-step guidance, helpful tips, and flip pictures, he shows how to draw animals, faces, bodies, people in action, buildings, machines, and anything else kids can think of.
Scrap Paper Art
Newspaper, scraps of wrapping paper, and old envelopes are all items that can be used to create beautiful works of art. This fun book teaches readers to get creative and make projects out of supplies that might otherwise end up in the trash or recycling.
Art for Kids: Advanced Drawing
This companion volume to Art for Kids: Drawing builds on skills taught in the first book, focusing on the integrating and big picture skills of drawing and the creative process. These include style, composition, content selection, sources of inspiration, quality of line (loose and gestural vs. clean and tight), as well as grounding and contextualizing subjects.
Art Sparks
Every kid can be an artist with this book as their guide! Using basic art supplies -- from paint, markers, paper, and glue to household finds like cardboard boxes and fabric scraps -- children aged 6 and up learn that as long as they can imagine it, they can create it. Projects vary in difficulty so there's something for a wide range of ages and abilities, and many can be completed in under an hour. Each project featured in the book has been kid-made (and kid-approved!), and colorful photos of the finished pieces will ignite a creative spark that inspires budding makers to express their imagination, humor, and individuality through art.
Art Lab for Kids
A refreshing source of ideas for creating fine art with children, Art Lab for Kids encourages the artist's own voice, marks, and style.
