The Elements and Principles of Design
At
a point in my travels pouring through books on making watercolors I
encountered what I felt to be a gold mine of simplified,
"down-to-brass-tacks", concepts on how to construct a good
painting. It had the best tabulation of design theory I'd seen yet!
It listed 7 elements and 8 principles to consider in designing a
painting. The ambiguity was gone!
It
was a book written by Ron Ranson called, "Learn Watercolor the
Edgar Whitney Way".
In
it he covers some personal accounts of Whitney's students while
studying with him at
his
paint-out workshops. He had quite a style of teaching and could
instill his lessons with great flair!
I
also have, "Complete Guide to Watercolor Painting", by
Edgar A. Whitney himself.
Ed
Whitney had what he called, "Elements and Principles of Design",
and though these
are
directed at watercolors, I believe they can be applied to other forms
of art - dancing, cooking, living, etc!
The
Elements are listed: Color, Value, Texture,
Line, Shape, Size, Direction. In fact, you
can
even chant them rhythmically in this order like you would in a
protest. This allows me to remember them.
The
Principles are listed: Conflict, Harmony, Unity, Dominance, Balance,
Repetition,
Alternation,
Gradation. ("CHUDBRAG") Again, this order helps me remember
them.
The
Principles are what you apply to the Elements to orchestrate a good
design.
 |
| A flagrant example of Repetition where the circles are repeated in different Sizes. Color is also repeated to give Unity, Harmony and Balance. ("Suns and Moons" w/c) |
For
example, with Shapes, you'd want to Repeat them to help give the
painting Unity. Repeating
them with variety provides better entertainment. If they are similar
in character you get Harmony.
You
may have various colors in your painting but maybe one should
Dominate, for Unity. Conflict
in any of the Elements can create interest, as in complimentary
colors.
Some
might say, "Well, what about edges?" I'd put those under
Shape. Temperature can go
as a function of Color. And what about "Variety"? Can it be
a Principle in its own right? Sure, if you want. But I think it
mainly applies to Repetition. Let's keep it simple!
 |
| Here I used Conflict in Value to bring out the brightness of the flowers. The Line of the leaves change Direction, Repeat and provide Harmony and interest. ("Light Bulbs" w/c) |
I
think these are distilled in the best form you'll find. I've seen
other versions of them by his
students in their own books, but I think Whitney had it the best and
the students didn't quite
understand how to use some of them.
So
there you have it. I recommend getting these books on Amazon.
Whitney's book is more in depth and he liked writing in a very
scholarly fashion.
I like the simplicity of Ranson's book, the included Whitney-isms, the
stories of his students and the samples of their work. Some of them were
my early mentors by means of their books.
