Which element of art refers to the surface quality of an object or the way something feels such as rough smooth?

The Art Elements

The art elements are “building blocks” used to create and describe visual arts. Artists combine these elements with the principles of design to compose a work of art.

There are five art elements:

• Color
• Line
• Shape
• Space
• Texture

Color

Color is produced when light strikes an object and is reflected back to the eye. Color has three qualities:

1. Hue - the name of a color (red, yellow, blue, etc.)
2. Value - the lightness or darkness of a color
   • Tint = hue + white
   • Shade = hue + black
3. Intensity - the brightness or dullness of a color; the strength of a color

Colors can be related to each other in the form of a wheel.

PRIMARY colors are:
red, yellow, blue

SECONDARY colors are produced by mixing two primary colors and are:
orange, green, violet

INTERMEDIATE colors are produced by mixing two adjacent (secondary + primary) colors

NEUTRAL colors are:
black, white, gray

Complementary Colors

• Complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel. For example, violet is the complementary color of yellow, green is the complementary color of red, and blue is the complementary color of orange.
• When mixing paint, addition of the complementary colors dulls the color.
• Complementary colors placed adjacent to each other intensify the colors.

Warm and Cool Colors

• Red-violet, red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, yellow, and yellow-green are warm colors. They seem to come toward us or advance. Blue-violet, blue, and blue-green are cool colors. They seem to recede. Green and violet are usually considered between warm and cool. Depending on the particular value and intensity, they can be either warm or cool.

Line

A line is a continuous mark made on a surface by a moving point. Lines can define a space, create an outline or pattern, imply movement or texture, mass or volume.

• Horizontal Line gives a quiet, restful feeling
• Vertical line gives a feeling of strength
• Diagonal line usually denotes action

Lines can:

• Be of even or varied thickness
• Express a variety of personalities
  • quick
  • slow
  • still
  • nervous
  • calm
  • rigid
• Suggest the presence of
  • mass
  • texture
  • light/shadow
• Emphasize form
• Create mood

Shape

Shape is an enclosed space, the boundaries of which are defined by other elements (line, color, value, and/or texture). Shapes are limited to two dimensions – length and width. Shapes can be geometric, amorphous (free-form), or a combination.

A shape can have personality as influenced by: the lines that create it or the overall shape itself. For example, shapes with vertical and horizontal edges appear rigid and tense. Shapes with fuzzy, indistinct edges appear soft or relaxed. Shapes with soft curves appear flowing or imply movement, and shapes that overlap with other shapes create energy, tension, or rhythm, depending on how they overlap.

Space

Space refers to the areas or distances around, between, or within the different components of an artwork. Space can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional. The feeling of depth in a drawing or painting is always an illusion. Artists combine the use of light and dark value with other techniques to create space. A space can be positive - shape, line or color that defines a subject(s) or negative - the area of the piece that surrounds the subject(s). How an artist uses space or chooses NOT to use space adds a great deal to a work of art.

Texture

Texture refers to the surface quality or "feel" of an object - smooth, rough, slick, soft, etc. Textures may be actual (felt with touch - tactile) or implied (suggested by the way an artist has created the work of art -visual).

Texture is one of seven elements of art. It is used to describe the way a three-dimensional work actually feels when touched. In two-dimensional work, such as painting, it may refer to the visual "feel" of a piece.

Understanding Texture in Art

At its most basic, texture is defined as a tactile quality of an object's surface. It appeals to our sense of touch, which can evoke feelings of pleasure, discomfort, or familiarity. Artists use this knowledge to elicit emotional responses from people who view their work. The reasons for doing so vary greatly, but texture is a fundamental element in many pieces of art.

Take rocks, for example. A real rock might feel rough or smooth and it definitely feels hard when touched or picked up. A painter depicting a rock would create the illusions of these qualities through the use of other elements of art such as color, line, and shape.

Textures are described by a whole host of adjectives. Rough and smooth are two of the most common, but they can be further defined. You might also hear words like coarse, bumpy, rugged, fluffy, lumpy, or pebbly when referring to a rough surface. For smooth surfaces, words like polished, velvety, slick, flat, and even can be used.

Texture in Three-Dimensional Art

Three-dimensional artwork relies on texture and you cannot find a piece of sculpture or pottery that does not include it. Fundamentally, the materials used give a piece of art texture. That may be marble, bronze, clay, metal, or wood, but this sets the foundation for the work feels if it were touched.

As the artist develops a piece of work, they can add more texture through technique. One might sand, polish, or buff a surface smooth or they might give it a patina, bleach it, gouge it, or otherwise rough it up.

Many times you will see texture used in patterns such a series of intersecting diagonals lines that give a surface a basketweave look. Rectangles staggered in rows offer the texture of a brick pattern and concentric, irregular ellipses may imitate the texture of wood grain.

Three-dimensional artists often use a contrast of texture as well. One element of an artwork may be smooth as glass while another element is rough and mangled. This contradiction adds to the impact of the work and can help convey their message just as strongly as a piece made of one uniform texture.

Texture in Two-Dimensional Art

Artists working in a two-dimensional medium also work with texture and the texture may either be real or implied. Photographers, for instance, almost always work with the reality of texture when creating art. Yet, they can enhance or downplay that through the manipulation of light and angle.

In painting, drawing, and printmaking, an artist often implies texture through the use of brushstrokes lines as seen in crosshatching. When working with the impasto painting technique or with collage, the texture can be very real and dynamic.

Watercolor painter Margaret Roseman, said, "I aim for an abstract element of a realistic subject and use texture to add interest and suggest depth." This sums up the way many two-dimensional artists feel about texture.

Texture is something that artists can play with through the manipulation of their medium and materials. For instance, you can draw a rose on a rough textured paper and it won't have the softness of one drawn on a smooth surface. Likewise, some artists use less gesso to prime canvas because they want that texture to show through the paint they apply to it.

Texture Is Everywhere

As in art, you can see texture everywhere. To begin to correlate reality with the artwork you see or create, take the time to really notice the textures around you. The smooth leather of your chair, the coarse grains of the carpet, and the fluffy softness of the clouds in the sky all invoke feelings.

As artists and those who appreciate it, regular exercise in recognizing texture can do wonders for your experience.

Which element of art refers to the surface quality of an object or the way something feels such as rough and smooth?

What elements of arts that refers to the surface quality or surface feel of an objects?

Which among the following elements of arts refers to the surface quality of an object that can be felt through touching or having an illusion of touch?

Which element of design refers to the surface quality of an object?