, 1
Grade 7
Visual Art
Term 1
Contents
Art Elements and Design Principles ..................................................................................... 2
What are Art Elements? ................................................................................................... 2
What are Design Principles? ............................................................................................ 6
Masks .................................................................................................................................. 9
Visual Literacy ................................................................................................................... 11
Activity 1 ......................................................................................................................... 11
Featured Artist ................................................................................................................... 12
Jack Kirby....................................................................................................................... 12
Art Movement .................................................................................................................... 13
The Art of Comic Books ................................................................................................. 13
The Golden Age (1938-1950) ..................................................................................... 13
Art styles of the Golden Age of comics ....................................................................... 14
The Silver Age (1950-1971)........................................................................................ 14
Art styles of the Silver Age of comics.......................................................................... 16
The Bronze Age (1971-1980) ..................................................................................... 16
Art styles of the Bronze Age of comic books .............................................................. 18
The Dark Age (1980-1993) ......................................................................................... 18
Art styles of the Dark Age of comics ........................................................................... 19
The Ageless Age (1993-Present Day) ........................................................................ 19
Art styles of the Ageless Age of comics ...................................................................... 20
GM 2018
, 2
Art Elements and Design Principles
Every piece of artwork contains one, some or all of the art elements and design principles.
So understanding these helps you create your own drawings and paintings, as well as
enabling you to discuss, describe and interpret other artwork pieces.
What are Art Elements?
Art elements are the ‘tools’ or ingredients used to create all artwork. They include line,
tone, texture, shape, form, space and colour.
Line is a continuous mark on a page or any other surface,
using a drawing tool such as a pen, pencil or brush. You
can use line to create an outline or pattern, movement or
texture, or to express feelings. There are many different
types of lines – curved, straight, thick, thin, wiggly,
jagged, wavy, curly and broken.
GM 2018
, 3
Tone is the lightness or darkness of a colour. Think
of all the variations that you find in a black and white
photograph. Lines can be used to create tone
through different shading techniques. The five main
shading techniques are hatching, cross-hatching,
blending, scribbling and stippling.
Texture is how something looks or feels. You can
use line, colour or shape to create a texture.
Tactile texture is how a thing feels when you rub
your hand over it. Visual texture is what the
object’s texture looks like. Sometimes there is a
difference between how something looks and how
it feels. A young gem squash looks smooth, but if you touch it, you will realise that it has a
prickly surface as the fine hairs on its peel feels like pins. The surface of a painting could
be textured because of a thick layer of paint (IMPASTO) or because of the use of other
materials such as sand, newsprint or string (COLLAGE).
Shape is a 2D object or area bordered by
edges or an outline. There are geometric
shapes like squares, circles, triangles and
rectangles. Geometric shapes remind us of
human-made or mechanical objects. There are
also organic shapes that have natural edges and no specific names. These shapes remind
us of the natural world in which shapes or objects are usually irregular, uneven and always
changing. They are often curve-edged.
Form is a 3D shape that has height, width and
thickness. Examples are spheres, cubes,
cylinders, cones and pyramids.
GM 2018
Grade 7
Visual Art
Term 1
Contents
Art Elements and Design Principles ..................................................................................... 2
What are Art Elements? ................................................................................................... 2
What are Design Principles? ............................................................................................ 6
Masks .................................................................................................................................. 9
Visual Literacy ................................................................................................................... 11
Activity 1 ......................................................................................................................... 11
Featured Artist ................................................................................................................... 12
Jack Kirby....................................................................................................................... 12
Art Movement .................................................................................................................... 13
The Art of Comic Books ................................................................................................. 13
The Golden Age (1938-1950) ..................................................................................... 13
Art styles of the Golden Age of comics ....................................................................... 14
The Silver Age (1950-1971)........................................................................................ 14
Art styles of the Silver Age of comics.......................................................................... 16
The Bronze Age (1971-1980) ..................................................................................... 16
Art styles of the Bronze Age of comic books .............................................................. 18
The Dark Age (1980-1993) ......................................................................................... 18
Art styles of the Dark Age of comics ........................................................................... 19
The Ageless Age (1993-Present Day) ........................................................................ 19
Art styles of the Ageless Age of comics ...................................................................... 20
GM 2018
, 2
Art Elements and Design Principles
Every piece of artwork contains one, some or all of the art elements and design principles.
So understanding these helps you create your own drawings and paintings, as well as
enabling you to discuss, describe and interpret other artwork pieces.
What are Art Elements?
Art elements are the ‘tools’ or ingredients used to create all artwork. They include line,
tone, texture, shape, form, space and colour.
Line is a continuous mark on a page or any other surface,
using a drawing tool such as a pen, pencil or brush. You
can use line to create an outline or pattern, movement or
texture, or to express feelings. There are many different
types of lines – curved, straight, thick, thin, wiggly,
jagged, wavy, curly and broken.
GM 2018
, 3
Tone is the lightness or darkness of a colour. Think
of all the variations that you find in a black and white
photograph. Lines can be used to create tone
through different shading techniques. The five main
shading techniques are hatching, cross-hatching,
blending, scribbling and stippling.
Texture is how something looks or feels. You can
use line, colour or shape to create a texture.
Tactile texture is how a thing feels when you rub
your hand over it. Visual texture is what the
object’s texture looks like. Sometimes there is a
difference between how something looks and how
it feels. A young gem squash looks smooth, but if you touch it, you will realise that it has a
prickly surface as the fine hairs on its peel feels like pins. The surface of a painting could
be textured because of a thick layer of paint (IMPASTO) or because of the use of other
materials such as sand, newsprint or string (COLLAGE).
Shape is a 2D object or area bordered by
edges or an outline. There are geometric
shapes like squares, circles, triangles and
rectangles. Geometric shapes remind us of
human-made or mechanical objects. There are
also organic shapes that have natural edges and no specific names. These shapes remind
us of the natural world in which shapes or objects are usually irregular, uneven and always
changing. They are often curve-edged.
Form is a 3D shape that has height, width and
thickness. Examples are spheres, cubes,
cylinders, cones and pyramids.
GM 2018
