Principles of Art

Rhythm

When you repeat any of the elements of art (line, shape, form, space, texture, pattern, colour), you achieve a feeling of rhythm . Rhythm is the principle of art that indicates a type of movement in a design.
As you might imagine, there are many types of rhythm in design, just as there are in music. Listen to a movie or radio drama to find out how music is used to create feelings of suspense, excitement, joy, and energy. Some rhythm flows smoothly, while some interrupts and seems rough. Songs have repeated notes that form a pattern. Artists can repeat elements to form a pattern, but with the other senses; for example, with touch, as in sculpture and texture, and with sight, as in line and colour.
A feeling of rhythm can be created by repetition of shapes and lines. For example, sometimes there are a lot of curved shapes and lines, and these form a pattern. Shapes and lines may be placed close together in one area, and farther apart elsewhere in a design, but they still form a pattern. The repeated patterns create rhythm. In the photographs that follow, rhythm is created by repeating the shapes and lines of the leaves and by repeating the zigzag design elements.