Principles of Art
Basic info
Principles of Art
Emphasis
What is the most important aspect in your life? Is what is important to you at this moment the same as it was a year ago? two months ago? yesterday? You know that you change your mind about important aspects in your life. You identify these aspects, sort them, and assign them a set of values. They could gain greater or lesser importance in your life.
Similarly to how you emphasize the important aspects in your life, so does an artist. The artist must also identify, sort, evaluate, and decide how to use elements of art to create emphasis. This principle of art is sometimes referred to as dominance.
One way to achieve emphasis is to focus on different areas; that is, some areas have more emphasis than others. This is done using a blurring technique. If an area is blurred or out of focus, it has less emphasis than an area that is crisp and in focus.
Another way to achieve emphasis is using contrasting colors. More contrast results when using colors that are farthest apart from each other on the color wheel. Complementary colors also provide more contrast. The greater the color contrast, the greater the emphasis.
You can also use space to create emphasis. An area can be emphasized by placing it against an uncluttered background (on open space). A display of shoes in a window might have a simple background, with a lightly patterned scarf, a string of pearls, and some spotlights trained on the shoes. The background must be simple to keep eyes focused on the shoes, the main emphasis of the display.
Some examples...
Similarly to how you emphasize the important aspects in your life, so does an artist. The artist must also identify, sort, evaluate, and decide how to use elements of art to create emphasis. This principle of art is sometimes referred to as dominance.
Another way to achieve emphasis is using contrasting colors. More contrast results when using colors that are farthest apart from each other on the color wheel. Complementary colors also provide more contrast. The greater the color contrast, the greater the emphasis.
You can also use space to create emphasis. An area can be emphasized by placing it against an uncluttered background (on open space). A display of shoes in a window might have a simple background, with a lightly patterned scarf, a string of pearls, and some spotlights trained on the shoes. The background must be simple to keep eyes focused on the shoes, the main emphasis of the display.
Some examples...