Basic Elements of Art: Dots and Lines

Every painting, drawing, or photograph is a collection of dots and lines. Lines and dots are the building blocks of art. Dots may be big, small, thick, or thin. Lines may be straight, curved, zigzagged, parallel, weaved, vertical, horizontal, perpendicular, or angular. Lines and dots may be connected, or unconnected.

Look around you. Look at the edge of objects. Look at creases and bends. You are looking at lines. When you see filled in color, or edges where lines meet or intersect, you are looking at dots.

The use of lines allows artist to demonstrate delicacy or force. Thin lines connote a delicate look, while thick lines give art more drama. Curves may take us slowly uphill, or turn sharply twisting our mind as they turn. In addition to showing contour, lines can be used to show texture.

The artist's use of lines gives you some idea of the plan or intent of his/her work. Lines are one of the few tools that an artist uses to organize his/her work. They are used to complete shapes and define a piece, or conversely, to create illusion and cause a work of art to appear that it is something that it is not. The use of lines for illusion is an example of creating implied lines. Implied lines are not present, but the viewer completes them in his mind.

Lines are also used in art to define focal points, define positive and negative space, and create the layout of the art work. Lines are not always visible in a work of art. Sometimes the organization of elements of art is along an unseen line, or geometric shape. For example, a painting may contain people, but in order to define the space, the people are arranged so that arms, legs, heads, a glance, and/or other body parts, if extended would create geometry. This is a great method for artists to achieve balance in their work.

In Michelangelo's well known painting, "The Creation of Adam," the extension of God's arm toward Adam is along an unseen diagonal line. This gives the artist some bearing in creating the remainder of a scene or portrait. It helps keep things properly proportioned.