Fundamentals of Art and Design 3(1+2)

Lesson 02 : Elements of art

Form and Shape:

Form is the most important element in home planning and furnishing. Without beauty of form, excellent color, pattern, texture, and mere decoration are of no use. Two essentials of form are that the form of an object should suit its

function and that the form of an object should be strongly influenced by the

material from which it is made. Harmony of form is essential in assembling home furnishings. A dominance of one kind of shape or form unifies the total effect.

Form is also a basic element of design and sometimes referred to as area, mass or shape. Form is two dimensional or three dimensional. Three dimensional forms are solids with length, width and depth. Two dimensional forms are with length and width, are flat forms. Forms are closely related with lines (Fig 2.2)

A combination of horizontal and vertical lines produces rectangular and square forms. Combinations of vertical or horizontal and diagonal lines produce triangular forms. A predominance of square and oblong forms are best suited for masculine rooms and a predominance of oval and circular forms are best for feminine rooms. Form in furnishings should suit its function and it should be influenced by the material from which it is made.

A two-dimensional area that is defined in some way. A shape has an outline boundary around it or an individual may recognize its shape by its area. Shapes are made by connecting lines. Circle, square, triangle and freeform are words used to identify shapes. Look at the objects around you and describe their basic shapes. Are they one shape or are they a combination of many shapes? After doing this several times, we will begin to understand what shape really is. Line creates two dimensional or flat shapes. When shapes are three dimensional, we call them forms, For instance, A circle is a shape; a ball is a form. A square is a shape; a cube is a form. A drawing is a flat shape; a sculpture is a three-dimensional form.