Visual Arts Principles: Mastering Form and Figure

Art Education Examination Guidelines

Form is the appearance presented by the objects we perceive through our senses. It is an organization of elements. Every form is composed of points, lines, surfaces, and volumes.

Characteristics of Form

• Size: Depends on the relation and comparison between one form and another.
• Color: Usually, what is seen as a form cannot be separated from what we see as color.
• Texture: May occur as variations in color.
• Position: When we relate the form to the area or field which develops visual perception, we can determine its position.

Position in Space

Every form has its location in space. We can see up, down, right, left, distant, or close, thanks to the relationship between objects and our point of view. An artist can place forms in real space or as unreal figments of the imagination. Surrealist artists pose scenarios where forms are devoid of an actual location in space.

Size, Setting, and Dimension

• Size of forms: Estimated by comparison, generally compared to other forms already known.
• Setting the forms: The outward appearance that makes each form look specific.
• Dimension: The mass or volume that determines the extent and the space occupied by each form.
• Outline: The lines that limit the figure, which may be open or closed.

Classification of Shapes

• Two-dimensional: It is flat, as its name implies, and has two dimensions: length and width.
• Three-dimensional: It has volume, mass, and three dimensions: length, width, and depth.
• Stylish: These are currently used in graphic design, textile design, and cartoons.
• Abstracts: These are forms with equivalent meanings but used in different syntactic positions, belonging, therefore, to different grammatical categories.
• Open: More easily perceived as it relates to the background, since one of its main characteristics is that it integrates with the environment.
• Closed: Differs from its surroundings by the continuity of the contrast with the background.

Types of Figures

• Reversible: These are figures where the background and picture are confused, and we see two images.
• Ambiguous: Created by the artist to allow two or more simultaneous interpretations in relation to space, depth, and focus.
• Virtual: Used by artists to create effects of depth using incomplete forms; our optical system applies enclosure to identify them.
• Impossible: These are forms that have no logical appearance.