1. Basic elements of
visual language
Dots, lines and shapes

2. Talk about the main elements of the
images: dots, lines and shapes.
Discover and practise an art style: The
Pointillism.
Work with lines
Work with shapes
We are going to...

3. The dot is the smallest graphic element
that can be used.
There are two types of dots:
◦ Geometric dots
◦ Graphic dots
1. The dot

4. Geometric dot: in technical drawing, two
lines cross themselves in a geometric
point.
Graphic dot: is the simplest element we
can use to draw. It’s always small and
nearly round.
1. The dot

5. Dots build images:
◦ Our brain groups the dots to see figures and
shapes.
1. The dot

6. We can use dots to draw objects,
delimit shapes and give them
volume and shadows. The dot
can also give us important
information about colours and
textures.
1. The dot

7. At the end of the XIXth century, some
French artists began to paint using small
coloured dots.
Those dots create an optic effect in our
eyes that mixes the colours.
This style is called Pointillism, and some
of the most important painters were Paul
Signac (1863-1935) and Georges Seurat
(1859-1891).
Pointillism

8. Georges Seurat
Le cirque
Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande
Jatte
Pointillism

9. Paul Signac
Dimanche
Pointillism

10. In the XXth century, other artists have
used coloured dots in their paintings.
 Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997)
Other artists

11. 1. Look at the image and try to draw it in
pointillistic style. To do this: first, draw it in a
schematic way using the soft lead pencil. After,
use the black pen to draw the dots. They must
always have the same shape. Put a lot of dots in
the darkest parts, and only a few in the
brightest.
Activities

12. 2.Create a painting in pointillistic style. You can draw and
paint what you want (a portrait, a landscape, a still life...).
Use felt tip pens in an A4 cardboard.
Activities

13. 2. The line

14. If we observe a picture in
detail, we’ll be able to see
 Lines, dots, shapes, the grid of pixels. Pixels
textures and colours define the quality of a digital
are the basic picture. We call them “map
of bits”.
elements of visual
language.
 The dot is the most
simple element, and
it’s very important in
graphic expression,
arts and digital
image.
2. The line

15. A line is the track
made by a point
moving in space.
 There are two types
of lines: geometric
and graphic.
 The geometric line is
the intersection
between two planes.
Geometric line
2. The line

16. The graphic line can have a great
assortment of shapes, colours and
textures, and its trace can be done using
a lot of different tools.
2. The line

17. Intensity: depends on the pression we
are doing with the drawing tool (pencil,
brush, crayon...). If we press, the line is
stronger: it has a higher intensity.
Line’s characteristics

18. Thickness: as
bigger is the line’s
intensity, as thicker
is the line: when we
press, the line is
more instense and
thick.
Line’s characteristics

19. Colour and uniformity
Line’s characteristics

20. ◦ Using different tools
and materials for
drawing, we can get
different types of
lines.
◦ Lines can express
ideas, emotions and
feelings.
◦ Lines show the
personality of the
artist, as a
signature does.
Types of lines and expressivity

21. The lines can be horizontal, vertical,
oblique or curved.
◦ Horinzontal lines express sensation of peace,
quietness and coldness.
Types of lines: horizontal lines

22. o Vertical lines express strength, elegance,
spirituality.
Types of lines: vertical lines

23.  Oblique lines
transmit sensation of
inestability. If they
begin at the same
point, they give us
sensation of depth.
Types of lines: oblique lines

24.  Curved lines give us sensation of movement.
Types of lines: curved lines

25. ◦ In drawing and painting, lines are used to
represent shapes.
◦ They also can be used as guides in a
composition: they are called master lines or
strength lines.
Lines in art creation

26. ◦ In Art History there
have been art styles
that have used lines
as very important
elements.
◦ Modernism: begins
at the end of XIXth
century, and lines are
everywhere.
Modernists like wavy
and sinuous lines.
 “The life tree” by
Gustav Klimt
Lines in art creation

27.  Modernists also build
buildings full of wavy
lines.
 “Parc Güell”, by Antoni
Gaudí.
Lines in art creation

28. Neoplasticism: A Dutch painter called Piet
Mondrian (1872-1944) was the first who
painted using only vertical and horizontal lines,
and only a few colours (white, black, red, blue
and yellow).
Lines in art creation

29. Look at this cartoon about types of line.
It reproduces a painting of Franz Marc
(1880-1916), an expressionist german
painter.
Tiger, by Franz Marc
Curiosities

30. Activities from “The Artist’s Toolkit”
Choose a picture of a magazine and draw
it using lines. Use felt-tip pens.
Activities