Elements are the important parts that make up a whole. In Chemistry, elements make up other chemical compounds. In the Ancient world, they thought that everything was made from the elements, earth, fire, air and water.

In Art, elements are all of the different parts that form a complete Artwork (e.g. line, texture and colour). We use elements because they help us to describe how and why a media work works. We use them to offer specifics when we analyse what is happening in a media work, to demonstrate connection between visual choices and meaning and to evaluate the success of an image.

There are many elements of art and several ways to discuss each one. We will focus on seven key elements of art. Click on each principle to learn more about it.