Formal Elements are art’s essential eight visual elements: line, shape, repetition/pattern, texture, value/tone, and focus. Even though the elements may be basic and fundamental, they allow artists to find balance and create dynamic and expressive artworks. In other words, “Without standards, there can be no improvement”.

Lines can be straight, curvy, thin, thick, vertical, horizontalontal, and diagonal. The lines are the base of an artwork, giving a more detailed view of the photograph. Lines can sometimes represent directions or outlines. The lines can be used as movement or energy when the artist wants to show an abstract movement,

Shape is the second most fundamental element. Shapes can be heavy, light, big, small, or intersecting. Some people believe that shapes are only used to recognize objects, but the organic and trendy vibes a shape has can express nature and the intersections with the surroundings.

Repetition/pattern creates a rhythm or pattern through repeating shapes or lines. When looking at a photograph with a pattern, you might see echoes or reflections within the image. Patterns may sometimes exploit a picture’s creative opportunity, but repeating a pattern creates another sense of beauty.

Texture is the feeling of the surface the photograph is representing. The texture of the surface can be inspired by the natural world or the urban environment. Texture can be described as the small details filled in the frame of a photograph, giving a strong sense of design and all-over interest. Texture can be irregular or complex, creating little nooks and crannies. Also, it can identify an artwork’s age, condition, and other qualities.

Value/tone is the range of light and dark; a tone is identified as a color mixture that is not a pure hue. The tone of an artwork sets the mood. The artwork is transformed by what was seen and captured; they do not clearly represent something, meaning they can be abstract.

Focus is the clarity a photograph has. Focus can sometimes help the viewers see the artwork’s purpose while also making it unidentifiable, meaning the picture is detached from a bit of reality on which it had been based. The artist intends to blur a photograph to create an illusional world from reality.

In the picture above, the lines are straight when outlining books and curvy lines when outlining people. The shapes vary from squares, rectangles, circles, and carving to represent a unique and natural setting of a library with people riding on horses. The artwork is full of bumps and ridges, meaning the painting is full of rough texture. The focus is in between being blurry and clear. The bokeh effect on the artwork is probably trying to make the painting appear more tangible and evoke a wide range of motions to viewers.

“Birds.” WAC, 10 Mar. 2023, wac.art/artwork/jamil-molaeb-birds-10/. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.