The term, composition, is used to describe the various arrangements of visual elements in a painting or other artwork. The elements of art and design—line, shape, color, value, texture, form, and space—are organized or composed according to the principles of art and design. Balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, unity/variety—and other elements of composition give the painting's structure and convey the intent of the artist. "{The} composition is different from the subject matter of a painting. Every painting, whether abstract or representational, regardless of subject matter, has a composition. Good composition is essential to the success of a painting" (Marder 1). When the composition of a painting or an artwork is successfully executed, the composition draws its viewers in and focuses the viewer's eyes across the artwork ensuring everything is taken in.
The objective of art is to contain two components: form and content. The form—consisted of the line, shape, color, texture, spatial qualities, composition, and perspective—which is one of the seven elements of art. An artist uses visual tools to compose a work of art. "A form is a shape in three dimensions, and, like shapes, can be geometric or organic" (Marder 3). The content—consists of the subject matter and ideas expressed in a work of art—refers to what is being depicted and might help derive a basic meaning. Content appears in the visual arts in several forms, these forms may be figurative or simply abstract. To further understand the form and content of art, the artist must complete a contextual analysis of the work—designers are obliged to have an understanding of who and what the target audience will be and understand its purpose.
That said, even digital art follows these set of rules. To start, every artwork contains a sense of a line. A line is a path traced by a moving point. Lines convey ideas and emotions. Some variations of lines include zig-zag, curvy, parallel, perpendicular, thin, thick, undulating, diagonal, curved, vertical.
Next, we have the shape. The shape of the artwork occurs whenever a line turns or meets with another line. Like lines, shapes convey ideas and emotions. Commonly used shapes are geometric, these shapes include triangles, squares, and circles. Advanced artists avoid commonly used shapes. Instead, they alter the shape resulting in the creation of irregular shapes. Irregular shapes tend to be more organic and biomorphic. An example of this would be trees. An inexperienced artist would draw a tree with simple circles. A more advanced artist would avoid this mushroom-shaped tree by adding smaller and morbid circles.
Color is one of the most important factors in art. Colors are organized into two groups, warm colors, and cool colors. In the spectrum of warm colors, warm colors include red, orange and yellow. These colors are associated with gaiety and happiness.
In the spectrum of cool colors, cool colors include blue, green, and violet. These colors are associated with sorrow or serenity.
Value plays the role of relative lightness or darkness of a color. The value appears from the amount of light reflected from the surface of the color. Value is the sole distinguishing feature of the achromatic colors: white, black, and range of grays between them.
The intensity or saturation relates to the relative brightness or dullness of a color.
The texture is another key factor in design. The texture of an artwork determines the surface of an object. Variations of texture are included smooth, polished, rough, and coarse.
Space is organized into two categories: negative and positive space. Solids are referred to as positive space. Unfilled space, as suggested in its name, is referred to as negative space.