Hi. I'm artist Lillian Gray and today's lesson is all about form.
Form is the next step after shape. We add depth to create a three-dimensional form. Form
is one of the seven elements of art, along with line, value, texture, colour, space, and shape.
When shapes get the third dimension of depth, they become forms.
When given form circles become spheres, squares become cubes, triangles become cones or pyramids.
So the difference between the shape and the form is that shape is 2D and form is 3D. As artists,
we use all kinds of forms, but there are two main categories: geometric form and organic form.
Geometric forms are forms that can be constructed using geometry, such as pyramids, spheres, cones,
and cubes. Geometric forms are commonly found in architecture, structural and civil engineering.
Organic forms are generally smooth, irregular or asymmetrical,
and cannot easily be constructed using geometry. Organic forms are commonly found in nature,
but nature also uses geometric forms on occasion. Examples are crystals and honeycombs.
A great example of organic forms being used in art and architecture is Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi.
Gaudi developed a highly individualized style, combining his love for religion and nature.
This earned him the nickname God's architect. Since Gaudi was so inspired by nature, a lot
of his buildings take on an organic form. Gaudi rarely drew detailed plans of his works. Instead,
he preferred to create three-dimensional scale models with his hands, molding them, and then
adding details as he conceived them. Gaudi's works enjoy global popularity and continuing admiration.
His masterpiece the still incomplete, the Sagrada Familia is the most visited monument in Spain.
Often architects combine geometric and organic shapes to create visually interesting dwelling
spaces. One of my favorite buildings is the Zeitz Mocaa art museum in Cape Town. South African
architect Thomas Heatherwick successfully combined geometric shapes and organic shapes.
The museum used to be a grain silo, and he was asked to change it into an art museum.
When Thomas and his team started working on the building, there was still some original
corn lying on the floor of the silo. Thomas bent down, picked up one of the grains, and was
inspired by nature. They digitally scanned the corn, enlarged that grain to 10 stories high,
and then used that as a carving pattern. The massive corn beast formed the negative space
in the silos, giving visitors a sort of x-ray view into the structure. Construction workers
used double-blade hand saws to painstakingly carve the curvaceous inner sanctum of the building,
but all that effort was so worth it. I am just in love with this amazing space that was created by combining geometric form and organic form.
Form in art can either be real or implied. As artists,
we often take a 3D object and depict it in a 2D way. We need to create an illusion of form.
In paintings and drawings, the form is implied because it's an illusion of 3D. With sculpture
on the other hand the form is real because it is actually 3D. These days the form of sculptures can
be created with a variety of different materials. The more traditional methods include clay, stone,
bronze, and iron. More modern techniques include resin, wire, chrome, and various found objects.
With the rise of the fourth industrial revolution, art and technology have become more intertwined.
Many contemporary artists are experimenting with all kinds of media to create unique artworks.
Dutch artist, Oliver van Herpt built a 3D printer that does not print with plastic, but with clay.
Even though machine-printed pottery could lack a human feel, Herpt's machine is different. His 3D
printer has sensors that help to mimic forms and textures from its surroundings.
The results are beautiful, unique ceramics that are printed with random imperfections.
Artist Nathan Sawaya uses found forms to create sculptures. That's right, he uses lego blocks to
create incredible human sculptures. He's probably best known for his work, Yellow which represents
his personal journey from the corporate world to being a full-time lego artist.
Let's get back to two-dimensional art. How do we create an illusion of form in our
paintings and our drawings? Well, as artists there are a few techniques that we can use.
These include line, value and, colour. These three are also part of the seven elements of art.
We can use lines to create a sense of depth. This is called perspective drawing. Note,
we are only using lines, no value or colour yet. I really enjoy looking at New York street artist
Aakash Nihalani’s art. He mainly uses lines to create a wonderful perception of depth that
is playful and fun. His art is eye-catching and meant to interrupt viewers' boring daily routines
with a moment of unexpected fun. He creates these 3D geometric illusions, using bright
coloured tape. It is amazing to see how he creates these 3D forms on 2D surfaces, only using lines.
Nihalani’s art is clearly meant to captivate the viewer's attention and imagination.
The next technique I need to show you is value, which is created with shading. When you need
to create an illusion of 3D with value, it is important to first identify your light source.
If you are working from a reference, first ask yourself, where is the light coming from? If
creating forms from your mind you need to decide what angle the light source is coming from.
Choosing your light source is really important because light moves around objects. If you know
where the light source is coming from you can work out where the shadows should be and, where the
highlights should be. That will help you to create the illusion of form. To depict detailed forms in
art with all the little bumps and crevices, we use a wide value scale, but we can also create
form with a very limited amount of values. Street artist Banksy creates form with high contrast,
usually only using white, black and, grey. Three values to create a sense of 3D. His figures appear
3D from a distance even though the value range is extremely limited. Artists can also create form by
only using colour. Dark colors and cold colours tend to move away from the eye, where lighter
colours and warm colours tend to move towards the eye. So artists can create form when they place
the warm colours on the highlights and, the cold colours on the sides, receding away from the eye.
Now I would like to tell you about an awesome art trend called Trompe Lóeil. Trompe Lóeil
means to fool the eye. It's a kind of artwork that creates an optical illusion. Usually, one
that makes you think you're looking at something in 3D when really it's just a flat painting.
These artists are so good at creating the illusion of form, they literally go around tricking people.
People tend to think that this art trend was formed in the 17th century amongst Dutch artists,
but actually, this trickery dates back to Ancient Greek and Roman times. In the city of Pompeii
typically Trompe Lóeil murals were used to depict a window, a door, or a hallway, intending to
suggest a larger room. This helped people to appear more wealthy than they actually were.
An ancient Greek story tells of a contest between two renowned painters, Zeuxis
and Parrhasius. Zeuxis produced a stellar painting so convincing that birds flew down
to peck at the painted grapes. Parrhasius didn't like all the attention Zeuxis
skill racked up. so he decided to trick the artist. He asked Zeuxis to judge one of his
paintings that were behind a pair of tattered curtains in his study. Parrhasius asked Zeuxis
to pull back the curtains so you can see the painting, but when Zeuxis tried, he could not
as the curtains were included in Parrhasius's painting making Parrhasius the winner.
During the Renaissance times, Trompe lóeil was used to create impressions of larger buildings,
with higher ceilings and large extended rooms. They combined perspective drawings
and foreshortening to trick people into believing the building was much higher and wider than it
actually was. During the Baroque times, Trompe lóeil was used to optically open the ceiling
or the dome to the heavens, to depict Jesus or Mary's ascension, pretending that you could look
straight into heaven. During the 17th century, Trompe lóeil paintings became very popular in
Flemish and Dutch paintings. The Dutch loved a good joke and these artists love tricking people,
for example, they would paint a deck of playing cards on a table and laugh when a friend tries
to pick it up and challenge them to a game. A particularly impressive example was painted by
Jan van der Vaart. It's a violin hanging on a door. Many have tried to play it. TodayTrompe
lóeil appears in theaters, street art, and even in cartoons. So remember Trompe lóeil is a style of
art that makes you question if what you are seeing is real. It is an illusion of form and depth, that
artists create to trick our eyes. These are just a few ways artists create form and incorporate depth
into their work. is there any particular style or technique that you really liked? What draws you
in and catches your eye? Mastering many different approaches to making form will give you unlimited
options when you create your own artwork. It will enable you to fool viewers' eyes in any way
you choose. That's it for our seven elements of art video series. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Hop
on to the next playlist or do one of our amazing courses. Why not start with a drawing course.
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