The Flat Shape Everything around us is shaped

The shape is the external appearance of the bodies of nature: Objects, animals, buildings, humans. Each form has certain qualities that distinguish it from others, and are color, texture, size and structure. The flat shapes are visual elements that are used to create images. The simple flat shapes are triangle, circle and square.

The size of a shape refers to its magnitude, and it is classified through terms like small, medium, large, etc.. To determine whether a shape is large or small, we compare its size with that of the ways around it, and also with the size of human beings.

The structure or the configuration of a shape, refers to the organization of its component parts.

TYPES OF SHAPES There are several ways to classify shapes. We will separate them into three groups, although any shape can belong to several groups at once. 1. Natural or artificial shapes 2. Flat shapes or shapes with volume 3. Organic or geometric shapes

1. Natural or artificial shapes Natural shapes are those that come from nature, like a cloud or a flower. Artificial shapes are those that have been built by man, such as a drawing or a car.

1. Flat shapes or shapes with volume The flat shapes are those which have two dimensions, width and height, as a sheet of paper, or a stain on the wall. The shapes with volume are those which have three dimensions: height, width and depth. For example a ball or a chair.

3. Organic or geometric shapes Organic shapes are those in which the irregular outlines and may be natural - trees, mountains, clouds - or artificial, for example, an abstract design to decorate cloth. The geometric shapes are constructed with a mathematical order. Geometric shapes are square, architectural drawing or a starfish.

In summary: Shape is the outer appearance of the bodies, and their principal qualities are: structure, size, color and texture. The visual language classifies shapes, according to their characteristics, in: natural or artificial shapes, organic or geometric, flat or volume.

REPRESENTATION OF SHAPES The element most often used to represent shapes is the line. All forms have three distinct parts: the contour, the enclosed space, and silhouette. CONTOUR ENCLOSED SPACE SILHOUETTE

The contour is the line that borders the outline of a figure. We use contours when we draw a shape without details, getting with this a great simplicity and visual clarity.

The silhouette is the representation of a figure using a single color. We use silhouettes when we want to highlight the essence of a shape or imitate a backlight effect.

We call enclosed space to all lines, colors and textures that form the inside of a shape. We draw a shape using its enclosed space when we want to describe it in detail.

We can create images using only its enclosed space, as in this example.

Or with its contour

Or with its silhouette

THE EXPRESSIVENESS OF SHAPES To represent a shape plastically, we must decide first what visual appearance we are going to give. It is not the same to represent a cloud, all white and with hard outlines in another color as comic style, or to draw it with shadows and slight changes in tone, as we usually see in reality.

Enclosed shapes When we represent the shape of a figure through its silhouette, we are using enclosed shapes. Also an outline drawing, if it does not leave sections without a trace it can be considered as enclosed shapes. The most outstanding quality of enclosed shapes is that they simplify the visual appearance of a figure. Also, isolate the figures and make us focus the view on them.

Open shapes The open shapes are those that break their contours allowing their inside colours to get mixed up with the colours of other shapes. To represent open shapes, we mix the graphics and colours so as not to perceive where one ends and the other begins, as did Monet in this painting that portrays the water from the pond from his garden.

LIFE DRAWING Representing through a drawing the shape of a landscape, a building, or a few simple objects, requires a careful observation: to compare sizes, colors, look at the same details repeatedly to recall it almost by memory.

The fitting There are several ways to represent with a drawing objects or natural elements that we have in front of our eyes. One of them is the fitting process. The fitting consists in representing a figure starting to draw it through simple geometric shapes. 1. We begin by observing the object from the selected position, wondering what geometric shapes can be adapted to its shape and trying to visualize them over the object.

2. Then we draw a vertical axis and above it, the geometric shapes related between each other that will form the "backbone" of our drawing. 3. Above these geometric shapes it will be very easy to draw the real shape of the object. Details can be solved with different materials, in this case crayons have been used.

ARTISTIC STYLES The style in the visual language is the characteristic way of representing the real or imagined shapes. Basically you can talk about three main groups compassing several trends. These groups are: realism, figuration and abstraction. REALISM FIGURATION ABSTRACTION

Realism When an image represents objects or scenes from everyday life with almost photographic perfection, we say that it has a realistic style.

Figuration When an image represents objects or scenes with different degrees of iconicity, that is, with different degrees of similarity to the real shape, lower than the realistic style, we say that it s figurative.

Figuration In this style, the figures can be represented in a simplified schematic or deformed way. Observed in these reproductions examples that belongs to this artistic style. SIMPLIFIED FIGURE DEFORMED FIGURE SCHEMATIC FIGURE

Abstraction We talk about abstract style when the degree of iconicity has no relation with the forms that we see everyday. Abstract art, therefore, not intended to represent specific objects or beings, but shapes and colors that can be given different meanings, building in that case their own universe.

Abstraction