ORGANIC SHAPESGEOMETRIC SHAPESINTERMEDIATE SHAPES |
SHAPE
Shape occurs when the end of a line meets it's beginning and encloses a 2 dimensional space or area.
Shapes are divided into 2 basic categories: geometric and organic. Geometric shapes are generally manmade but often occur in nature. They are more mathematical, measured and orderly in their appearance. They often have one or more lines of symmetry, meaning you could fold the shape in half and its edges would match up. Organic shapes have a more irregular and random appearance. They usually have 0 lines of symmetry, and are generally referred to as shapes found in nature. Intermediate shapes lie somewhere in between these two extremes. They have an appearance that is reminiscent of both geometric and organic qualities. The butterfly as organically shaped wings, but it also has a clear line of symmetry. |
The word: silhouette is generally used to describe the outermost edge of an object; and sometimes involves negative shapes or spaces inside the silhouette. Silhouettes can be very simple, but the term is more commonly used to define more complicated shapes like the pineapple. The brain will quickly and effortlessly recognize a clearly drawn silhouette.
A gestault occurs when our brain groups 2 or more shapes together to create a new whole. The paw print is really 4 ovals and a curvy blob, but our brain interprets the unique combination of these shapes as a paw print. Positive shapes are the shapes that we want people to see, negative shapes can refer to both empty spaces inside the shape and the space around the shape. For example the boy on the bike has many negative shapes between the spokes of the wheels. These negative shapes are more often referred to as negative spaces. |