Line Vs. Form
While attending college, artist Matt Smith would often hear his instructors use the term “line vs. form.” but never fully explain what it is. Although it is seemingly a simple principle, it was hard for Matt to find clarification on what the term meant. Out of embarrassment, Matt never asked for further clarification and had to discover the meaning on his own.
To clarify, in Matt’s terms, line defines shape, which is two dimensional. Form defines volume, which is three-dimensional. (Two Dimensional Vs. Three Dimensional). Line is frequently used to define the outer shape of a particular object, similar to what you’d see in a child’s coloring book. It is the foundation of all art, the beginning, after the initial idea comes into practice. The shapes, as defined by line, describe the character and proportional relationship of one object compared to another; two dimensional. One value is introduced in those shapes, form comes in and takes on the illusion of the third dimension. Those lights vs. darks define direction of light and create the look of depth front to back.
Line can describe depth by way of linear perspective. Form can also be described with texture, edges, and color. But, to keep it simple, think in terms of line and value first.
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