Elements and Principles of Art

An open textbook for foundation design courses. It works through each element of art, from line and shape to value, texture and color, and the principles of composition, with student examples and exercises.

Colorado Mesa University

The classic that shaped how art and design are taught. Dow teaches composition through line, notan (the balance of light and dark) and color, with graded exercises inspired by Japanese prints.

Arthur Wesley Dow

A foundational design course that explains rhythm, balance and harmony step by step, with hundreds of diagrams and exercises. Written by an Arts and Crafts teacher, it remains one of the clearest guides to design fundamentals.

Ernest A. Batchelder

The illustrator Walter Crane explains how line and form work as the language of every artist, from outline and silhouette to proportion and ornament. Illustrated with more than 150 of his own drawings.

Walter Crane