Ok, so this post is going to cover quite a bit of ground, so I hope to be clear, but please just let me know if I didn’t explain something clearly. That being said, let’s dig in.

The definition of a shape is “the outline of a thing; a contour; that can be made by value, line, texture or color, and may be suggested or implied.” So what does that mean? Basically, just as a line is a point for a walk, a shape is a line for a walk. Whereas line defines direction and length, shape defines actual space (in 2 dimensions).

(**MINOR WARNING: This post contains what some might consider to be adult content. Though these are classical master works of art, I felt obligated to put this up. The pieces in question are Titian’s Venus of Urbino, and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, both depicting nude women. Thank you!**)

As was explored in my previous post (sorry for the delay, by the way), line is an extremely important part of any modern graphic designer’s repertoire. The line, however, is not a new invention. Ever since the renaissance, the utilization of line to determine subject, proportion, and space has been imperative.