As noted earlier, the type and size of the visual object determine
the relationship between the viewer's space and the plastic space of
the image. Within the plastic space, the shape and form of the
image are critical. Overlapping, transparency, distortion and
gradients are all ways in which depth is conveyed. What a person
perceives is not merely an arrangement of colours, shapes and
forms but also an interplay of tensions inherent in any precept
(Arnheim, 1974). With the recognition of dynamics comes an
understanding of balance and expression present in the image.