Visual art and design are primarily referred to as works of art or art forms, like painting and drawing, photography, filmmaking, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, graphic design, and industrial design. It is an umbrella term that includes three constituent disciplines, namely fine arts, commercial arts, and decorative arts. Here’s a brief overview of the different visual art forms. Each of these art forms is further divided into various sub-categories, right from abstract to representational to non-objective.  

Fine arts   
Fine arts, as the term indicates, is an art form known for its aesthetic beauty.

In a way, it is considered by artists to be a notch higher than the other two streams of visual arts.  In this form, the artist has no limitations in expressing their thoughts and imagination. There are no functional or commercial considerations. The artist is completely free to express what they feel.   

The various sub-categories of this art form include painting, drawing, sculpture, graphic art, book illustration, calligraphy, architecture, and printmaking.  

Aspects of fine arts   

• Traditionally, this art form was limited to painting, sculpture, and architecture. Later, drawing and sketching were included as a part of fine arts.  
• Fine arts are also referred to as major arts, while decorative and commercial art forms are referred to as minor arts.  
• To classify a piece of artwork as “fine,” it is essential that the work is beautiful and creatively made. For example, architecture is a part of the fine arts. However, it does not mean that every building or structure is fine art. An architect who has used novel ideas and created something out-of-the-box to appeal to the onlooker visually gets classified.  
• Some Masters of Fine Arts are artists who created classical art between the Renaissance and the nineteenth century. Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci are two of the biggest Masters of Fine Arts.  
• Modern or contemporary artists also fall into the genre of fine artists. These are people who have worked since the 1800s. Some notable names include Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Pablo Picasso. Today, artists like Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, and David Kracov are considered fine visual artists.  
• All artworks considered fine arts are judged more on the technique rather than the artist’s caliber or artwork.  

Commercial arts   
This art form is visually impressive and practically usable, just like decorative arts. It is called commercial arts and is segregated because this artform is created for commercial purposes. For example, creating an advertisement is commercial art because it is made with the intent to sell or market a product or a service.   

The different art forms included under contemporary arts and designs are conceptual art, performance art, video art, photography, animation, TV, computer graphics, motion graphics, visual effects, land art, and graffiti.  

 Aspects of commercial arts   

• This art form is expressed through websites, newspapers, magazines, billboards, television, packaging of products, apps, and retail displays.  
• This form of art and design is a part of our lives. It is mass-produced because the intent is to reach out to a bigger audience.  
• Commercial artists get paid by organizations hiring them to create this piece of art.   
• Artists have the freedom to express their thoughts and concepts creatively, but it needs to be done within the given brief by the client.  
• Examples of great commercial artists are Takashi Murakami, Andy Warhol, and Salvador Dali.  

Decorative arts    
This form of art is functional and practically designed, and visually appealing. For this reason, decorative arts are often referred to as crafts.   

This category includes visual arts and designs like ceramics, glass art, mosaic art, woodwork, metal work, studio pottery, work on textiles, and enamelwork. These mediums, in turn, can have multiple sub-categories. For example, textile design includes embroidery, fashion design, and interior fabrics.

Aspects of decorative arts  

• This branch of visual art is mainly concerned with items made for interior décor.  
• Even though decorative artists do not yet enjoy as much popularity as fine artists, this form of art captures the local cultures of a region and hence has a vital role to play.  
• In most cases, handmade work that is not mass-produced in a factory falls under this category. Artisans create all kinds of exclusively created items that are part of decorative art.  
• There are a couple of decorative artists famous globally. These include Peter Carl Fabergé, jewelry and ceramic artist, and Wiliam Morris, a textile designer.  

  As per various other classifications, there are other visual arts categories, including fashion, interior, and graphic design. Body art includes face painting, tattoos, and body painting is also considered a part of visual arts.