The principle of similarity is features which look similar are associated. Example: similarity in colour The principle of good continuity is that contours based on smooth continuity are preferred to abrupt changes of direction. Example: in Degas' drawing the line of the round tub starts at the bather's hairline, meets her fingertips, and joins the vertical line of the shelf where the brush handle overlaps. The circular shape of the bather's hips is tangential to the same shelf edge. The objects on the shelf barely touch and carry the eye from one to another. The principle of closure is that interpretations which produce 'closed' rather than 'open' figures are favoured. Example: this is called a Kanizsa figure after the person who invented it. If you look carefully you will probably see the edges of the entire triangle, even though the triangle is defined only by the notches in the red disks. The principle of smallness is that smaller areas tend to be seen as figures against a larger background. Example: the Gestalt principle of smallness would suggest that it should be easier to see the vase rather than the faces in the two versions on the left below.