CHP 1

• Actual line: real marks made in a composition

• Calligraphic line: line or a group of lines either derived from or resembling letter forms
and characterized by qualities usually associated with cursive writing, especially that
produced with a brush or pen
• Contour line: a line that describes the edges of a form and suggests 3-D volume
• Implied line: visual contours created by the arrangement of shapes, values, and colors
within an artwork. Even though you do not see an actual contour line there, implied lines
act as if they were there to direct the viewer’s eye to a certain point
• Organizational line: lines used to create the loose linear “skeleton” on which a
composition can be built. AKA structural lines
• Array: a collection of points
• Atmospheric perspective: techniques used by artist used to create the illusion of depth
by replicating the effects of distance on color, form, and detail
• Closure: the visual tendency to create closed shapes even when part of the shape is
missing
• Collage: a technique of art creation by which art results from an assemblage of different
forms, thus creating a new whole
• Continuity: the visual tendency to create continuous figures
• Cross-hatching: a linear artistic technique that consists of drawing crossed and parallel
lines close to each other to create an illusion of form, value, texture, and light
• Curvilinear shape: a style characterized by a curving line used to form abstract patterns,
such as spirals, circles, swirls, and S-shapes, as well as to define human facial features
• Geometric shape: structured and precise forms such as squares, rectangles, circles, and
triangles
• Negative shape: the empty space around and between the subject(s) of an image
• Organic shape: free-flowing and irregular forms that mimic forms found in nature,
displaying fluid and inconsistent contours
• Positive shape: refers to the actual objects or subjects depicted, while negative shape
represents the space around those objects
• Direction: the process of overseeing and guiding the visual aspects of a creative project
• Engraving: the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting
grooves into it with a specialized tool
• Figure/Ground reversal: a visual phenomenon where the perception of foreground
(figure) and background (ground) can shift, creating two distinct interpretations of the
same visual information
 • Focal point: primary point of interest in a composition. A focal point is often used to
emphasize an area of a particular importance, or to provide a powerful sense of
compositional direction
• Gradation: the technique of gradually transitioning from one hue to another, or from one
shade to another, or one texture to another
• Orientation: refers to the way a rectangular painting is turned. There are two types of
orientation: portrait and landscape. Portrait orientation is where a painting is taller
(vertical) than wider (horizontal), while landscape orientation is wider (vertical) than
taller (horizontal)
• Stippling: a drawing technique in which small, distinct dots are used to create a desired
image or effect
• Texture: the visual and tactile surface characteristics that are added to a work of art
• Value contrast: the differences in lightness and darkness of tones or shades within a
composition
• Value distribution: the proportion and arrangement of lights and darks in a composition.
AKA value pattern
• Volume: refers to the representation of mass in a painting or sculpture

CHP 2
• Achromatic: Describes a lack of color
• Monochromatic: Using one hue or color in a variety of values
• Complementary: The colors furthest away from each other in hue
o Split Complementary: A color scheme in art that uses three colors instead of
two. Uses one main color and two secondary colors that go well with it
• Additive Color: A property of a color model that predicts the appearance of colors made
by coincident component lights, i.e., the perceived color can be predicted by summing the
numeric representations of the component colors
• Subtractive Color: A color model using pigments to produce color through reflected
light
• Process Colors: In four-color process printing, the subtractive primary colors: yellow,
magenta, and cyan, plus black
• Afterimage: An optical illusion that creates the sensation in which a person’s eye
continues to depict an image that has gone away.
• Analogous: Groups of colors that are next to each other on the color wheel.
• Chromatic Gray: Grays that exhibit a subtle, but discernible hue, created by adding
larger amounts white, chromatic darks, or a complement of a hue.
 • Color Harmony: Refers to the property that certain aesthetically pleasing color
combinations have.
• Color Interaction: Refers to the way assorted colors affect each other when they are
placed side by side, which can dramatically alter perception and emotional response.
• Color Key: a color that dominates an image and heightens its psychological and
compositional impact
• Color Overtones: A color bias toward one side over another.
• Disharmony: The deliberate introduction of elements that create tension and clash with
one another.
• Hue: Pure color without white, black, grey, or another color mixed with it.
• Primary Colors: Three basic hues from which all other colors are made; Red, Blue, and
Yellow
• Secondary Colors: A color made by mixing two primary colors.
• Tertiary Colors: A color made by mixing a primary color with a secondary color.
• Saturation: The intensity or purity of a color.
• Shade: When the artist adds black to a color to make it darker.
• Tint: Making a color lighter by adding white.
• Tone: A color with grey mixed into it.
• Simultaneous Contrast: A visual phenomenon that occurs when we perceive the effects
of two adjacent colors or values on each other.
• Temperature: The warmth or coolness of a color.
• Triadic: A color scheme consisting of three colors that are an equal distance from each
other on the color wheel
• Value: The lightness or darkness of a color.

CHP 3: Principles of Two-Dimensional Design

• Anomaly: a deviation from the normal or expected form, order, or arrangement that can
create emphasis
• Approximate Symmetry: a form of balance where compositional units on either side of
a vertical axis are similar but not completely identical
• Balance: the distribution of visual elements such as line, texture, color, and form within a
composition to achieve equilibrium and visual stability
• Asymmetrical Balance: a technique for creating a sense of balance in compositions by
employing different visual elements with unequal weight on either side
• Symmetrical Balance: Achieved when visual elements are arranged on both sides of a
center line in equal weight
• Closure: a visual concept in art that refers to the tendency of the brain to create closed
shapes even when part of the shape is missing
• Composition: the arrangement of visual elements
• Containment: the arrangement of visual elements by placing them within a frame
boundary, or container
• Continuity: the visual tendency to create continuous figures by using continuing edges,
shapes, and lines, that connect different objects or areas to one another, making them
“flow” into each other
• Contrast: the juxtaposition of two elements that are different, but which work together to
create a balanced whole
• Emphasis: a principle of art and design used to create a sense of focus within artworks
by arranging different visual elements to draw attention to certain aspects of their work
• Fusion: the blending of different cultural elements, styles, and traditions in art to create
new, hybrid forms of expression
• Gestalt Psychology: the idea that involves the visual perception and understanding of
how elements are seen together
• Grid: a technique that involves placing a grid of squares over a reference photo and
placing an identical grid of squares on your drawing paper
• Grouping: the practice of arranging similar or related elements together within a design
• Imbalance: a lack of proportion or equality among different elements in a composition,
which can create a sense of instability or tension
• Movement: the use of visual techniques to create an illusion of motion or dynamism in a
two-dimensional artwork
• Pattern: a principle of art that refers to the repetition and ordered arrangement of a
design
• Proportion: the relationship between different sized components within a composition
• Proximity: the visual tendency to group shapes together if they are close to each other
• Radial Symmetry: type of symmetry in art where an image is symmetrical around a
central point or axis
• Repetition: The act of repeating an element (such as a line or color) throughout a work
• Rhythm: The repeated use of visual motifs or elements in a regular or varied pattern
• Scale: The size or dimensions of an artwork compared to its surroundings
• Unity: What different elements within a painting or other work of artwork together to
create a cohesive whole
• Variety: the use of different elements, techniques, and design to create visual interest
• Visual Weight: the perceived heaviness or lightness of elements within a composition
CHP 4
• Ambient Light: The total amount of light that already exists in a scene before any
artificial lighting is added
• Directed Light: The illumination, brightness, and radiance depicted in a work.
• Content: The subject matter, symbolism, narrative, and context of a piece.
• Dominant: The object given the most visual weight, the element of primary emphasis
that advances to the foreground in the composition.
• Subordinate: An element in an artwork removes attention from a particular area, to
emphasize something else
• Form: An element of art defined in three dimensions – height, width, and depth.
• Dynamic Forms: A visual style in art that emphasizes movement, energy, and the
interplay of shapes and colors to convey a sense of change and fluidity.
• Kinetic Forms: Art from any medium that contains movement perceivable by the viewer
or that depends on motion for its effects.
• Earthwork: A type of contemporary art that uses the natural landscape to create site-
specific structures, art forms, and sculptures.
• Freestanding Works: A sculpture that is unattached to any background.
• Function: The purpose or role that a piece of art serves.
• Installation: A genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed
to transform the perception of a space.
• Mass: The three-dimensional volume or bulk of an object that occupies space.
• Matrix: A type of printmaking that uses a template, called a matrix, to create a design on
a surface.
• Monumental: A special fine arts section that includes a broad range of works created to
harmonize with a specific architectural environment both in theme and in structural and
chromatic design.
• Orthographic Projection: Projection of a single view of an object (such as a view of the
front) onto a drawing surface in which the lines of projection are perpendicular to the
drawing surface.
• Plane: A continuous flat surface, whether real or imagined.
• Polyhedra: A three-dimensional figure with flat polygonal faces, straight edges, and
sharp corners or vertices.
• Reflective: Artworks that incorporate or depict reflections, either literally or
metaphorically.
• Refracted: The illumination that bounces off a surface, contributing to the overall
appearance of form and depth in a drawing
• Relief: A type of sculpture where the sculpted elements remain attached to a solid
background.
 • Site-Specific: Artwork that is created to exist in a specific location, often interacting with
the environment or architecture of that space.
• Space: The area in a two-dimensional visual composition like graphic art, painting, or
drawing, as well as a three-dimensional sculpture or architectural structure.
• Tempo: The repetition or variation of visual elements to create a visual rhythm or beat
and provides a path for the viewer’s eye to follow.
• Three-Quarter Work: A representation of a head or figure posed about halfway
between front and profile views.
• Translucent: Works that play with light transmission, creating ethereal effects through
semi-transparent materials.
• Transparent: The quality of allowing light to pass through a material, which can affect
the way colors and shapes are perceived in artwork.

CHP 4/ 11
• Additive Sculpture: The process of creating a sculpture by adding materials to a base or
starting point
• Subtractive Sculpture: A form of sculpture that involves removing material from a
single piece of medium.
• Linear Perspective: A drawing technique used in art to create the illusion of depth and
space on a flat surface.
• Amplified Perspective: A technique that exaggerates the use of linear perspective to
achieve a dramatic and engaging presentation of the subject.
• Atmospheric Perspective: The techniques used by artists to account for the natural
phenomena of the atmosphere and how they affect distant objects (making them
appear blurrier, lower in contrast, and less detailed).
• Armature: An underlying, unseen, supporting component (usually of wood or metal) for
something else. Useful in sculpture and even stop-motion animation puppets.
• Assemblage: The creation of three-dimensional compositions using found objects or
other materials giving them aesthetic or symbolic meanings within the context of the
whole piece.
• Bend: A fundamental design technique where a material is deliberately curved, folded, or
deformed from its original straight or flat state to create new forms and structural
configurations
• Composite: A form of creative art that can dissolve boundaries and limitations, propose
new possibilities, embrace multiple viewpoints and introduce novel ways of storytelling
• Compression: The technique of reducing the visual space or volume of an object or
scene to create a sense of depth, perspective, or emotional impact
 • Cone of Vision: in perspective drawing, a hypothetical cone of perception originating at
the eye of the artist and expanding to include whatever they wish to record
• Displacement: a forming method in which a solid material is physically forced into a
new configuration
• Dynamic Space: compositional organization that emphasizes movement or the illusion
of movement
• Fractured Space: A pictorial device where the space is flattened, multiple perspectives
are used, and forms are fractured
• Layered Space: The multi-dimensional and complex nature of artworks. It refers to the
fact that artworks often contain multiple meanings and interpretations and that they can
be experienced in a variety of ways.
• Ephemera: Art that only lasts for a short amount of time, perhaps occurs once, and
cannot be embodied in any lasting object.
• Kinesthetics: Art that deals with the body in motion, and involves using the weight or
movement of muscles, tendons, and joints of the body.
• Modeling: the process of manipulating a pliable material (such as clay) to create a three-
dimensional object.
• Vanishing Point: A specific point on the horizon line where parallel lines appear to
converge.
• One-Point Perspective: A drawing technique that uses a single vanishing point on the
horizon line to create an illusion of depth and distance in artworks.
• Two-Point Perspective: A variant of linear perspective in which two vanishing points
are used.
• Three-Point Perspective: A form of linear perspective in which parallel lines along the
width of an object meet at two separate points on the horizon and vertical lines on the
object meet at a point on the perpendicular bisector of the horizon line.
• Picture Plane: An image plane located between the "eye point" and the object being
viewed.
• Shear: a force that creates a lateral break in an object
• Solidification: Refers to making a material or object hard or compact
• Tension: A balance maintained between opposing forces or elements.
• Torque: the distortion of an object through twisting movements (AKA torsion).

CHP 6
• Abstract Shapes: a shape that is derived from a visual source, but is so transformed that
it bears no resemblance to the source
• Representational Shapes: shapes derived from specific subject matter and strongly
based on visual observation
• Pure Form: a circle, sphere, triangle, cube, or other form created without reference to
specific subject matter
• Aesthetics: the study of human responses to art and beauty
• Analogy: a similarity or connection between things that are apparently separate and
dissimilar
• Anesthetic: a chemical or action used to induce insensitivity or unconsciousness
• Cliché: an overused expression or visual treatment of an idea
• Content: the emotional and/or intellectual meaning or message of an artwork
• Context: the set of circumstances or facts that surround when the work of art was made,
where, how, and for what purpose
• Subject: the person, object, event, or idea on which an artwork is based
• Critique: any means by which the strengths and weaknesses of design are analyzed
• Form: the physical manifestation of the idea, as opposed to the content which is the idea
itself
• High Definition: sharply focused visual information that is easily readable
• Low Definition: blurred or ambiguous visual information
• Hybridity: the creation of artworks using disparate media to create a unified conceptual
statement
• Iconography: the study of symbolic visual systems
• Layering: a postmodern in which an accumulation of multiple (and often contradictory)
visual layers is used to create a single artwork
• Metaphor: a figure of speech in which one thing is directly linked to another, dissimilar
thing
• Simile: a figure of speech in which one thing is directly linked to another, dissimilar
thing using like or as
• Modernism: a collection of artistic styles, most prominently from 1860 to 1960, that
emphasized the importance of form, introduced new materials and production methods,
and sought to express universal truths.
• Postmodernism: a collection of artistic styles that arose in the 1970s as a reaction to
modernism.
• Appropriation: a postmodern practice in which one artist reproduces an image and
claims it as their own
• Recontextualization: a postmodern practice in which the meaning of an image or object
is changed by the context in which it is placed
• Stereotype: a fixed generalization based on a preconception