Visual Arts Glossary
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alternating rhythm—created by repeating two or more of an element of art, such as red-blue, red-blue, red-blue. Rhythm is a principle of organization
analogous—colors that appear next to each other on the color wheel and have one color in common, such as blue-green, blue, blue-violet
asymmetrical—not having balance; different appearance on opposites sides of a dividing plane or line
asymmetrical—the type of balance that results when two sides of an artwork are equally important but one side looks different from the other
asymmetrical balance (informal balance)—the type of balance that results when two sides of an artwork are equally important but one side looks different from the other.
atmospheric perspective—the effect on the appearance of an object by air/space between it and a viewer. Details on the object decrease, tones become less saturated (colors shift towards blue).
background—the area of an artwork that appears farthest away: a way of showing space
balance—a principle of organization of visual arts; an arrangement of elements that makes individual parts of artwork appear equally important
balance—a principle of organization of visual arts; the arrangement of elements that makes individual parts of a composition appear equally important. Balance is an arrangement of the elements to create an equal distribution of visual weight throughout the format or composition. If a composition appears top or bottom heavy and/or anchored with weight to one side, it is not visually balanced.
collage—a way of making a work of art by gluing different objects, materials, and textures to a surface
color—an element of visual arts; the visual arts utilize the twelve basic hues of the color wheel
primary—red, yellow, blue
secondary—orange, green, violet
intermediate—red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red-violet
color—an element of visual art; the visible range of reflected light. Color has three properties – hue, value, and intensity (brightness or dullness).
color schemes—grouping of colors that are related on the color wheel, such as complimentary, analogous, warm, and cool
analogous—colors that appear next to each other on the color wheel and have one color in common, such as blue-green, blue, blue-violet
complementary colors—colors that are opposite on the color wheel, such as yellow/violet, blue/orange, and red/green
cool colors—group of colors on the color wheel that includes blues, greens, and violets. They appear to look further away from the viewer in an artwork
warm—a group of colors in the color wheel associated with warmth, such as red, yellow, and orange. They appear to advance toward the viewer in an artwork.
color value—the lightness or darkness of a color.
color wheel—colors arranged in a circle to show color relationships
complementary colors—colors that are opposite on the color wheel, such as yellow/violet, blue/orange, and red/green
composition—arranging elements of visual arts using the principles of organization of visual arts to create a piece of artwork
composition—arranging of art elements (line, shape, form, value, texture, space, color) using the principles of organization (balance, contrast, rhythm, pattern) to create an artwork
construction techniques-different ways to put materials together (e.g. stapling, cutting, gluing, taping, etc)
contour —the outer edge of forms which implies three dimensions, in contrast to an outline, which is a boundary of two-dimensional, flat form
contrast—a principle of organization of visual arts; using opposite visual arts qualities side by side (e.g., light against dark, heavy against light, textured against smooth, etc.)
contrast—a principle of organization of visual arts; a technique in an artwork which shows differences in art elements such as smooth/rough textures, light/dark colors, or thick/thin lines
cool colors—group of colors on the color wheel that includes blues, greens, and violets. They appear to look further away from the viewer in an artwork
cubism—a twentieth century style of art that emphasizes the separation of the subject into cubes and other geometric forms from multiple viewpoints
design—another word for composition
detail—a distinctive feature of an object or scene that can be seen most clearly close-up
dominance—the way an artwork shows emphasis in which one element or object in the composition is the strongest or most important part of the work
drawing-techniques—different ways of drawing, such as hatching, stippling, contour, blending, or shading
hatching—drawing thin parallel or crossed lines
contour—drawing the outline of a shape
blending—
shading—drawing different grades of a color
elements of art—the basic ingredients that make up a work of art: line, shape form value, texture, space, color (see visual arts elements)
emphasis/dominance—a principle of organization of visual arts; importance given to certain objects or areas in an artwork; color, texture, shape, space, and size can be used to create importance
emphasis—a principle of organization of visual arts; importance given to certain objects or areas in an artwork. Color, texture, shape, space, and size can be used to create importance.
exaggeration—showing something in a way that makes it seem larger or more important than it is
expression—showing an emotion or feeling in a work of art
expressionism—a twentieth century style of painting expressing a definite or strong mood or feeling with simplified designs and brilliant colors
flowing rhythm—rhythm is a principle of organization of visual arts: created by the repetition of wavy lines or curved shapes. Flowing rhythm suggests movement or motion.
focal point—the part of an artwork that attracts the eye of the viewer
foreground—the area of an artwork that appears closest
foreshortening—the illusion that an object that is closer to the viewer is larger than one far away
form—an element of visual arts; a three-dimensional object that has height, and depth
Free form—having a flowing shape that is asymmetrical
Freestanding—stands on its own
geometric shapes—a defined form; circle, square, triangle
geometric—any shapes that are based on math principles, such as a square, circle, and triangle hatching, cross hatching, scribbling, broken lines, repeating lines and shapes
ground line—a line that defines the plane on which the subject in an artwork sits
harmony—a principle of organization of visual arts; the creation of unity through the use of stressing similarities of separate but related parts of the artwork
horizon/ground line—based on an artist’s eye level; a line where sky meets earth
hue—another name for color
implied line—lines that are suggested by the placement of other lines, shapes, and colors but are not actually seen in the artwork
impressionism—a style of painting popular in the late 1800s and 1900s that featured everyday subjects showing the changing effects of color and light
intensity—the brightness or dullness of a color
intermediate color—a color mixed from a primary and the secondary color next to it. It is also called a “tertiary” color
line—an element of art: the flat path of a dot through space used by artists to control the viewer’s eye movement; a thin mark made by a pencil, pen, or brush
line quality—the width or appearance of any line, such as thick or thin, smooth or rough, continuous or broken
line types—the variety of directions and shapes that a line may have; vertical, horizontal, diagonal, curved, zigzag
line types—there are five (5) types of lines: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, curved, zigzag
medium (media)—the material chosen by the artist to create a work of art, such as paint, pencil, or clay
middle ground—the area between the foreground and background
monochromatic—having or appearing to have only one color
motif—a repeated shape or design in a work of art
motif—a design unit that may be repeated in a visual rhythm
movement- a principle of organization of visual arts; the use of art elements to draw a viewer’s eye through an artwork
negative space—a shape or space surrounding a line, shape, or form
neutral color—color that has no chromatic qualities-black, white, grays, browns
non-color value – lightness and darkness of a line, shape, or form utilizing a neutral scale (blacks, grays, and whites).
non-representational—an artwork with few or no recognizable subjects
organic shape—resembling a living thing such as a plant or animal
organic shapes—shapes found in nature
originality—a unique and personal expression of art knowledge and skills
pattern—a principle of organization-the repetition of art elements in an organized way.
perspective—a way to create the appearance of depth on a two-dimensional surface, such as one-point perspective or two-point perspective
point of view—the angle from which a viewer sees an object
pointillism—a technique using dots to create the artwork
positive space—the actual space taken up by the line, shape, or form
primary colors—the basic colors from which all other colors are made: red, yellow, blue: no other colors can be mixed to make them
principles of organization of visual arts—means of organizing the elements in a work of art: balance, contrast, emphasis/dominance, harmony, movement, pattern, proportion, repetition, rhythm, unity, variety
progressive rhythm—visual rhythm that changes in motif every time it repeats
proportion—a principle of organization of visual arts; the relationship of parts to a whole or parts to one another, referring to size and placement
radial balance—types of balance in which art elements come out from the center of the artwork
random rhythm—a type of visual rhythm in which the same elements are repeated with order, such as stars in the sky
realism—a style of art that portrays objects or scenes as they might appear in everyday life. A recognizable subject is portrayed using lifelike colors, textures, and proportion.
reflected light—light that is bounced back from a source
regular rhythm—visual rhythm using the same elements repeated again and again
relief—a type of sculpture in which forms project from a flat background
resist—an art process using two or more materials that do not mix, such as, crayon and watercolor or wax and ceramic glaze
repetition—the repeated use of art elements to create pattern/movement/ rhythm/unity
rhythm (visual rhythm)—the use of repeated arts elements to create movement in an artwork; random, regular, alternating, flowing progressive
- alternating rhythm—created by repeating two or more of an element of art, such as red-blue, red-blue, red-blue. Rhythm is a principle of organization
- random rhythm—a type of visual rhythm in which the same elements are repeated with order, such as stars in the sky
- regular rhythm—visual rhythm using the same elements repeated again and again
- sculpture—a three-dimensional work of art
sculptural techniques- different ways to create 3-D forms (e.g. cutting, folding, rolling, twisting, curling, scoring, bending, etc)
secondary color—a color created by mixing two primary colors together in equal parts: green, violet, orange
shade—a value created by adding black to a color
shape—an element of visual arts; a closed space made when a line connects to itself
silhouette—a drawing consisting of the outline of something, especially a human profile, filled in with a solid color
simplified form—the shape and structure of an object made simpler or easier or reduced in complexity or extent
sketch—a drawing without much detail, usually completed in a short amount of time; sometimes used as a rough draft for later work
space—an element of visual arts; the area above, below, around, and within a work of art
space—an element of visual arts; the area above, below, around, and within a piece of artwork. The illusion of depth or space on a flat surface is created through the use of the following techniques: overlapping shapes and forms, use of size, detail, value, color, and linear perspective.
spatial devices—methods used to create the appearance of space in an artwork; foreground/middle ground/background, overlap, placement, size, detail, color, value
foreground—the area of an artwork that appears closest
middle ground—the area between the foreground and background
background—the area of an artwork that appears farthest away: a way of showing space
color value—the lightness or darkness of a color
horizon line—based on the artist’s eye level, a line where sky meets earth
overlap—partly cover another part
still life—an artwork featuring a collection of nonmoving objects
Still life—a piece of artwork featuring a collection of nonmoving subject matter
style—the distinctive use of art elements and principles, forming characteristics or techniques unique to an individual artist, group or period
subtractive/additive process—the process of taking away or adding materials to produce an artwork
surface decoration—paint or other material used to enhance or give more detail to the surface of an object
surreal—the use of fantastic imagery to combine the dreamlike with the realistic
symbol—an image representing something else
symmetrical/formal balance—a type of balance that results when both sides of an artwork are the same or mirror one another
symmetrical—having balance; exact appearance on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane
technique—methods of working with art materials to create artwork
tertiary color—see intermediate color
texture—an element of the visual arts
actual—how something feels
visual—how something appears to feel; simulated
texture—an element of visual arts; how something feels (actual) or appears to feel (implied);
texture—an element of visual arts; how something feels or appears to feel; stippling, hatching, cross hatching, scribbling, broken lines, repeating lines and shapes
tint—a value created by adding white to a color
three-dimensional or 3-D—relating, having, appearing to have, or existing in three dimensions (length, width, and depth)
tone—a color created by adding gray
unity—a principle of art; a successful combination of arts elements to create a sense of wholeness and visual completion in an artwork
value/shading—an element of visual arts; the lightness and darkness of a line, shape, or form
value—an element of visual arts; the lightness and darkness of a line, shape, or form
vanishing point—a spatial device used in art where two or more parallel lines appear to come together at one point
variety—the use of art elements to create differences in an artwork for visual interest
vertical—the up and down orientation of a line, shape, or form
visual arts—creative expression s using imagery to satisfy the human need to communicate thoughts, ideas, feelings and beliefs
visual arts elements—the basic components that make up a work of art: color, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value/shading
color—an element of visual arts; the visible range of reflected light. Color has three properties – hue, value, and intensity (brightness or dullness).
form—an element of visual arts; a three-dimensional object that has length, width, and depth
line—an element of art; the one-dimensional path of a dot through space used by artists to control the viewer’s eye movement; a thin mark made by a pencil, pen, or brush
shape—an element of visual arts; a closed space made when a line connects to itself
texture
actual—how something feels
visual—how something appears to feel; simulated
value/shading—an element of visual arts; the lightness and darkness of a line, shape, or form
visual rhythm—see rhythm
warm—a group of colors in the color wheel associated with warmth, such as red, yellow, and orange. They appear to advance toward the viewer in an artwork