I.
Principles of Design A.
Contrast Contrast is the juxtaposition of opposing elements eg. opposite colors on the color wheel - red /
green, blue / orange etc. Contrast in tone or value - light / dark. Contrast in direction - horizontal
/ vertical. The major contrast in design should be located at the center of interest. Too much
contrast scattered throughout an artwork can destroy unity and make a work difficult to look at. B.
Emphasis Emphasis is the part of the design that catches the viewer’s attention. Usually the artist will make
one area stand out by contrasting it with other areas. The area could be different in size, color,
texture, shape, etc. C.
Balance A principle of art referring to the arrangement of visual elements to create stability in an artwork.
1.
Symmetrical Balance 2.
Asymmetrical Balance A balanced arrangement that is the same on two sides of a central axis.
A balanced arrangement where the two sides of a composition are different yet remain
balanced.
3.
Radial Balance A balanced arrangement where the design radiates from a central point.
4.
Approximate Balance A balanced arrangement where the two sides are similar, but not identical.
D.
Unity Unity is the feeling of harmony between all parts of the work of art, which creates a sense of
completeness.
E.
Rhythm Rhythm is a principle of design that refers to the ways of combining elements to produce the
appearance of movement in an artwork. It may be achieved through repetition, alternation, or
progression of an element (in which an element gradually changes shape, size, position, or color.)
F.
Repetition Repetition with variation is interesting, without variation repetition can become monotonous.
G.
Movement Movement is a principle of design associated with rhythm, referring to the arrangement of parts in
an artwork to create a sense of motion to the viewer’s eye through the work.
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H.
Implied movement- action captured
Sequence- showing a series of events through time
Optical Movement- makes your eye move through the artwork
Actual Movement- real movement (kinetic movement) Proportion Proportion is the feeling of unity created when all parts (sizes, amounts, or number) relate well
with each other. When drawing the human figure, proportion can refer to the size of the head
compared to the rest of the body.
II.
Elements of Design The building blocks used to compose a work of art.
A.
Color Color is an element of Art with three properties; hue, value, and intensity. Also, the character of
surfaces created by the response of vision to wavelengths of reflected light
1.
Three Properties of Color a. Hue
Hue simply means the name given to a color.
b. Value (Lightness / Darkness)
Value refers to how light or dark a color appears. To make a color lighter in value,
white is added. A light color is called a TINT of the original hue. For example, pink is a
tint of red. To make a color darker in value, black is added. A dark color is called a
SHADE of the original hue. Maroon is a shade of red. Mixing the compliment of any
color will create a richer shade than just adding black.
c. Intensity
Intensity refers to the brightness or dullness of a color. This primarily influenced by
how much of the pure pigment is in the color. The more pigment the more intense the
color and the more expensive the medium. By having color adjacent to neutrals
(touching) the eye can be tricked into perceiving a more intense color.
2.
Warm Color
Warm colors are the yellows and reds of the color spectrum, associated with fire, heat,
sun, and warmer temperatures; also called hot colors. They are bold and energetic. They
advance or come forward in space.
3.
Cool Colors Cool colors are made mostly of green, blue and violet. This family of colors is called cool
because they remind you of cool things like a cool forest or a cold lake. Cool colors are
soothing in nature. They give an impression of calm and rarely overpower the main
content or message of a design. They tend to recede; therefore, if some element of your
design needs to be in the background, give it cool tones. 4.
Primary Colors Red, Blue, and Yellow. These colors can not be made by mixing other colors but can be
mixed to form most other colors. 5.
Secondary Colors These are colors that are made from mixing two primary colors Orange, Green and Violet.
(Red mixed with Yellow makes Orange)
6.
Tertiary Colors or Intermediate Colors These colors made by mixing a primary and a secondary color. They sit in between the
primary and secondary colors on the color wheel. Tertiary colors can be created by mixing
unequal amounts of two primary colors. 7.
Color Wheel A tool used by artists for understanding colors; the color spectrum bent into a circle.
B.
Value Value refers to how light or dark a color appears. To make a color lighter in value, white is added.
A light color is called a TINT of the original hue. For example, pink is a tint of red. To make a
color darker in value, black is added. A dark color is called a SHADE of the original hue. Maroon
is a shade of red. Mixing the compliment of any color will create a richer shade than just adding
black.
C.
Shape (2D) – Exists on a surface A shape is a self contained defined area of geometric or organic form. A positive shape in a
painting automatically creates a negative shape.
D.
Form (3D) – Exists in space At its most basic, a form is a three-dimensional geometrical figure (i.e.: sphere, cube, cylinder,
cone, etc.), as opposed to a shape, which is two-dimensional, or flat.
E.
Texture Texture is the surface quality of a shape - rough, smooth, soft hard glossy etc. Texture can be
physical (tactile) or visual. F.
Direction All lines have direction - Horizontal, Vertical or Oblique. Horizontal suggests calmness, stability
and tranquility. Vertical gives a feeling of balance, formality and alertness. Oblique suggests
movement and action
G.
Size Size is simply the relationship of the area occupied by one shape to that of another.
H.
Line Line is an element of art that is used to define space, contours, and outlines, or to suggest mass
and volume. It may be a continuous mark made on a surface with any medium or implied by the
edges of shapes and forms. 1.
Implied Line An implied line is created when there is an abrupt change in value.
2.
Sketch Lines Lines that provide more detail than outlines, contour lines, and gesture lines. They can be
drawn very quickly and are used for information gathering. 3.
Expressive Line Expressive line is a kind of line that seems to directly spring from the artist's emotions or
feelings -- gestural, loose, and energetic. These lines are curved, and more dynamic in
character to a work of art. (Often used in final compositions)
4.
Mark Making 5.
Gesture Lines Mark making is a term used to describe the different lines, patterns, and textures we
create in an artwork. It applies to any art material(s) we use on any surface(s), not only
paint on canvas or pencil on paper. A dot made with a pencil, a line created with a pen, a
swirl painted with a brush, these are all types of mark making. Mark making can be loose
and gestural, or structured and controlled such as hatching. Most artists work with a
variety of marks in every painting, but there are some styles where you use just one, such
as Pointillism.
A gesture drawing is basically a quick drawing that captures the essential gesture of a
subject in its most distilled form. Gesture is everywhere, embodied in every object,
person, and place. It is action, emotion, movement, and expression all rolled together into
one cohesive motion. (Often used in studies before final composition begins, however they
can be a starting point for a picture)
6.
Contour Line A contour is the line, which defines a form or edge - an outline. Contour drawing is the
place where most beginners start, following the visible edges of a shape. The contour
describes the outermost edges of a form, as well as dramatic changes of plane within the
form.
7.
Blind Contour Line 8.
Cross Contour Blind Contour Drawing is a Contour Line Drawing done without looking at the paper. This
helps to develop hand-eye coordination and helps to improve the function of the right
brain. Cross contour lines are parallel lines that curve over an object’s surface in a vertical or
horizontal manner (or both) and reveal the item’s surface characteristics. Cross contour
lines are similar to wire framing used in 3D design.
III.
Color Harmony or Color Scheme A Color Harmony or Color Scheme is a combination of colors that can be defined by their positions on the
color wheel. Particular color harmonies may be used to achieve specific effects. Is is a simple plan for
organizing colors in a design.
When artists & designers use combinations of colors to get certain results, they are using color schemes
or color harmonies. A.
Complimentary Color Harmony Complimentary colors appear opposite each other on a color wheel. They show a maximum contrast between colors. There are six sets of these on a traditional color wheel. B.
Split Compliment Color Harmony This is made up of a color plus the two hues on either side of that color’s complement.
C.
Triad Color Harmony A Triad harmony involves three equally spaced hues on the color wheel.
D.
Analogous Color Harmony Analogous colors are next to each other or adjacent on the color wheel. They have a single color
in common. Because of this common color, they naturally relate well to each other.
E.
Monochromatic Color Harmony A color scheme using only one hue, plus black and white.
F.
Neutral Colors: Black, White and Gray • Not all objects have colors that are on the color wheel.
• We do not clearly see any one color in them.
• They are not associated with hue.
White - The sum of all colors – a white object REFLECTS to our eyes all the light shining on it,
absorbing none of them.
Black - The total absence of reflected light; it results when an object ABSORBS all the light
shining on it, reflecting none of them.
Gray - Created by PARTIAL REFLECTION (mixed black + white)
IV.
Perspective / Linear perspective A form of perspective in drawing and painting in which parallel lines are represented as converging so as
to give the illusion of depth and distance. (Examples are One, Two and Three Point Perspective)
A.
One Point Perspective A drawing has one-point perspective when it contains only one vanishing point on the horizon
line. This type of perspective is typically used for images of roads, railway tracks, hallways, or
buildings viewed so that the front is directly facing the viewer.
B.
Two Point Perspective A drawing has two-point perspective when it contains two vanishing points on the horizon line. In
an illustration, these vanishing points can be placed arbitrarily along the horizon. Two-point
perspective can be used to draw the same objects as one-point perspective, rotated: looking at
the corner of a house, or looking at two forked roads shrink into the distance.
C.
Three Point Perspective Three-point perspective is usually used for buildings seen from above (or below). In addition to
the two vanishing points from before, one for each wall, there is now one for how those walls
recede into the ground. This third vanishing point will be below the ground. Looking up at a tall
building is another common example of the third vanishing point.
D.
Arial Perspective or Atmospheric Perspective Aerial perspective, also called atmospheric perspective , method of creating the illusion of depth,
or recession, in a painting or drawing by changing color to simulate changes effected by the
atmosphere on the colors of things seen at a distance.
E.
Horizon Line In 'real life', the horizon is where the land (or sea) and sky meet. In painting perspective, it's the
level your eyes are at, an imaginary line to which things recede.
F.
Vanishing Points In short, in a one and two Perspective drawing, the vanishing point is that spot on the horizon
line to which the receding parallel lines diminish. In three point perspective there is also a
vanishing point above or below the horizon.
G.
Foreshortening Foreshortening is the visual effect or optical illusion created when an object is drawn in
perspective that causes an object or distance to appear shorter than it actually is because it is
angled toward the viewer.
H.
Overlapping Overlapping in art is the placement of objects over one another in order to create the illusion of
depth. Painting is a two-dimensional artistic expression. It has length and width but no depth. It
is necessary, therefore, for artists to provide viewers with some sort of perspective in establishing
size and distance in paintings.
V.
Drawing A.
Pencil An implement for drawing or writing (lettering), consisting of a thin rod of graphite, colored wax,
chalk, charcoal, or another such substance which can be sharpened to a fine point, either encased
in wood or held in a mechanical holder.
B.
Charcoal Compressed burned wood used for drawing.
C.
Soft or French Pastel Pigments mixed with gum and water, and pressed into a dried stick form for use as crayons.
Works of art done with such pigments are also called pastels.
D.
Oil Pastel Oil pastels consist of pigment mixed with a non-drying oil and wax binder. The surface of an oil
pastel painting is therefore less powdery, but more difficult to protect with a fixative. Oil pastels
provide a harder edge than "soft" or "French" pastels but are more difficult to blend.
E.
Ink Basic India ink is composed of a variety of fine soot known as lampblack, combined with water to
form a liquid. A binding agent such as gelatin or, more commonly, shellac may be added to make
the ink more durable once dried. Simple black ink once widely used for writing and printing and
now more commonly used for drawing.
VI.
Painting A.
Water Color Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth and Ireland), also aquarelle from
French, is a painting method in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a watersoluble vehicle (gum arabic). The term "watercolor" refers to both the medium and the resulting
artwork.
B.
Acrylics Synthetic paints, with pigments suspended in a synthetic vehicle made from polymerized acrylic
acid esters, the most important of which is polymethyl methacrylate. First used by artists in the
late 1940s, their use has come to rival that of oil paints because of their versatility. They can be
used on nearly any surface, in transparent washes or heavy impasto, with matte, semi-gloss, or
glossy finishes. Acrylic paints dry quickly, do not yellow, and can clean up with soap and water.
C.
Temperas Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of
colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium. Often used in schools because it is
inexpensive and easy to clean up.
D.
Oils Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying
oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent
such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the
dried oil paint film. Oil paints have been used in Europe since the 12th century for simple
decoration, but were not widely adopted as an artistic medium until the early 15th century.
E.
Pigment Pigment is the substance or powder that makes up the color of a paint. Pigments are either
organic (derived from plant or animal sources, e.g. ivory black, indigo) or inorganic (derived from
salts or metallic oxides e.g. ocher, cobalt blue).
F.
Medium / Base / Vehicle The term medium has various meanings. For starters, it's used for the substance that binds the
pigment in paint. In acrylic paints, this is a synthetic substance. In oil paints, it's a natural oil
such as poppy. In tempera, it's egg yolks. In watercolor it is gum arabic. G.
Solvent A liquid substance that is able to dissolve the medium of a paint. For example, turpentine is the
solvent for oil paint and water is the solvent for watercolor, acrylic and tempera paints. Solvents
can be used to thin paints and to clean brushes and palettes.
VII. Sculpture / Ceramics A.
Pottery Ceramics ware made of clay and hardened by firing at low temperatures. It is made for a specific
function.
B.
Sculpture Three-dimensional forms or forms in relief created by carving, assemblage, or modeling.
C.
Sculpture Processes 1.
Clay Forming 2.
Additive Clay may be formed by a variety of methods: slab, wheel, coil, pinch, and mold. These methods
may be combined, or used singly.
A sculptural process in which the form is built up or objects are added to the work
3.
Subtractive A process of removing, carving, or taking away matter in order to create sculpture.
D.
Types of Sculpture 1.
Relief A type of sculpture in which forms project from a background.
2.
Sculpture in the Round 3.
High relief vs. Bas-relief
A freestanding sculpture meant to be seen from all sides.
High relief sculpture is a form that extends at least halfway out of the background.
Bas-relief is a type of sculpture that has less depth to the faces and figures than they
actually have, when measured proportionately (to scale). This technique retains the
natural contours of the figures, and allows the work to be viewed from many angles
without distortion of the figures themselves.
E.
Stages of Clay 1.
Greenware When a piece of pottery has dried completely it is referred to as a piece of Greenware. This means it
has lost all water through evaporation and has no flexibility.
a. Plastic
Still wet and very pliable and ready to be formed using any method.
b. Leatherhard
This stage of drying is characterized by a loss of water through evaporation that results in the
clay’s stiffening and losing some flexibility. This is an excellent time to refine the piece: carving
excess clay, adding handles or decorative elements, trimming the footring of a bowl, etc.
a. Bone Dry
Completely dry, no longer workable, ready for Bisque Firing
2.
Bisque Firing After your work has dried to greenware on the shelves, and enough piec- es have
accumulated to fill a kiln, the work is loaded into the kilns for the first of two firings. This
firing is to approximately 1800 degrees F. This hardens the ware making it easier to
handle without breaking during the glazing process.
3.
Bisqueware 4.
Glazing 5.
Glazefire in a Kiln Forms that have been Bisque Fired
The glaze, a mixture of ground glass, clays, coloring materials and water, is applied to the
bisque pot by dipping, pouring, spraying, brushing, sponging, or some combination of
these techniques.
This is done after the glazes have been applied. The form is complete after this firing. VIII. Printmaking Any of several processes used to make multiples of a single image. A print is a shape or mark made
from a block or plate or other object that is covered with wet color (usually ink) and then pressed onto a
flat surface, such as paper or textile.
A.
Block Printing A linoleum block or plate used for making relief prints. The linoleum can be cut in much the same
way woodcuts are produced, however its surface is softer and without grain. Also refers to a print
made with this method. Linoleum cuts have been made by Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954)
and Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973).
B.
Intaglio Printing The collective term for several graphic processes in which prints are made from ink trapped in the
grooves in an incised metal plate. Etchings and engravings are the most typical examples.
C.
Printing Terms 1.
Plate Surface that the image is cut or created on for printing
2.
Press Machine that applies pressure to transfer an image form a plate to paper.
IX.
Contextual Understanding A.
Functions of Art The Personal Functions of Art
• Psychological Expression
• Love, Sex and Marriage
• Death and Morbidity
• Spiritual Concerns
• Aesthetic Expression
The Social Functions of Art
• Political and Ideological Expression
• Social Description
• Satire
• Graphic Communications
The Physical Functions of Art (Utilitarianism)
• Architecture
• Large Scale Design
• Crafts
• Industrial Design
• Furniture B.
Essentialism Essentialist Ideas – A way to interpret artwork…
• Representationalism (Imitationalism / Realism)
“…the idea that the most important thing about a work of art is the realistic presentation of
subject matter. People with this point of view feel that an artwork should imitate life and
that it should look like life before it can be successful.” – Ragans
• Formalism (Structuralism)
“According to formalism an artwork is good to the extent that its parts cooperate, reinforce
each other, join to form a perfect unity. What makes a formal unity perfect? Three
aspects of the answer to this question are (1) it is complex but not confusing, (2) it is
balanced but not boring, and (3) it is finished but not overdone. A formalist unity,
moreover, is not tainted or compromised by associations with practical life, personal
needs, or social concerns.” – Feldman
• Expressionism (Emotionalism)
“According to this standard of value, an artwork should be judged by its capacity to
communicate feelings and ideas honestly, vividly, and forcefully. Expressivists care about
the validity and persuasiveness of the message conveyed through
visual form.” - Feldman
• Instrumentalism
“Instrumentalism is the ground of judgment that locates the goodness of an artwork in its
capacity to serve an institution, an institution that is more important than art.” -Feldman
X.
History A.
Conceptualism Conceptualism began in the first half of the c20th. Not as an artistic movement but as a
philosophy. As a questioning of what was taken for granted. The work of the Dadaists is
fundamentally conceptualist. It questions the meaning of art itself. The work of Marcel
Duchamp, in particular, is fundamentally conceptualist: Duchamp argued that the idea of a work
matters more than its physical representation.
And it is this statement, more than any other, which underpins all Conceptualist art.
As an artistic ‘movement’ Conceptualism itself arose in the 1960’s as a reaction against the
contemporary art of that period.
Conceptualist art may not be recognizable as art. A pile of sweets on the floor may be art or a
word written on a wall. It may only exist for a moment, and survive afterward in notes or
photographs, which document the work without being the work itself. Conceptualism is also about
liberation. Any medium can be used to portray the artistic idea. Or even, as was the case with
Fred Forest's blank space, no real medium at all.
B.
Other Art Periods See Modern Art I and II: 1830-1975
XI.
Sketchbook A.
Brainstorming A process for stimulating the creative production of ideas. Although it is often used by small and
large groups of people, the brainstorming process can serve just one or two people too.
"The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas."
Linus Pauling (1901-), American chemist and winner of two Nobel Prizes.
B.
Thumbnails A very small and loose drawing used in the development of ideas.
C.
Composition Planning Planning the placement or arrangement of the elements of art in a work. It is often useful to
discuss these in reference to the principles of design, as well as to the relative weight of the
composition's parts.
XII. Other Important Terms / Concepts A.
Calligraphy From two Greek words meaning “beautiful writing”, this is precise, elegant handwriting or
lettering done by hand.
B.
Sumi-­‐E A type of Chinese ink-painting.
C.
Medium vs. Media The materials and tools used to make a work of art. in art, the difference is strictly one of
singular versus plural.
"The medium is oil on canvas."
"This is a mixed media work, using hand tinted photographs."
D.
Painting vs. Drawing A picture may be called either a drawing or a painting. The principal reason to call it one or the
other has nothing to do with whether it has ever been wet nor if it was created with brushes but
rather, it has to do with whether the resulting image is more linear or more painterly.
E.
Impasto A thick or lumpy application of paint, or deep brush marks (brushstrokes), as distinguished from a
flat, smooth paint surface. May also refer to a thick application of pastel.
F.
Gum Arabic Gum arabic or gum acacia - Hardened sap secreted by acacia trees, used in solution as a
medium, vehicle, or binder for water-soluble pigments.
G.
Form Shadow A Form Shadow is the shadow on a subject on the side that is not directly facing the light source.
H.
Cast Shadows A Cast Shadow is what we generally think of as a shadow. It is created by something blocking the
light source. For example, the shadow of a tree, created by the sunlight, that falls on the ground.
I.
Highlights A highlight is the brightest area on a form and is usually the section closest to the light source.
J.
Reflected Light Reflected light is a faint light reflected or bounced back on an object from the surfaces close to
and around it. Reflected light is especially noticeable on a sphere.