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Abstraction

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An alteration of forms, derived from observation or experience, in such a way as to present essential rather than particular qualities

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Actual Texture

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The tactile quality of a surface, including the mark made by a tool, the surface on which it is made, and any foreign material added to the surface.

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Aerial Perspective

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The means by which atmospheric illusion is created.

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Aggressive Line

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An emphatically stated line.

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Ambiguous Space

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Space that is neither clearly flat nor clearly volumetric, containing a combination of both two- and three-dimensional elements.

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Ant's Eye View

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Objects seen from below. Also called worm's eye view.

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Bird's Eye View

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Objects seen from above.

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Blind Contour

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A contour exercise in which the artist never looks at the paper

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Calligraphic Line

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Free-flowing line that resembles handwriting, making use of gradual and graceful transitions.

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Cast Shadow

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One of the six categories of light (6)

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Chiaroscuro

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Modeling, the gradual blending of light to dark to create a three-dimensional illusion.

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Composition

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The organization or arrangement of the elements of art in a given work.

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Constricted Line

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A crabbed, angular, tense line, frequently aggressively stated.

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Content

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The subject matter of a work of art, including its emotional, intellectual, symbolic, thematic and narrative connotations, which together give the work its total meaning.

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Continuous Line Drawing

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A drawing in which the implement remains in uninterrupted contact with the picture plane creating enclosed shapes.

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Contour Line

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Line that delineates both the outside edge of an object and the edges of planes, as opposed to outline, which delineates only the outside edge of an object.

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Core of Shadow

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One of the six categories of light. (4)

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Cross-Contour Line

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Line that describes an object's horizontal or cross contours rather than its vertical contours.

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Elements of Art

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The principle graphic and plastic devices by which an artist composes a physical work of art. The elements are color, line, shape, texture, value and volume.

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Eye Level

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An imaginary horizontal line parallel to the viewer's eyes.

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Form

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In its broadest sense, the total structure of a work of art - that is, the relation of the elements of art and the distinctive character of the work. In a narrower sense, the shape, configuration, or substance of an object.

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Formal Elements

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The art elements of color, line, shape, texture, value.

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Frottage

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A textural transfer technique; the process of making rubbings with graphite or crayon on paper laid over a textured surface.

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Gestural Approach

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A quick, all-encompassing statement of forms. In gesture, the hand duplicates the movement of the eyes, quickly defining the subject's general characteristics - movement, weight, shape, tension, scale, and proportion.

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Highlight

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One of the six categories of light (1).

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Implied Line

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A line that stops and starts again; the viewer's eye completes the movement that the line suggests.

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Implied Shape

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A suggested or incomplete shape that is mentally filled in by the viewer.

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Informational Drawing

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A category of objective drawing, including diagrammatic, architectural, and mechanical drawing. Informational drawing clarifies concepts and ideas that may not be actually visible, such as a chemist's drawings of molecular structure.

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Invented Texture

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An invented, nonrepresentational patterning that may derive from actual texture but does not imitate it. Invented texture may be highly stylized.

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Light

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In the graphic arts, the relationship of light and dark patterns on a form, determined by the actual appearance of an object and by the type and direction of light falling on it. There are six categories of light as it falls over a form: Highlight, Light Tone, Shadow, Core of Shadow, Reflected Light and Cast Shadow.

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Light Tone

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One of the six categories of light (2).

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Line

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A mark made by an implement as it is drawn across a surface.

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Lyrical Line

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A subjective line that is gracefully ornate and decorative.

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Mass Gesture

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A type of gesture drawing in which the drawing medium is used to make broad marks to create mass rather than line.

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Mechanical Line

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An objective line that maintains its width unvaryingly along its full length.

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Negative Space

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The space surrounding a positive shape, sometimes referred to as ground, empty space, interspace, field, or void

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Objective

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Free from personal feelings; the emphasis is on the descriptive and factual rather than the expressive or subjective.

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One-Point Perspective

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A system for depicting three-dimensional depth on a two-dimensional surface, dependent upon the illusion taht all parallel lines that recede into space converge at a single point on the horizon, called the vanishing point.

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Organizational Line

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The line that provides the structure and basic organization for a drawing. Also called indicative or directional line.

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Outline

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Line that delineates only the outside edge of an object, unlike contour line, which also delineates the edges of planes.

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Perspective

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A technique for giving an illusion of space to a flat surface.

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Pictorial Space

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In the graphic arts, the illusion of space. It may be relatively flat or two-dimensional, illusionistically three-dimensional, or ambiguous space.

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Picture Plane

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The two-dimensional surface on which the artist works.

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Planar Analysis

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An approach in which shape functions as plane, as a component of volume.

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Plane

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A two-dimensional, continuous surface with only one direction.

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Plastic

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The appearance of volume and space in a two-dimensional painting or drawing.

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Proportion

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Comparative relationship between parts of a whole and between the parts and the whole.

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Reflected Light

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One of the six categories of light. (5)

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Rubbing

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A means of transferring texture from an actual tactile surface to a flat surface.

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Scale

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Size and weight relationships between forms.

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Scribble-Line Drawing

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A type of gesture drawing using a tight network of tangled line.

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Shadow

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One of the six categories of light (3).

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Shape

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A two-dimensional, closed, or implicitly closed configuration. The two categories of shape are organic and geometric shape.

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Sighting

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The visual measurements of objects and spaces between objects.

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Structural Line

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Line that helps locate objects in relation to other objects and to the space they occupy. Structural lines follow the direction of the planes they locate.

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Subjective

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Emphasizing the artists emotions or personal viewpoint rather than informational content.

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Sustained Gesture

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A type of gesture drawing that begins with a quick notation of the subject and extends into a longer analysis and correction.

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Tenebrism

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Extreme contrast of light and dark.

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Texture

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The tactile quality of a surface or its representation. The three basic types of texture are actual, simulated and invented texture

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Three-Dimensional

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Having height, width and depth.

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Thumbnail Sketch

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A small, quick preparatory drawing to note ideas.

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Two-Dimensional

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Space that has height and width with little or no illusion of depth, or three-dimensional space.

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Two-Point Perspective

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A system for depicting three-dimensional depth on a two-dimensional surface, dependent upon the illusion that all parallel lines converge at two points on the horizon.

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Value

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The gradation of tone from light to dark, from white through gray to black.

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Value Scale

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The gradual range from white through gray to black.

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Vanishing Point

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In one-point perspective, the single spot on the horizon where all parallel lines converge.

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Volume

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The quality of a form that has height, width and depth; the representation of this quality.

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Works on Paper

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A classification that includes drawings, prints, photography, book illustrations and posters.

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