Formal Visual Analysis: Elements of Composition and Principles of Art

Vocabulary flashcards covering the formal visual analysis elements of composition and principles of art from the lecture notes.

Formal Visual Analysis

An important technique for organizing visual information used to translate what you see into written words.

Art

A subjective and creative expression of emotion, knowledge, or idea that can take on a variety of forms and mediums.

Line

The path created when an object moves from one point to another; varieties include horizontal, diagonal, vertical, straight, curved, thick, thin, dashed, dotted, rough, smooth, zig-zag, and implied.

Value

How light and dark a given color or hue is, evaluated along a scale.

Low Contrast

A visual state where there are many shades of grey or lots of tone.

High Contrast

A visual state characterized by fewer shades, producing a heavy, dark, or smooth appearance.

Shape

A flat visual element defined by its length and width (2D).

Geometric Shapes

Precise, structured shapes such as squares, hexagons, rectangles, and circles.

Organic Shapes

Free-form, one-of-a-kind shapes that inherit line quality.

Form

An element that occupies space in a real (sculpture) or implied (painting) way, where 3D is implied or real and 2D shapes become forms (such as circles becoming spheres or triangles becoming cubes).

Tromp l'oeil

A technique meaning 'fools the eye' where three-dimensional form is implied through the illusion of light and shadow.

Space

An element centered around point of view (POV) that encompasses the area within and immediately outside of an artwork.

Site-Specific Art

Art that is designed for one specific space.

Positive Space

The area in an artwork that objects occupy.

Negative Space

The area around objects in an artwork.

Color Field Painters

Painters from the 1950s to 1960s who reinforced ideas that paintings are flat 3D spaces where color is not about symbolism.

Color

An element of art created by light reflected from a surface.

Primary Colors

The fundamental colors consisting of red, yellow, and blue.

Secondary Colors

Colors created by mixing primaries, consisting of green, orange, and violet.

Tertiary Colors

Colors created by mixing primary and secondary hues, such as red-orange and blue-green.

Tint

Any color mixed with white.

Shade

Any color mixed with black.

Tone

A color combined with black and white.

Pathetic Fallacy

When weather impacts or is impacted by human emotions.

Texture

Tangible, tactile imagery referring to the look or feel of a surface, which can be real or implied (such as smooth or rough).

Impasto

Layered paint applied to a canvas that creates physical texture.

Balance

The comfortable arrangement of things in an artwork, classified as symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial.

Radial Balance

A form of balance that is equal around a single point.

Contrast

A principle of art defined as putting different colors next to each other.

Movement

A principle of art describing motion within an artwork that is implied or real.

Emphasis

The stressing of important elements in a work, placing one element over another.

Pattern

A repeating shape or motif, which can be regular (predictable) or irregular.

Proportion

The relationship of the size of images on a piece, involving normal vs. abnormal relationships and principles such as the golden ratio.

Unity

A principle of art where everything aligns perfectly and works together.

Headline

Bold text in an article that reveals the topic and is intended to provide a hook for the reader.

Buzzwords

Popular words used at the time of publication to make an article appear current, up-to-date, and relevant.

Embedded Interviews

A feature in magazine articles where experts or participants on a topic are interviewed and their direct quotations are incorporated throughout the copy.

Editorial

A piece of writing that seeks to persuade and reflects the specific point of view of the author, the media organization's editors, or its publishers.

News Report

A journalistic text designed to inform readers about current events using verified facts and interviews.

Juxtaposition

The technique of placing two images or concepts beside each other to create meaning, contrast, or make a statement.

Exaggeration (Cartoons)

A cartooning technique where artists overdo or distort the physical characteristics of people or things to emphasize a point.

Labeling (Cartoons)

The practice of writing text directly onto objects or people in a cartoon to make it unequivocally clear what they represent.

Symbolism (Cartoons)

The use of concrete objects or visual metaphors to represent larger abstract concepts, ideas, or institutions.

Allusion

A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or event of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance.

Irony

The noticeable difference or contradiction between the way things actually are and the way they should be.

Panels

The square or rectangular framed boxes in comics and cartoons that are arranged in sequence and read in a linear progression.

Gutters

The blank white spaces separating adjacent panels on a comic page.

Captions (Comics)

Boxes of narrative text separate from speech bubbles that provide exposition and tell the story.

Speech and Thought Bubbles

Graphic enclosures containing text that allow the reader to distinguish between the external dialogue and internal thoughts of comic characters.

Spatial Mechanics

The intentional artistic arrangement and use of space both inside individual frames and between frames in a comic.

Temporal Mechanics

The method through which time is visually manipulated, slowed down, accelerated, or stopped across sequential comic panels.

Graphic Weight

The amount of shading, contrast, and visual heaviness applied in comic art to establish mood and tone.

Emanata

Visual symbols such as lines, tear drops, sweat dots, exclamation marks, or onomatopoeia drawn near a character to indicate action, emotion, or sound.

Cartoonification

The degree of abstraction in cartoon art, evaluated along a spectrum that ranges from photorealistic or lifelike to simplified.

Punchline

The concluding joke or dramatic reveal of a comic strip, traditionally delivered in the final frame of a four-panel sequence.

Icons (Infographics)

Simplified graphic images used in infographics to quickly symbolize specific ideas or data points from the accompanying text.

Snippets (Infographics)

Brief, concise chunks of written text integrated into multimodal infographics to explain data without clutter.

Comics Vocabulary Diagram

An illustrated layout showing the core conventions of comic art: panel border, gutter spacing, speech bubble, thought bubble, emanata markings, and caption box.

Elements of Art

The fundamental visual building blocks used to construct any piece of art: color, form, line, shape, space, and texture.

Principles of Art

The concepts and organizational rules governing how artists apply the elements of art: scale, proportion, unity, variety, rhythm, mass, balance, volume, perspective, and depth.

Color

The visual perception seen by the human eye, organized systemically to explain relationships, interactions, and optical characteristics.

Color Wheel

A circular diagram illustrating color relationships: primary colors at the center, secondary colors in the middle ring, and tertiary colors along the outer perimeter.

Primary Colors

The three foundational hues—red, yellow, and blue—that exist in their purest form and cannot be created by mixing other pigments.

Secondary Colors

Colors created by mixing equal parts of two primary colors: purple (red and blue), orange (red and yellow), and green (blue and yellow).

Tertiary Colors

Colors produced by mixing a primary color with an adjacent secondary color, such as red-orange, yellow-green, or blue-violet.

Value (Art)

The relative lightness or darkness of a hue, adjusted by adding white (tint) or black (shade) to provide gradations for shading and highlighting.

Saturation

The purity or intensity of a color; it is at its highest intensity when fully saturated and appears washed out or dull when black or white is introduced.

Hue, Saturation, and Value Color Cylinder

A 3D cylindrical model representing the dimensions of color: hue around the circumference, saturation radiating outward along the radius, and value increasing along the vertical axis.

Form

An element of art that gives shape to a piece, either as two-dimensional boundaries, three-dimensional mass restricted by height and weight, or free-flowing sculpture.

Line

An element of art defined primarily as a continuous dot or series of dots that can vary in thickness, color, and shape, or be implied by gestures.

Shape

A two- or three-dimensional enclosed area defined by an outline or boundary, categorized as either geometric (structured) or organic (free-form).

Space

The area around, inside, behind, or next to a focal point or structure, described as positive or negative, shallow or deep, and open or closed.

Texture

The tactile feel of a physical surface (rough or smooth) or the optical illusion created with paint and brushwork imitating real surfaces like wood, stone, or fabric.

Balance (Art)

A design principle concerning the structural or visual distribution of weight and stability across a work of art.

Contrast (Art)

The visual difference between colors, tones, or elements used to bring vitality to an artwork, ranging from stark black-and-white to subtle monochromatic variations.

Emphasis

The principle of directing viewer attention to a specific focal point using distinct color contrast, placement, or other elements.

Rhythm / Movement

The principle of art where visual repetition or directional brushwork is utilized to convey kinetic motion, energy, or expanse.

Proportion

The proportional relationship and sizing between different visual elements within a single composition, such as the sky relative to the ground.

Scale

The size of an object or figure in relation to a standard reference or expected real-world dimensions.

Unity

A principle of art that provides cohesiveness, harmony, and a sense of completeness when patterns, shapes, and colors work together.

Variety

The principle that contrasts with unity by introducing visual differences, accents, and unexpected changes to stimulate interest and awareness.

Pattern

The repeated organization of shapes, colors, or motifs across an artwork, which can appear as structured spirals, branching forms, or random repetitions.