Comprehensive Arts and Performance Reviewer

Vocabulary flashcards covering the Elements and Principles of Art, artistic mediums including painting and printmaking, photography types, crafts, sculpture, musical instruments, Philippine indigenous music, literature elements, music composition, choreography, and various dance genres.

Elements of Art

The basic components or building blocks used to create an artwork.

Line

A series of connected points.

Shape

An area enclosed by a line or lines; two-dimensional figures with height and width.

Form

Three-dimensional figures with dimensions of height, width, and volume.

Space

Pertains to emptiness and may be positive or negative space.

Positive Space

The part of an artwork enclosed in a shape.

Negative Space

The opposite part surrounding the shape in an artwork.

Color

The visible spectrum of radiation reflected from an object.

Hue

The name of the color.

Intensity/Saturation

The purity of color.

Value

The property of color pertaining to its lightness or darkness.

Texture

The visual and tactile surface characteristics of an artwork.

Perspective

The viewer’s perspective in certain arts and designs.

Bird’s Eye View

An elevated perspective seen from above.

Worm’s Eye View

A perspective seen from below; the opposite of Bird’s Eye View.

Eye Level View

A neutral and balanced perspective where the lens is positioned at the subject’s eye level.

Principles of Art

Guidelines on how the Elements of Art are organized and used to create an effective artwork.

Balance

The distribution of visual weight that creates stability.

Contrast

The juxtaposition of opposing elements to highlight differences and draw attention.

Emphasis

Draws the viewer’s attention to a particular element to create a focal point or center of attention.

Movement

Guides the viewer’s eye through the artwork using motion or composition.

Pattern

The repetition of specific visual elements to introduce rhythm and add structure.

Rhythm

The recurrence and repetition of visual elements to create flow and movement.

Unity

A sense of cohesiveness and completeness where everything belongs together.

Proportion

The relationship of the size of elements and scale relative to the overall composition.

Harmony

Different parts of an artwork work well together to create balance and a proper relationship.

Variety

Achieved using different sizes, colors, shapes, and textures to create visual interest; should be balanced with unity.

Drawing

A two-dimensional medium on a flat surface using lines and areas of tone through shading.

Painting

Expression of ideas and emotions using shapes, lines, colors, tones, and textures to produce sensations of volume, space, movement, and light on a flat surface.

Oil Painting

Pigments mixed in oil, usually on canvas, with a long drying time.

Tempera

A fast-drying painting medium using a water-soluble binder, usually egg yolk.

Watercolor Painting

Transparent layers of pigment that remain water-soluble even when dry.

Pastel Painting

Also called ‘dry painting’; color in stick form with no drying time.

Fresco

Color mixed with water applied on fresh plaster for ceilings and walls; forms a permanent bond when dry.

Acrylic Painting

A water-soluble, quick-drying, and non-toxic medium resistant to cracking and yellowing.

Coffee Painting

Coffee mixed with water to create an aged or antique effect with different colors and tones.

Spray Painting

Quick-drying, weather-resistant paint used by mural and graffiti artists on plaster, brick, and metal.

Printmaking

Art prints created using a hard surface (matrix) such as wood or metal plate and a printing press.

Matrix

The hard surface used for printing in printmaking.

Etching

A method of making prints where the design is incised into a metal plate by acid.

Engraving

A technique of making prints from metal plates where the design is incised using a burin (cutting tool).

Photography

An image created by the exposure of light on a light-sensitive material.

High Speed Photography (HSP)

Used for subjects moving too fast to be seen by the naked eye.

Night Photography

Photography done after dark, commonly following the rule of thirds for composition.

Macro Photography

Close-up photography of very small subjects to make them appear much larger.

Reflection and Mirror Photography

A type of photography that uses reflections to create a sense of depth.

Craft

The skilled creation of handmade or traditionally produced objects using specialized tools and techniques.

Textile Crafts

The art of working with fabrics, fibers, and threads to create useful and decorative items.

Paper Crafts

Crafts involving folding, cutting, gluing, and layering paper or card.

Decorative Crafts

Crafts made for practical and decorative purposes in spaces like homes and offices.

Fashion Crafts

Creative crafts used to express personal style.

Sculpture

A three-dimensional artwork made by shaping or molding materials such as wood, metal, marble, glass, and bronze.

Carving

A sculpture technique involving cutting or removing material like wood, stone, ivory, or bone.

Modelling

The sculpture technique of shaping soft material, especially clay.

Casting

A sculpture technique where liquid material is poured into a mold and allowed to harden.

Assemblage

A sculpture technique that combines different found materials and objects into one artwork.

Musical Instrument

Any device used to produce musical sound.

Percussion Instruments

Instruments that produce sound by being struck, shaken, or scraped.

Idiophones

Percussion instruments where the instrument’s own material vibrates to produce sound, such as bells or rattles.

Membranophones

Instruments where sound comes from the vibration of a stretched membrane, like a drum.

Stringed Instruments

Instruments that produce sound through vibrating strings that are plucked, bowed, or struck.

Keyboard Instruments

Instruments that produce sound by pressing keys, buttons, or levers.

Wind/Aerophone Instruments

Instruments that produce sound through the vibration of a column of air.

Woodwind Instruments

Wind instruments traditionally made of wood, though modern versions may use plastic or metal.

Brass Instruments

Metal instruments where players produce sound by buzzing their lips into a mouthpiece.

Kubing

A bamboo jaw harp from the Philippines traditionally used for communication and courtship.

Kulintang

A set of 5–9 gongs arranged by pitch, played during festivals, weddings, and healing ceremonies.

Kudyapi

A traditional stringed instrument associated with Lumad and Moro communities, often used for love songs.

Kalaleng / Tongali

A traditional flute; the Tongali is played using the nostril to produce a mournful sound.

Plot

What happens in a story and the order of its events (beginning, middle, and end).

Point of View

The angle or position from which a story is told.

First Person

A point of view where the narrator is a character and uses pronouns like I, me, my, and our.

Second Person

A point of view where the reader becomes the main character, using the pronoun ‘you’.

Third Person

A point of view narrated from outside the characters; can be omniscient or all-knowing.

Protagonist

The main character of a story.

Antagonist

The character who acts against the protagonist.

Setting

The time, place, and environment where a story happens.

Theme

The central idea, concept, or message of a story.

Pitch

How high or low a note sounds in music.

Rhythm (Music)

The pattern of strong and weak beats in music.

Dynamics

How loud or quiet the music is.

Pulse

The beat of the music.

Timbre

The ‘tone color’ used to distinguish different sounds or instruments.

Choreography

The art of arranging dance movements for a performance.

Dance

The rhythmic movement of the body, usually with music, to express ideas, emotions, or for enjoyment.

Ballet

A foundational dance style that usage music and movement to tell stories.

Jazz

A dance style emphasizing originality and improvisation, using bold movements and body isolations.

Tap

A dance where shoes with metal taps are used to create rhythmic patterns with the feet.

Hip-Hop

A dance style including breaking, popping, locking, and krumping where personal interpretation is key.

Swing

A lively dance for couples involving swinging, spinning, and jumping to swing music.

Belly Dance

A dance characterized by sharp and rolling movements of the hips and abdomen.

Latin Dance

A fast-paced, sensual partner dance with hip movements, such as the Cha-cha-cha or Samba.

Folk Dance

Dances developed by groups or communities rather than being created by a choreographer.