art history unit 2

Elements of Art

The lines, shapes, forms, values, colors, space, and textures of a piece.

Principles of Design

The balance, movement, rhythm, contrast, emphasis, pattern, and unity a piece conveys.

Line

A continuous un-interrupted stroke.

Vertical Lines

Static lines that imply stability and formality.

Horizontal Lines

Static lines that imply stability and calm.

Diagonal Lines

Lines that look like a rise and fall, implying instability, excitement, and tension.

Zig-zag Lines

Intersecting lines that convey confusion and nervousness.

Curved Lines

Conveys movement, calm, or activity depending on the angle and coil of the curve.

Contour Lines

Edges and boundaries of an object, usually without internal details.

Gestural Lines

Sketched quickly and freely to indicate the interior details.

Shape

A defined two-dimensional form with boundaries.

Geometric Shapes

Mathematical proportional shapes that don't usually appear in nature.

Organic Shapes

Irregular and abnormal shapes that frequently naturally appear in nature.

Form

A defined three-dimensional object that appears to have weight, mass, depth, and a physical presence.

Value

Darkness and light of a color.

Tinting

Adding white to a color to lighten it.

Toning

Adding black to a color to darken it.

Chiaroscuro

An Italian Renaissance dramatic lighting method to define objects' forms.

Hatching

Drawing parallel lines that appear darker when closer together.

Cross-hatching

Drawing intercepting parallel lines that appear darker when more heavily crossing and crowded.

Color

The reflection of light off a surface based on wavelength, organized by size of wavelength on the color wheel.

Hue

The name of a color.

Primary Colors

Colors that cannot be made through a combination of other colors, consisting of red, yellow, and blue.

Secondary Colors

Products of combining the primary colors, consisting of orange, purple, and green.

Tertiary Colors

Products of combining primary and secondary colors, such as red-orange and blue-green.

Tints

Versions of a color produced by tinting, adding white.

Shades

Versions of a color produced by toning, adding black.

Analogous Colors

Colors that are next to each other on the color wheel.

Complementary Colors

Colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel.

Warm Colors

Colors that establish a tone relating to physical warm temperatures.

Cool Colors

Colors that establish a tone relating to physical cool temperatures.

Space

The distance between objects.

Positive Space

Space filled with an object's physical presence.

Negative Space

Empty space.

Atmospheric Perspective

Suggesting distance by lacking details in objects meant to be further away.

Linear Perspective

Suggesting distance by showing parallel lines visually converging as it nears the vanishing point.

Vanishing Point

The point where converging lines meet on the horizon in Linear Perspective.

One-Point Perspective

A perspective that indicates implied space by converging lines at a single vanishing point.

Two-Point Perspective

A perspective that indicates implied space by converging lines at two different vanishing points.

Texture

The way a surface feels.

Actual Texture

The shaping of three-dimensional sculptures to indicate texture.

Implied or Visual Texture

The application of techniques such as patterns, light, and impasto to visually suggest the way an object would feel.

Impasto

The layering of paint to create a real texture on a paint canvas.