Basic Drawing VOCABULARY

blind contour: line drawings produced without looking at the paper. Such drawings are done to heighten the feeling for space and form and to explore hand and eye coordination.

proportion: the relative size of part-to-part and part to whole within an object or composition.

picture plane: the surface on which you are drawing.

gesture: a spontaneous representation of the dominant physical and expressive attitudes of an object.

value: transition from light to dark across the surface of the artwork. White is the lightest value and black is the darkest. The value halfway between the two is called middle gray.

modeling: The change from light to dark across a surface; a technique for creating spatial illusion.

core of a shadow: the darkest part of the shadow

highlight : where the light hits the object portrayed. It will be white of the paper.

reflected light: light that bounces up from surrounding surfaces and on to the object in areas that are in shadow.

optical grays: the eye’s involuntary blending of hatched or cross hatched lines to produce the sensation of tone.

modeled line: a line that tapers and widens to represent the variations of the object. Such variations of line weight allow the objects to recede or push forward on the picture plane.

elements of design:

Lines: Actual or Implied

Shapes: Geometric. Organic. Abstract. Non-objective

Texture: Physical. Visual

Value: High Contrast. Low Contrast.

Color:

principles of art
strategies for organizing elements into a
harmonious whole

Unity and Variety

Balance

Emphasis

Rhythm

Scale and proportion

Economy

organizational line: the line that provides the structure and basic organization for a drawing. Also called dicative or directional line

atmospheric perspective: achieving the illusion o f three-dimensional space in a pictorial work of art. Sometimes called aerial perspective, it is based on the fact that as objects recede into the distance and their clarity of definition and surface contrast diminish appreciably.

eye level: the height at which your eyes are located in relation to the ground plane. Things seen by looking up are above eye level (worm’s eye view) and things seen by looking down are below eye level (bird’s eye view).

convergence: in the system of linear perspective, parallel lines in nature appear to converge as they recede.

vanishing point: in one point perspective, the single spot on the horizon where all parallel lines converge

figure/ground shift: a visual phenomenon occurring when shapes in drawing alternate between positive and negative identities.

positive shape (space): the pictorial, flat counterparts of forms in the real world.

negative space: a space or shape described or surrounded by negative space.

diptych: art in which the picture plane is divided into two pictorial parts, yet is still considered one piece of work.

unity and variety: a piece in which the unity or similarities in the work are interrupted by contrast or variety to create tension and interest within the piece.

contrast: pronounced differences within the picture plane most often achieved through value variation, texture and line variation. Objects in contrast form a relationship based on attractions of opposites that intensifies their respective differences and helps bind the drawing together.

emphasis: giving some areas or objects more contrast or detail to give a focal point to the piece or to establish artist’s perception.

balance: symmetry within the piece.

movement: the pattern of movement created within the piece that leads the viewer across the surface. this can be achieved by line weight, shading or object placement.

repetition and rhythm: the organizational relationship created by line, tone, textures and movement in the picture plane.

economy: simplifying. Limiting the things being represented to emphasize those that are. Less is more.

symmetry: near or exact matching of left and right sides of a composition.

asymmetry: two sides are not the same but still balance each other.

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

invented Texture: an invented, nonrepresentational pattering that may derive from actual texture but does not imitate it. May be highly stylized

simulated Texture: the imitation of the tactile quality of a surface; can range from a suggested imitation to a highly illusionistic duplication of the subject's texture.

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

nonobjective: work that intends no reference to concrete objects or persons, unlike abstraction, in which observed forms are sometimes altered to seem nonobjective.

conceptual drawing: a drawing that in its essential form is conceived in the artist's mind, rather than derived from immediate visual stimuli