Drawing Vocab Terms Flashcards
Abstract/Abstraction
Referring to art that simplifies, selectively emphasizes,
reorganizes, or distorts qualities of a real-life image rather than art that tries to
represent details accurately.
Anomaly
A disturbance or difference occurring in a predictable pattern or
composition
Atmospheric Perspective (aerial perspective)
An illusionary devise used to
create space on a flat surface, based upon the observations that nearer objects
tend to have more contrast in value, more intense and warmer color, more sense
of volume, and more visible detail and are generally more sharply defined than
objects seen in the distance.
Axis
An implied line passing centrally through a shape or form
Balance
A sense of visual equilibrium achieved by manipulation of the various
visual elements and forces within a composition to achieve a feeling of unity and
wholeness.
Asymmetrical Balance (Informal Balance)
Distribution of dissimilar visual weights in such a way that those on either side seem to offset each other and create stability
Symmetrical Balance (Formal Balance)
Distribution of equal visual weight around a central point or axis creating stability
Cliché
Referring to a visual image which has lost impact and seems trite through extensive overuse
Composition (Design)
The organization of visual elements, subject matter and
concept into a unified whole that is more important than its parts
Content
The message, narrative, meaning or subject of a work
Economy
deletion of nonessential details to reveal the essence of the form
Extension
The amount of area a color occupies in a composition. It includes
the size of the area the color occupies and the number of areas the color occurs
Figure (Positive)
That shape in a design which appears as the object, or more positive
Ground (Negative)
That shape surrounding the figure, which appears as
background or field upon which the figure sits
Figure/Ground Reversal
The ambiguous relationship between a figure and
ground when both can be perceived as figure and ground depending on an individual’s choice of organization
Flat Space (two-dimensional space)
The emphasis on the arrangement of
visual elements on the picture plane with no attempt to create the illusion of depth
Focal Point
That which is given enough emphasis to become the most noticeable element in a design
Gestalt
Around 1912, the Gestalt psychologists developed the theory that patterns or groupings are the primary elements of perception. They emphasized that the whole cannot be studied by analyzing the parts. One must a have a concept of how the whole functions in order to determine what relationship one part has to another and to the whole
Gestalt Principles
Principles which describe our natural tendency to grasp
something as a whole rather than seeing it as a series of separate elements. These contribute to our sense of unity in a composition
Grouping
The joining together and orderly (or logical) relationship of parts, which lead to visual recognition and comprehension
Continuity
States that perception tends to flow in the simplest path
resulting in our tendency to perceive separate elements closely aligned as one continuous grouping. When two or more elements are “lined up” with each other, they form an implied line.
Closure
Visual elements in close proximity, though incomplete or separated by gaps, will visually join to become a form or shape
Proximity
Grouping elements that are placed closed together
Similarity
Grouping of similar or the same elements-same size, value, shapes.
Harmony
Agreement or consonance between visual elements or concepts within a visual expression. A composition based on harmony usually relies less on variety and contrast and more on rhythm and repetition.
Hierarchy
A body of elements arranged according to rank, authority, or capability. The presentation of certain elements as more important that others in a design for the purpose of creating a feeling of stability, sequence, and movement.
