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Art glossary

Plain-language definitions of the drawing and painting terms used in this course.

Alla prima: Painting wet-into-wet in a single session, without waiting for layers to dry. → Lesson 54
Analogous colors: Hues that sit next to each other on the color wheel, like yellow, yellow-orange and orange. → Lesson 45
Atmospheric perspective: Distant objects look lighter, less contrasted and bluer because of the air between them and the viewer. → Lesson 30
Blend mode: In digital art, the rule a layer uses to combine with the layers below (multiply, screen, overlay…). → Lesson 56
Blending: Softening the transition between values, with a tool, a finger or layering. → Lesson 24
Block-in: The first stage of a drawing: big shapes and proportions placed with light, simple lines. → Lesson 16
Burnishing: Pressing hard with a colored pencil (or a colorless blender) to fill the paper grain and get a smooth, shiny finish. → Lesson 50
Cast shadow: The shadow an object throws onto another surface, away from the light. → Lesson 23
Chiaroscuro: Strong contrast between light and dark used to model form and create drama. → Lesson 22
Complementary colors: Hues opposite each other on the color wheel. Side by side they vibrate; mixed, they neutralize. → Lesson 45
Composition: The arrangement of shapes, values and colors within the picture. → Lesson 27
Contour: A line that follows the edges of a form, outside or inside. → Lesson 12
Contrapposto: A relaxed standing pose with the weight on one leg, so the hips and shoulders tilt in opposite directions. → Lesson 33
Core shadow: The darkest band on a form, where it turns away from the light. → Lesson 23
Cross-contour: Lines that wrap around a form, like rings on a tube, to describe its volume. → Lesson 12
Cross-hatching: Layers of parallel lines crossing at angles to build darker values. → Lesson 8
Edge: The transition where one shape meets another. Edges can be hard, soft or lost. → Lesson 25
Ellipse: A circle seen at an angle. Its degree tells how open or narrow it looks. → Lesson 7
Eye level: The height of the viewer’s eyes. In perspective it is the same as the horizon line. → Lesson 17
Fat over lean: Oil painting rule: each layer should have more oil than the one below so the painting does not crack. → Lesson 54
Focal point: The area of a picture that attracts the most attention. → Lesson 27
Foreshortening: The visual compression of an object that points toward or away from the viewer. → Lesson 21
Form: A three-dimensional shape: it has height, width and depth. → Lesson 10
Gesture: The movement, energy and rhythm of a pose, captured quickly. → Lesson 32
Ghosting: Rehearsing a line by moving your hand above the paper before drawing it. → Lesson 5
Glazing: Applying a thin, transparent layer of color over a dry layer to modify it. → Lesson 52
Gouache: An opaque, matte water-based paint, reactivated by water when dry. → Lesson 53
Halftone: The middle values between the light and the core shadow on a form. → Lesson 23
Hatching: Parallel lines used to create value and texture. → Lesson 8
Highlight: The brightest spot on a form, where light reflects directly toward the viewer. → Lesson 23
Horizon line: A horizontal line at the viewer’s eye level, where vanishing points sit. → Lesson 17
Hue: The name of a color family: red, yellow, blue, and so on. → Lesson 44
Leading lines: Lines in a picture that guide the eye toward the focal point. → Lesson 29
Lifting: Removing wet or dry watercolor with a damp brush, tissue or sponge to lighten an area. → Lesson 52
Line of action: A single curve that captures the main direction and energy of a pose. → Lesson 32
Line weight: The thickness and darkness of a line, varied to show depth, light and importance. → Lesson 6
Local color: The actual color of an object, without the effects of light and shadow. → Lesson 46
Mannequin: A simplified figure built from basic forms, used to construct poses. → Lesson 33
Medium: The material used to make art (graphite, ink, watercolor…). In painting, also a liquid added to paint. → Lesson 2
Negative space: The space around and between objects. → Lesson 15
Notan: A design study using only two values, light and dark, to test a composition. → Lesson 28
Occlusion shadow: The darkest accent where two forms touch and light cannot reach. → Lesson 23
Palette: The set of colors used in a work, or the surface where paint is mixed. → Lesson 47
Perspective: A system for showing three-dimensional space on a flat surface. → Lesson 17
Plein air: Painting or drawing outdoors, directly from life. → Lesson 41
Proportion: The size relationship between parts of a subject. → Lesson 14
Reflected light: Light that bounces off nearby surfaces into the shadow side of a form. → Lesson 23
Rendering: Adding value, texture and detail to make a drawing look finished and solid. → Lesson 24
Rule of thirds: Dividing the picture into a 3×3 grid and placing key elements on the lines or intersections. → Lesson 27
Saturation: How intense or pure a color is, from gray to fully vivid. → Lesson 44
Sight-size: A method where the drawing is made the same size as the subject appears from a fixed viewpoint. → Lesson 14
Silhouette: The outer shape of a subject filled with a single value. → Lesson 43
Sketchbook: A book of drawing paper for practice, studies and ideas. → Lesson 4
Stippling: Building value with many small dots. → Lesson 8
Terminator: The line on a form where light turns into shadow. → Lesson 23
Thumbnail: A tiny, quick sketch used to plan a composition. → Lesson 28
Tooth: The texture of paper that grabs pigment. More tooth holds more material. → Lesson 2
Underpainting: A first monochrome or simple layer that establishes values before color. → Lesson 54
Value: How light or dark something is, regardless of its color. → Lesson 22
Vanishing point: The point on the horizon where parallel lines appear to meet. → Lesson 17
Visual library: Your memory of how things look, built through observation and studies. → Lesson 43
Wash: A layer of diluted paint spread across an area, typical of watercolor and ink. → Lesson 51
Wet-on-wet: Applying paint onto wet paper or wet paint for soft, blurry edges. → Lesson 52