Pancyprian Visual Arts flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Sight-size drawing

A method where paper and subject sit at equal distance from the eye, so observed angles and proportions transfer directly at 1:1 scale without conversion.

Plumb line check

A vertical reference held at arm's length used to verify that features align vertically and that tilt angles match the subject before contours are fixed.

Negative space

The shapes between and around a subject. Drawing these gaps exposes proportional errors that are harder to notice when looking only at the object.

Foreshortening

The apparent compression of a form receding toward the viewer. Length shortens along the axis pointing at the eye while width stays comparatively unchanged.

Ellipse minor axis

In a circle seen at an angle, the shorter axis of the resulting ellipse aligns with the receding direction; narrower ellipses indicate more oblique viewing.

Gesture drawing

A rapid drawing of 30 seconds to 2 minutes that captures line of action, weight, and overall pose before any contour or detail is added.

Subtractive primaries

Cyan, magenta, and yellow, the pigment primaries. Mixing all three in theory produces black; practical pigments give a dark neutral brown.

Additive primaries

Red, green, and blue light. Combined at full intensity they produce white, which is why screen colour mixing behaves opposite to pigment mixing.

Complementary contrast

Placing opposite hues such as red and green side by side increases each one's apparent saturation; mixing the same pair neutralises toward grey.

Tint, shade, tone

Tint adds white to a colour, shade adds black or a dark complement, and tone adds grey or complement to reduce chroma without extreme lightening or darkening.

Munsell dimensions

A colour specification system using hue family, value from 0 black to 10 white, and chroma measuring saturation outward from neutral grey.

Glazing

Applying thin transparent paint layers over dried underlayers. Light passes through and reflects back, producing depth that opaque direct painting cannot achieve.

Aerial perspective

A depth cue in which distant forms lose contrast, cool in temperature, and lighten toward the background colour, mimicking atmospheric scattering.

Rule of thirds

A compositional grid dividing the frame into nine parts. Placing key elements on intersections or lines usually reads as more dynamic than centring.

Golden section

A proportional ratio near 1:1.618, dividing a frame at roughly 0.382 and 0.618. Often used for horizon placement and focal points.

Visual hierarchy

The ordered ranking of elements by size, contrast, position, or detail so one dominant focus exists, supported by secondary and tertiary information.

Figure-ground separation

The means by which a subject reads as distinct from its background: differences in value, temperature, edge sharpness, or texture rather than outline alone.

Asymmetrical balance

A composition balanced by unequal elements whose visual weights offset each other through size, darkness, complexity, or distance from centre.

Notan

A two-value design study reducing an image to light and dark masses only, used to test whether the underlying composition works before detail is added.

Armature

An internal support structure, usually wire, wood, or metal, that carries the weight and overhangs of a modelling material such as clay.

Additive versus subtractive

Additive processes build up material, as in modelling clay or plaster. Subtractive processes remove it, as in carving wood or stone.

Plaster setting

Plaster of Paris hardens through an exothermic hydration reaction, mixed at roughly two parts powder to one part water by volume; set plaster cannot be re-softened.

Leather-hard clay

The stage when clay has stiffened enough to hold shape but still accepts carving, joining, and handle attachment without collapsing under its own weight.

Firing shrinkage

Clay bodies contract roughly 5 to 12 percent from wet to fired state, so moulds, joints, and measured forms must allow for that reduction.

Undercut

A recess or overhang that blocks straight removal from a rigid mould, requiring a multi-part split or a flexible mould material such as silicone.

Silica dust hazard

Fine dust from dry clay and plaster can damage lungs, so studios rely on wet cleanup, ventilation, and approved respiratory protection.

Formal analysis sequence

A four-step method: describe what is visible, analyse how elements and principles operate, interpret meaning, then evaluate against stated criteria.

Linear perspective

A system codified in the Renaissance in which parallel receding lines converge at vanishing points on a horizon, producing measurable illusion of depth.

Impressionism

A movement from around the 1870s using broken colour, visible brushwork, and plein-air observation to record transient effects of light rather than fixed form.

Analytic Cubism

The 1907 to 1912 phase of Cubism in which Picasso and Braque fractured subjects into faceted, near-monochrome planes showing multiple simultaneous viewpoints.

Readymade

An ordinary manufactured object presented as art, established by Duchamp around 1917, shifting artistic value from craft to concept and context.

Portfolio annotation

A short caption of roughly 30 to 60 words stating intention, process decision, material choice, and reflection for each included work.