Basque PAU Graphic-Plastic Techniques flashcards

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

Cross-hatching

A shading technique in which sets of parallel lines are overlaid at differing angles. Increasing line density and layering darkens the value, modelling volume in drawing and printmaking.

Isometric projection

An axonometric system using three axes at 120 degrees with equal scale on all three. It represents volume without vanishing points, so parallel edges remain parallel.

Vanishing point

The point on the horizon line where receding parallel lines appear to converge in conic perspective. One-point, two-point and three-point perspective are defined by how many are used.

Chiaroscuro

Modelling of light and shade to create the illusion of volume. It organises a light source, core shadow, cast shadow, reflected light and highlight, and became central to Baroque painting.

Contour versus gesture line

A contour line traces the outer edge or boundary of a form; a gesture line is rapid and expressive, capturing movement and overall energy rather than precise outline.

Subtractive colour mixing

Mixing pigments or inks, where each added colour absorbs more light. The primaries are cyan, magenta and yellow; mixing all three in theory approaches black.

Simultaneous contrast

The perceptual shift in which a colour appears changed by its surrounding colour, tending toward the neighbour's complement. A grey looks warm on blue and cool on orange.

Munsell colour system

A pigment-referenced model specifying colour by three coordinates: hue (family), value (lightness from 0 to 10) and chroma (saturation). Widely used for accurate colour specification.

Complementary colour scheme

A scheme built on two hues opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as red and green. It produces maximum contrast and vibration, and mixing them neutralises saturation.

Additive colour mixing

Mixing coloured light, as on screens. The primaries are red, green and blue; combining all three at full intensity yields white, and combining two yields a secondary light colour.

Fat over lean rule

In oil painting, each successive layer must contain more oil and less solvent than the one beneath. Violating it causes the upper film to dry faster and crack.

Intaglio printing

A printmaking family including etching, drypoint and aquatint, where ink is held in incised grooves below the plate surface and transferred under high pressure to damp paper.

Relief printing

A printmaking method such as woodcut or linocut where the non-carved raised surface is inked and pressed onto paper; carved areas remain white.

Watercolour wet-on-wet

Applying wet paint onto damp paper so pigment spreads and edges soften. It produces diffuse bleeding washes, in contrast to wet-on-dry, which yields hard, controlled edges.

Lithography

A planographic print process based on the mutual repulsion of grease and water. A greasy drawing on stone or metal plate accepts ink while dampened blank areas reject it.

Gouache

An opaque water-based paint with higher pigment and chalk content than watercolour. It dries matte, allows light-over-dark layering, and reactivates when rewetted.

Buon fresco

Wall painting in which pigment is applied to wet lime plaster. As the plaster carbonates, the image becomes chemically fixed into the wall surface.

Rule of thirds

A compositional grid dividing the frame into nine equal parts. Placing key elements along the lines or at their intersections produces a balanced, dynamic arrangement.

Gestalt closure

The perceptual tendency to complete incomplete shapes and fill gaps, reading a whole form from partial visual information. Widely exploited in logo and poster design.

Asymmetrical balance

Equilibrium achieved with unequal but visually equivalent masses, adjusted through size, tone, colour and placement rather than mirroring. It produces dynamic, less static compositions.

Negative space

The ground or area surrounding and between depicted forms. It defines silhouettes and carries compositional weight equal to the positive shapes.

Golden ratio

A proportion of approximately 1.618, where the whole relates to the larger part as the larger part relates to the smaller. Used to construct harmonious rectangles and spirals.

Iconography

The identification and interpretation of symbols, attributes and subject matter in an image, such as a saint's emblem or a skull as a memento mori.

Denotation and connotation

Denotation is the literal, descriptive content of an image; connotation is its implied or associated meaning. Analysing both separates what is shown from what is suggested.

Anchorage

Text paired with an image that fixes or narrows its possible readings, directing interpretation. A term from Barthes' analysis of press photography and advertising.

Analytic versus synthetic Cubism

Analytic Cubism (about 1909-1912) fragments form and restricts colour to near-monochrome; synthetic Cubism (about 1912-1914) reintroduces flatter colour, collage and simpler shapes.

Low-angle shot

A camera position below the subject looking upward. It exaggerates height and can make the subject appear dominant, powerful or threatening.

Peirce sign types

Icon resembles its object, index has a causal or physical link to it, and symbol signifies through learned convention, as words or flags do.

Kerning versus tracking

Kerning adjusts spacing between individual letter pairs; tracking adjusts uniform spacing across a whole word or block of text. Both affect legibility and typographic texture.

CMYK versus RGB

CMYK is a subtractive process-printing model using cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks; RGB is an additive screen model using red, green and blue light. Converting between them shifts colours.

Modular grid

A layout structure of intersecting vertical and horizontal guides creating repeated modules. It organises complex editorial pages consistently across multiple spreads.

SCAMPER

A creative ideation checklist prompting substitution, combination, adaptation, modification, putting to other use, elimination and reversal to generate variations on an existing product or idea.