Odisha CHSE +2 Vocational Graphic Art cheat sheet

Elements of art are line, shape, form, space, texture, value and colour; principles of design are balance, rhythm, emphasis, proportion, unity, harmony, variety and movement.

Line types: vertical suggests stability and height; horizontal suggests calm and rest; diagonal suggests motion and tension; curved suggests flow and softness.

Balance is symmetrical (mirror), asymmetrical (equal visual weight with unlike forms) or radial (elements radiate from a centre point).

Value is the relative lightness or darkness of a tone; a value scale of 1 to 10 is used to test contrast in a composition.

Form is three-dimensional and encloses volume; shape is two-dimensional and is bounded by line, colour or value.

Positive space is occupied by the subject; negative space is the surrounding ground and is used deliberately to define silhouette.

Golden ratio is approximately 1:1.618; rule of thirds divides the frame into a 3x3 grid with focal points at intersections.

Unity is achieved by repetition, proximity, alignment or a consistent colour scheme; variety prevents unity from becoming monotony.

Colour theory: primary (red, yellow, blue in pigment), secondary (orange, green, violet), tertiary (mixes of primary and secondary).

Hatching uses parallel lines to build value; cross-hatching overlays a second set of lines at an angle; stippling uses dots; scumbling uses scribbled loops.

Gesture drawing captures action and mass in short timed poses (30 seconds to 2 minutes); contour drawing traces only edges; blind contour forbids looking at the paper.

Pencil grades: H series is hard and light (9H hardest), B series is soft and dark (9B softest), HB is the middle grade.

One-point perspective uses one vanishing point on the horizon; two-point uses two; three-point adds a vertical vanishing point for height or depth.

Proportion of the adult human figure is commonly 7.5 to 8 head-lengths; the midpoint of the body falls near the pubic bone.

Sighting and thumb-and-pencil measurement compare angles and lengths on the subject before committing marks to the paper.

Chiaroscuro models light and shadow; the standard shadow set is highlight, light, halftone, core shadow, reflected light and cast shadow.

Foreshortening compresses forms that point towards the viewer; overlapping and diminishing scale create depth cues in a flat drawing.

Grid systems (column, modular, baseline) align elements; the baseline grid controls the vertical rhythm of body text.

Visual hierarchy is controlled by size, weight, colour, contrast, position and white space, in that order of typical strength.

Contrast pairs that read reliably: dark on light, light on dark, saturated on neutral; low-contrast pairs fail accessibility checks.

Alignment rule: every element should share a visual connection with another element on the page; avoid mixing centred and flush-left text in one block.

Repetition of a colour, typeface or shape creates unity; proximity groups related items and separates unrelated ones.

Rule of thirds and the golden ratio are composition aids for placing the focal point off-centre.

White space (negative space) is an active design element; adequate margins and leading improve legibility.

Colour modes: RGB for screen, CMYK for process printing, Pantone spot colours for exact brand matching beyond CMYK gamut.

Type anatomy: baseline, x-height, cap height, ascender, descender, counter, bowl, stem, serif and terminal.

Font classifications: serif (old style, transitional, modern, slab), sans serif (grotesque, geometric, humanist), script, display and monospace.

Point size is measured in points (1 point = 1/72 inch); leading is the baseline-to-baseline distance and is usually 120-145% of type size.

Tracking adjusts space uniformly across a range of characters; kerning adjusts space between a specific pair; leading is vertical line spacing.

Measure (line length) of 45-75 characters per line is comfortable for print body text; shorter measures suit captions.

Typographic hierarchy uses size, weight, case, colour and spacing; avoid more than two or three type families in one layout.

Widows and orphans are single lines stranded at the top or bottom of a column; fix them by reflowing text, not by hard returns.

Justified text needs hyphenation and word spacing control; flush-left ragged-right text avoids rivers and uneven word gaps.

Relief family: woodcut, linocut and wood engraving; ink sits on uncarved raised areas.

Intaglio family: etching, engraving, drypoint, mezzotint and aquatint; ink is held in incised lines and pressed out under high pressure.

Planographic family: lithography (grease and water repel) and offset lithography; surface is flat with no incised or raised areas.

Screen printing (stencil family) pushes ink through a mesh; a separate screen is needed for each colour.

Edition numbering uses the fraction form: the lower figure is the total edition, the upper is the number of that impression; A/P marks an artist's proof.

Four-colour process printing uses cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black); halftone dots of varying size simulate continuous tone.

Screen ruling is measured in lines per inch (lpi); finer rulings hold more detail but demand better paper and press control.

Registration is the alignment of successive colour impressions; registration marks and trapping prevent misregistration gaps.

Paper weight is given in gsm (grams per square metre); coated stock holds fine halftones, uncoated stock suits text-heavy work.

Raster images are pixel grids (Photoshop, GIMP); vector images are mathematical paths (Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Inkscape).

Resolution: 300 ppi at final print size for print, 72 ppi for screen; upsampling cannot restore detail that was never captured.

File formats: PSD layered working file, TIFF lossless print, JPEG lossy, PNG lossless with transparency, SVG and PDF vector-friendly.

Colour depth: 8 bits per channel gives 256 levels per channel; 16-bit mode gives smoother gradients and more editing headroom.

Layers, masks and adjustment layers are non-destructive; erasing or flattening is destructive and should be deferred.

Bleed of 3 mm and safe margin of about 5 mm are standard for print-ready artwork; crop marks sit outside the trim.

Vector paths use anchor points and bezier handles; fewer points give smoother curves than many closely spaced points.

Export presets: PDF/X-1a for print with CMYK and embedded fonts; sRGB JPEG or PNG for web and social media.

AIDA model sequences attention, interest, desire and action; the headline usually carries attention and the call to action carries action.

Copy structure for print ads: headline, subhead, body copy, call to action, logo and tagline.

Unique selling proposition states the single benefit that distinguishes a product; a tagline is a repeated short brand phrase.

Media classification: print (newspaper, magazine), outdoor (hoarding, transit), broadcast (TV, radio), digital (banner, social, search).

Poster legibility rule: the message must read at the intended viewing distance; fewer than about seven words in the headline aids recall.

Brand identity consistency requires fixed logo clear space, minimum size and approved colour values across all media.

Thumbnail, rough, comprehensive and final artwork are the standard stages of commercial artwork approval.

Copyright and model releases are required before publishing photographs of identifiable people or protected artwork.

A portfolio should show range (drawing, typography, layout, print, digital) plus depth (process sketches, iterations, final outcome).

Standard portfolio documentation per project: brief, research, thumbnails, development, final artwork and a short reflective note.

Mount artwork on neutral board with consistent margins; label each piece with title, medium, dimensions and date.

Present digital portfolios as a single PDF under about 20 MB or as a hosted link; keep image long edge near 1920 px for screen viewing.

Photograph flat artwork square-on under even, diffuse light; include a scale reference for three-dimensional work.

Print-ready project checklist: correct trim size, 3 mm bleed, CMYK, 300 ppi images, fonts embedded or outlined, no RGB elements.

Sketchbook evidence of ideation, annotation and revision carries marks in practical assessment alongside the final piece.