Maharashtra HSC Drawing key terms

A mark left by a drawing tool moving across a surface. It may be straight, curved, thick, thin, broken or continuous, and it describes edges, direction, movement and texture in a drawing.

A line that follows the outer edge and the main inner ridges of a form. It describes shape and structure instead of surface texture, so a form's volume can be recorded quickly and clearly.

The visual beat created when lines, shapes, colours or values repeat with regular or flowing change. It guides the eye through a composition and gives it a sense of pace, movement and continuity.

The arrangement that makes one area of a picture attract attention first. Artists create it with contrast, isolation, position or extra detail, keeping other areas quieter so the focal point stands out clearly.

The sense that visual weight in a composition is distributed so the picture does not seem to tip. It may be symmetrical, asymmetrical or radial, depending on how shapes and tones sit around the centre.

The quality that makes all parts of a picture look as though they belong together. It comes from repeating colours, shapes and textures, and from making every element serve the whole composition instead of competing.

The three-dimensional aspect of an object, its height, width and depth. On flat paper, form is suggested by shading, overlapping edges, perspective and by lines that curve away from the viewer.

The empty area around and between the objects in a drawing. Shaping it carefully defines the subject's outline and it can be used deliberately as a design element in composition.

The use of light and dark tones to make objects look solid. A drawing shows a lit side, shadow side, core shadow, reflected light and cast shadow, all consistent with one chosen light source.

The shadow an object throws onto another surface when it blocks the light. Its shape, length and direction reveal where the light source sits, how high the object is and how far it is from the surface.

The size relationship between the parts of an object and between that object and its neighbours. Comparing height, width, angle and interval helps a drawing look convincing rather than merely detailed.

A measuring method in which a pencil or straight edge is held at arm's length to compare lengths, angles and alignments in the subject, and those comparisons are then transferred carefully to the paper.

The point on the horizon line where parallel edges that recede into the distance appear to meet. Each separate set of parallel lines has its own vanishing point in a perspective drawing.

The horizontal line at the viewer's eye height, which rises and falls as the artist stands or sits. It fixes where vanishing points lie and how high or low the viewer seems to be.

A perspective set-up in which the front face of the object stays parallel to the picture plane while the depth edges recede to a single vanishing point, giving a street or room a centred focus.

A perspective set-up used when a corner of the object faces the viewer. Two sets of parallel edges recede to two separate vanishing points on the horizon, as when drawing a building at an angle.

The apparent shortening of a limb or object that points towards or away from the viewer. It is needed when drawing an extended arm, a figure lying down or a road running away.

The name of a colour family, such as red, blue or yellow-green, regardless of whether that colour is light, dark, bright or dull.

The lightness or darkness of a colour or of grey, considered apart from its hue. A value scale from white to black helps an artist judge shading and keep a drawing's lights and darks organised.

Colour pairs that sit opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as red and green or blue and orange. Placed side by side they look stronger; mixed together they dull towards grey.

A tint is a colour lightened by adding white; a shade is a colour darkened by adding black. Both change value while the hue family stays recognisable.

Reds, oranges and yellows read as warm and tend to come forward; blues, greens and violets read as cool and seem to recede. The contrast helps create depth and mood.

A thin, transparent layer of diluted colour, as in watercolour, brushed over paper or over an earlier layer. Light passes through it, and the white of the paper provides the highlights.

Paint that completely hides the surface underneath, such as gouache or poster colour. It allows solid flat areas, clean edges and overpainting, which transparent washes cannot easily give.

A very quick drawing that captures a figure's movement, pose and overall thrust in a few flowing lines rather than outline or detail. Most gesture studies are finished in under a minute.

An imaginary single curve running through a figure from head to foot that expresses its main movement and weight shift. Finding it first stops a pose from looking stiff or off balance.

A method of checking body proportions by measuring a figure in head-lengths. A typical adult stands about seven to seven and a half heads tall, with joints falling at predictable head counts.

A single shape, line or image used as the building block of a decorative design, such as a paisley, flower or geometric unit, then arranged into borders or all-over patterns.

A design unit drawn or printed again at regular intervals across a surface. Straight, half-drop and mirror arrangements tile an area without gaps and keep the decoration even.

A three-dimensional design carved or modelled so that it rises slightly from a flat background. Shadows falling from the raised parts make it read as sculptural while it remains attached to the surface.

A drawing made from remembered observation instead of a live subject. The artist recalls typical shapes, key landmarks and the arrangement, then rebuilds the scene with convincing light, scale and detail.

A picture invented by the artist rather than copied from observation. Remembered and imagined elements are combined into one arrangement with a clear subject, setting, mood and focal point.

The way distant objects appear paler, bluer, softer in contrast and less detailed because of the atmosphere. Landscape artists use it to separate near, middle-distance and far forms.

Careful drawing of plants, leaves, trees, rocks or water from direct observation. The aim is to record growth pattern, edge quality, texture and light rather than a general symbol for the object.

Small, finely detailed Indian paintings, usually on paper or ivory, with fine brushwork, flat bright colour and stylised figures. Mughal, Rajput and Pahari schools are the best-known examples.

Buddhist rock-cut caves in Maharashtra whose wall paintings, from roughly the 2nd century BCE to the 5th century CE, show religious and courtly scenes with shading, gesture and crowded narrative composition.

Watercolours made by Indian artists for British patrons in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They combine Indian subjects and fine detail with European perspective, shading, and paper and album formats.

A nineteenth-century painter from Kerala known for oil paintings of Hindu mythological subjects in European academic style. Cheap oleograph reproductions carried his images into homes across India.