Punjab PSEB Senior Secondary Drawing and Painting flashcards

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

Elements of art

The basic visual components used to build any artwork: line, shape, form, space, texture, value and colour. They are organised by principles such as balance, contrast and unity.

Gesture line

A rapid, loose drawing that captures the action, weight and direction of a figure or object rather than its outline. Usually drawn in under two minutes to keep the pose fresh.

Cross-hatching

A shading technique in which sets of parallel lines cross at angles. Denser, darker or more layered crossings create deeper values; ink and graphite work well for it.

Contour drawing

A drawing that follows the visible outer edge of a form. Cross-contour lines wrap across the surface to describe its three-dimensional topography and volume.

Charcoal fixative

A spray or liquid applied over a finished charcoal or pastel drawing to bind loose pigment to the paper and reduce smudging. Apply in thin coats from a distance.

Bhimbetka rock shelters

Prehistoric painted rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh, India. They show hunting and dance scenes in mineral reds, whites and greens, among the earliest Indian art evidence.

Ajanta caves

Buddhist cave complex in Maharashtra with murals from roughly the 2nd century BCE to the 6th century CE. Paintings use earth pigments on prepared lime plaster.

Nataraja bronze

Chola-period lost-wax bronze of Shiva as lord of dance, set within a ring of flame. It symbolises creation and destruction and is a landmark of South Indian metalwork.

Mughal miniature painting

Court painting on paper in opaque watercolour and gold, flourishing under Akbar and Jahangir. Known for fine detail, naturalism, portraiture and illustrated manuscripts.

Bengal School

Indian art movement around 1900 led by Abanindranath Tagore. It revived Mughal and Rajput subjects and wash technique in reaction to Western academic naturalism.

Progressive Artists' Group

Bombay group founded in 1947 including Souza, Raza, Husain and Ara. It pushed modern Indian painting toward expressionism and abstraction after independence.

Contrapposto

An Italian term for a pose in which weight rests on one leg, tilting the pelvis and shoulders in opposite directions. It gives the figure natural balance and movement.

Sfumato

Leonardo da Vinci's technique of extremely soft, gradual transitions between tones so edges seem to dissolve into smoke. Used most famously in the Mona Lisa.

Tenebrism

A Baroque lighting style of strong darkness with a single raking light source, associated with Caravaggio. It heightens drama and pushes figures forward from the background.

Analytic Cubism

The 1909-1912 phase of Cubism by Picasso and Braque. Forms are broken into facets and shown from several viewpoints in a near-monochrome palette of browns and greys.

Linear perspective

A Renaissance system for showing depth in which parallel receding lines converge at a vanishing point on the horizon, matching the viewer's eye level.

Two-point perspective

A drawing system using two vanishing points on the horizon, used for corner views of rectangular objects. Vertical edges stay vertical unless three-point perspective is used.

Rule of thirds

A composition guide that divides the picture into a three-by-three grid. Placing the subject or horizon on the lines or intersections gives a livelier, less static image.

Atmospheric perspective

A depth cue in which distant forms appear lighter, cooler, bluer, lower in contrast and less detailed because of air and moisture between viewer and subject.

Foreshortening

The apparent compression of a form that points toward the viewer, so its length shortens and its near end looks larger. Essential for reclining and outstretched figures.

Complementary colours

Pairs opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as red and green or blue and orange. Mixed physically they neutralise; placed side by side they create maximum contrast.

Colour value and chroma

Value is how light or dark a colour is; chroma or saturation is its purity. Adding white makes a tint, black makes a shade, and grey makes a tone.

Simultaneous contrast

The effect in which a colour looks different depending on its surroundings. A mid-grey appears darker on white and lighter on black, altering perceived value and hue.

Warm and cool colours

Reds, oranges and yellows read as warm and appear to advance; blues, greens and violets read as cool and recede. Warm light usually produces cool shadows.

Core shadow

The darkest band on a form's shadow side, lying just beyond the halftone. Reflected light appears within the shadow but never exceeds the halftone in brightness.

Cast shadow

The shadow a form throws onto surrounding surfaces, falling opposite the light source. Its edge is sharp near the object and softens with distance from it.

Ellipse in still life

The drawn circle seen in perspective, such as a jar rim. It flattens as it nears eye level and opens as it moves above or below it.

Plein-air painting

Painting outdoors from direct observation of landscape. It demands quick blocking of big shapes and values before the light and weather change.

Nature study

Close observational drawing of plants, leaves, bark or animals, recording structure, venation, texture and growth pattern before any stylisation for design.

Head proportion rule

In an adult face the eyes sit about halfway down the head, and the brow-to-chin distance divides into thirds at brow, nose base and chin.

Figure canon

The standard proportion in which an adult figure measures roughly seven and a half to eight head-lengths tall, with wrist level near the crotch.

Thumbnail sketch

A small, quick value or line study made before a final artwork to test composition, focal point and light-dark pattern cheaply and rapidly.

CMYK versus RGB

CMYK is the subtractive ink model for print; RGB is the additive light model for screens. Colours can shift between them, so print work is proofed.