NSSCO Art and Design 6149 flashcards
NSSCO Art and Design 6149 · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Line of action
- A single continuous line drawn through the main thrust of a pose. It is established first in gesture drawing to keep the figure balanced and dynamic.
- Negative space
- The area around and between objects rather than the objects themselves. Drawing it helps correct proportion because it bypasses the brain's tendency to substitute symbols for observed shapes.
- Cross-contour line
- A line that wraps around a three-dimensional form, like a wireframe. It describes volume and surface direction rather than the outer silhouette.
- Foreshortening
- The apparent compression of an object's length when it points toward or away from the viewer. Overlap and diminishing spacing reinforce the effect.
- Vanishing point
- The point on the horizon line where parallel receding lines appear to converge in linear perspective. One-point perspective uses a single such point.
- Chiaroscuro
- Strong contrast between light and dark used to model three-dimensional form. A consistent light source determines where highlight, core shadow and cast shadow fall.
- Complementary colours
- Pairs opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as red and green. Placed side by side they intensify; mixed together they neutralise toward grey or brown.
- Tint, shade and tone
- A tint is a colour lightened with white, a shade is darkened with black, and a tone is muted by adding grey or its complement.
- Impasto
- Paint applied thickly so it holds the texture of brush or palette knife. The raised surface catches raking light and adds physical depth.
- Glazing
- A thin, transparent layer of paint applied over a fully dry underlayer. Several glazes build luminous depth that opaque paint cannot achieve directly.
- Aerial perspective
- A depth cue in which distant forms appear paler, cooler and less detailed because atmosphere scatters light. Warm foreground colours appear to advance against it.
- Armature
- An internal support frame, usually wire or wood, that holds a soft modelling material such as clay in position while the form is built up.
- Additive and subtractive
- Additive processes build material up, as in modelling or assemblage. Subtractive processes remove it, as in carving stone, wood or plaster.
- Slip
- Clay mixed with water to a creamy consistency. It is used as a glue on scored, joined clay parts and also as a decorative surface coating.
- Maquette
- A small-scale model made to test proportion, mass and structure before committing to a full-size sculpture or three-dimensional design.
- Relief sculpture
- A three-dimensional form that projects from but remains attached to a background surface. It is viewed mainly from one side, unlike free-standing sculpture.
- Visual hierarchy
- The deliberate ordering of elements by size, weight, colour and position so the viewer reads the most important message first and secondary information afterwards.
- Legibility versus readability
- Legibility is how easily single characters are distinguished. Readability is how easily a whole block of text is read as continuous content.
- Justified text
- Text aligned flush to both left and right margins. Spacing is stretched to fit, which can open uneven gaps called rivers down the column.
- Wordmark
- A logo consisting only of the organisation's name set in distinctive typography, with no separate pictorial symbol. It relies on type treatment for recognition.
- Grid system
- A framework of columns, margins and modules that governs where elements sit on a page. It keeps multi-page documents consistent in proportion and placement.
- Formal analysis
- Examining a work through the elements of art and principles of design alone, before considering meaning, context or personal judgement about its success.
- Contextual analysis
- Relating an artwork to its period, patron, function, available materials and the artist's intentions. It explains why a work looks as it does.
- Impressionism
- A movement from the 1870s using broken colour, visible brushwork and outdoor light effects. Monet, Renoir and Degas are central figures.
- Cubism
- A movement from about 1907 that fractured form into multiple simultaneous viewpoints on one plane. Picasso and Braque developed it together in Paris.
- Renaissance perspective
- The system of linear perspective with a vanishing point, combined with anatomical study and classical proportion, developed in European art from about 1400 to 1600.
- Twyfelfontein engravings
- Prehistoric rock engravings in north-west Namibia, mostly of animals and geometric signs, attributed to San hunter-gatherer artists and now a World Heritage Site.
- Primary research
- Information gathered first-hand for a project, such as your own drawings, photographs, interviews or site visits, rather than taken from published sources.
- Visual diary
- A dated record of experiments, annotations, failures and decisions made during a project. It evidences the development of ideas rather than only finished outcomes.
- Annotation
- Written commentary beside artwork stating what was done, why, what was learned and what will be tried next, linking each image to the investigation theme.
- Artist reference
- The study of another artist's technique and intent in order to apply the finding to your own work. Direct copying without transformation is not investigation.
- Portfolio coherence
- The quality of a portfolio whose selected works form a logical sequence from initial observation through development to resolved outcome, rather than an unrelated best-of collection.