Definitions of 'Art' Words

This Post will serve as an Art Word Dictionary for easier reference to words every artist should know by heart. I did a couple searches for an Art Word Dictionary and came up fairly empty so I hope this will be useful to others as well.

Anatomy - The structural make-up of a figure. This is how the person or creature is put together. Where do their arms go? How do they connect? What connects them? Anatomy has to look believable. Reference is necessary as often as possible to help sell this element of your piece. Guesswork on Anatomy will only cheapen your piece and leave the viewer wondering what it is about the figure that bothers them so much.

Composition - The basic organization of objects within a piece. This is your layout. How the various different parts of your piece are arranged and how they interact with one another along lines of proportion and space. Composition is dependent on a certain element of balance and symmetry too. How the whole of the piece reads when viewed has everything to do with how each part is placed. Sometimes a subtle shift of even one element can change the entire composition.

Contour - The outline of a form. Usually referring to a curving or irregular figure. Also could be the actual line representing the outline. Could also be the general form or structure of something.

Critique - This is a critical viewing and commentary on a piece of art. Critiques should be sandwhiched or weighted toward the positive giving at least one, preferably two, positives to every negative comment. Constructive criticism is not bashing, it's helping.

Hue - another word for color.

Local Color - essentially the color your eye tells you to expect of a thing. (I.e. A tree is supposed to be a brown trunk with green leaves. Brown and Green are the local colors of a tree.)

Monochromatic - Using any Shade, Tint, or Tone of one Color.

Perspective - The artistic technique of forcing depth and dimension into a two-dimensional piece to create the illusion of a three-dimensional view. This is achieved by making use of vanishing points, horizon lines, point-of-view, curved lines, and certain cinematic effects such as the mimicry of a fisheye lens.

Primary Colors - Red, Yellow, and Blue.

Secondary Colors - Orange, Green, and Violet (purple is a crayon). Created by mixing two Primary Colors to form a new color.

Shade - Color + Black.

Tint - Color + White.

Tone - Color + Gray.

Value - The lightness or darkness of a color. Often associated with the Tint, Tone, or Shade of a Hue.