Sketch Book for the Artist

GLOSSARY

Glossary

Accidental drawing Random,

chance mark-making.

Acid-free paper Paper with a

neutral pH that will not darken or

deteriorate excessively with age.

Aerial perspective The effect of the

atmosphere over distance as it

lightens tones and cools colors

progressively toward the horizon.

Air brush A mechanical, pressurized

tool used for spraying fine mists

of smooth color Pigment is

delivered by a jet of air not the

bristles of a brush. Air brushes are

used in the production of comics.

Anamorphic distortion Stretching

an image across a picture surface

so that it can only be understood,

or will only appear normal, when

viewed from a specified point,

usually at an acute angle to the

surface. Used as a correcting

device or pictorial game. Also

called accelerated perspective.

Binder A substance that holds

particles of pigment together in a

paint formulation, and attaches them

to the support—for example,

linseed oil or egg yolk

Bleed The effect of two wet

colors running into one another

or one color applied to a wet

surface and allowed to disperse.

Blending Merging two or more

neighboring colors or tones

together using a tortillon,

for example.

Blotting The use of absorbent

material to lift away excess liquid.

Bracelet shading Curved parallel

lines that follow the contours of

form. Also called ringlet shading.

Body color See Gouache.

Calligraphy Beautiful handwriting.

From the Greek kallos, meaning

"beauty". Words or symbols are

written with a broad-nibbed pen

or brush. In the West pen calligraphy

is used to create formal and

decorative texts. In the Far East

calligraphy is a highly respected art

form, practiced meditatively with a

brush, and given the name Sho.

Camera lucida An optical device

that projects an image of an object

onto a plain surface so that it can

be traced.

Camera obscura A darkened

chamber into which an image of

what is outside is received through

a small opening or lens and focused

in natural color on a facing surface,

such as a screen, rather than

recorded on a film or plate.

Caricature A representation

in which the subject's distinctive

features or peculiarities are

deliberately exaggerated for

comic or grotesque effect.

Cartoon 1. A full-size drawing

made for the purpose of transferring

a design to a painting, tapestry, or

other (usually large) work—see

Pouncing. 2. A humorous drawing

or parody.

Chiaroscuro A 17th-century

Italian term meaning "clear-obscure."

It was first given to tonal paintings

made in one color—see Grisaille.

Later it came to mean highly

contrasted light effects, in which

parts of an image are depicted

very brightly and dramatically

against darkness. Rembrandt is

a great master of chiaroscuro.

Collage Collected materials such

as colored papers, photographs,

newspaper cuttings, and ready-

made objects arranged and

stuck onto a flat surface. From

the French verb coller, meaning

"to stick"

Cold-pressed papers Paper

manufactured with a "not" or

"rough" surface. Rough paper is

made between two blankets that

are rolled through cold cylinders.

The blankets give the paper its

rough texture or "tooth." "Not"

pressed paper is rolled a second

time without blankets through cold

cylinders to produce a smoother

but still slightly textured surface.

The name "not" simply refers to

the fact that the cylinders are not

hot in temperature. See also Hot-

pressed papers.

Composition The arrangement of

the parts of an image to make up

the whole.

Conservation grade Describes a

range of materials that do not decay

and cannot be broken down by

insects. Also called museum grade.

Contour line A line that follows

the shape of a surface.

Contre jour A French term

meaning "against day." Describes

a painting in which the light source

is behind the subject For example,

when a person is painted standing

against a window, the light is

behind him or her.

Crosshatching Parallel lines

drawn across one another at right

angles. A potentially harsh method

of producing tones in a drawing.

Deckle edge The irregular edge

of a sheet of mold-made paper,

as opposed to the straight edge

of a sheet of paper that has been

machine-trimmed.

Diffuse To soften or make less

brilliant.

Dry media Media that are not

wet or oily—for example, charcoal,

pastel, and graphite.

Drypoint A drawing is scratched

directly onto a metal plate with a

metal tool held like a pen. The

plate is then rolled with ink and

polished with a rag, so that ink

remains only in the grooves of

scratched lines. It is put on a

printing press face up. Damp paper

is laid on top, together with a thick

felt blanket The whole sandwich of

layers is then railed through the

press to make a print Drypoint is

a very portable and immediate

method of printmaking.

Engraving 1. A general term that

describes the various processes

of cutting a design into a plate or

block of metal or wood. 2. The

prints taken from these plates or

blocks. Copperplate engravings

were widely used to reproduce

images before photography.

Erasure The act of removing

an image from a surface.

Eye level The imaginary horizontal

plane at the same height as the

average person's eyes. Also called

the horizon line.

Fauvism An early 20th-century

painting movement characterized

by the use of bold, often distorted

forms and vivid colors. The

movement was started by a

group of French artists including

Henri Matisse.

Ferrule The short metal tube

that surrounds and gnps the hairs

of a paintbrush and fixes them

to the brush handle. Sometimes

ferrules are made of plastic or

other materials.

Field In a two-dimensional image,

such as a drawing or painting, the

field is the apparent and believable

space inside the picture. A "shallow

depth of field" means the picture

appears to have only a shallow

space inside it

Fixative Liquid acrylic resin and

lacquer thinner usually applied

as an aerosol spray mist to the

surface of a dry-media drawing.

Fixative lightly glues the drawing

to the surface of the paper to

prevent smudging. It can also seal

a silver point drawing to prevent

the oxidization (browning) of the