ART ELEMENTS

Words about and related to artistic style and the elements of art

ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE: Refers to the use of bluer, lighter, and duller colors for distant objects in a two-dimensional work of art.

CURVILINEAR: Formed or enclosed by curved lines.

ELEMENTS OF ART: The basic components used by the artist creating a work of art. The elements are color, line, perspective, shape, space, texture, and value.

GEOMETRIC: Any form (sphere, cone, cube, cylinder, pyramid) or shape (rectangle, circle, square, oval, and triangle) derived from principles of geometry.

HORIZON LINE: An imaginary line where the earth meets the sky.

IMPLIED LINES: Lines you cannot see, but felt through composition.

LINE: A point moving in space. Line can vary in width, length, curvature, color, or direction.

LINE DIRECTION: Horizontal, vertical, diagonal.

LINE QUALITY: The unique character of a drawn line as it changes lightness/darkness, direction, curvature, or width.

LINEAR: A painting technique in which importance is placed on contours or outlines.

LINEAR PERSPECTIVE: The illusion of depth and volume on a flat surface. Closer objects appear larger and smaller objects appear far away.

PERSPECTIVE: A technique artists use to create a three-dimensional illusion onto a two-dimensional surface.

MASS: The outside size and bulk of a form; the visual weight of an object; the area occupied by a form.

MIDDLE GROUND: Area of a two-dimensional work of art between foreground and background.

NEGATIVE: Shapes or spaces that are or represent the areas unoccupied by objects.

NONOBJECTIVE: Having no recognizable object as an image. Also called nonrepresentational.

ONE-POINT PERSPECTIVE: A way to show 3-D objects on a 2-D surface. Lines appear to go away from the viewer meet at a single point on the horizon, known as the vanishing point.

SPACE: Space describes the distance or area between, around, above, below, or within things. Space can be two or three dimensional, negative or positive.

ORGANIC: Refers to shapes or forms having irregular edges or to surfaces or objects resembling things existing in nature.

OUTLINE: A silhouette, made with one line defining the perimeter of a form; flat and two-dimensional.

POSITIVE: Shapes or spaces that are or represent solid objects.

SCALE: Relative size, proportion; used to determine measurements or dimensions within a design or artwork.

SHAPE: A two-dimensional area or plane that may be open or closed, free-form, or geometric.

TEXTURE: The surface quality of materials, either actual (tactile) or implied (visual). One of the elements of art.

THREE-DIMENSIONAL: Objects that have height, length, and width. A doll is three-dimensional; paper dolls are two-dimensional. Also called 3-D.

TWO-DIMENSIONAL: Having height and width but not depth; flat. Paper dolls are two-dimensional; a doll is three-dimensional. Also called 2-D.

TWO-POINT PERSPECTIVE: A system to show three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface. The illusion of space and volume utilizes two vanishing points on the horizon line.

VALUE: Value is the lightness or darkness of any color. A color to which black has been added is

called a shade, and has a darker value. A color to which white has been added is called a tint, and has a lighter value.

VANISHING POINT: In perspective drawing the point at which receding lines seem to converge.

VOLUME: Refers to the space within a form (e.g., in architecture, volume refers to the space within a building).

DESIGN

Words about and related to design principles and picture space.

ASYMMETRY: A balance of parts on opposite sides of a perceived midline, giving the appearance of unequal visual weight.

BACKGROUND: The part of the picture plane that seems to be farthest from the viewer.

BALANCE: An equal arrangement of parts in a composition, thereby creating a feeling of equilibrium in an artwork.

CONTRAST: Differences between two or more elements (e.g., value, color, texture) in a composition; juxtaposition of dissimilar elements in a work of art.

DEPTH: The three-dimensional appearance of an artwork.

DOMINANCE: The importance of the emphasis of one aspect in relation to all other aspects of a design.

DESIGN: The plan, conception, or organization of a work of art; the arrangement of independent elements (of art and design) to form a coordinated whole.

EMPHASIS: Special stress given to an element to make it stand out. One of the principles of design

FORM: Form are three-dimensional objects, that is they have height, width, and depth.

HARMONY: The principle of design that creates unity within a work of art. One of the principles of design

MOVEMENT: The application of design that deals with the creation of action. One of the principles of design

PATTERN: A repeated line or shape in a predictable combination.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN: The arrangement of visual elements in an illustration. These include balance, contrast, emphasis, harmony, movement, rhythm, and unity. See individual entries.

PROPORTION: The size relationships of one part to the whole and of one part to another regarding size, quantity, or degree

RHYTHM: Intentional, regular repetition of lines, shapes, or colors to achieve a specific effect or pattern. One of the principles of design.

SYMMETRY: A kind of balance in which both sides of design are exactly alike. Humans have symmetrical balance. See also asymmetry.

TEXT: The printed words in the book.

TEXT LAYOUT: The position and placement of text.

TYPEFACE: The type or lettering used for the text.

UNITY: A principle of design that connects a variety of elements of art and principles of design into a work of art with harmony and balance. One of the principles of design.

COLOR

Words about and related to color and color theory

ADDITIVE COLORS: Additive colors are produced by light; the more light produced, the brighter the colors. RGB (red/green/blue) colors are additive.

ANALOGOUS: Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel.

COLOR: Result of a pigment's ability to absorb, transmit, and reflect light. Sometimes referred to as hue, color is the name, such as red.

COLOR RELATIONSHIPS: Also called color schemes or harmonies, these refer to the relationships of colors on the color wheel.

COLOR SEPARATION: The process through which the four (CMYK) process printing colors are separated into their primary colors to create negative and printing plates.

COLOR WHEEL: A visual representation of the color spectrum; an aid to color identification, choosing, and mixing.

COMPLEMENTARY COLORS: Colors opposite one another on the color wheel.

CMYK: Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) are the four inks used for full color printing. "K" stands for "key" color, which is black. Also known as the four process colors.

GRADATION: Transition of light to dark or dark to light on a tonal scale.

HUE: The exact shade or tint of a color.

INTENSITY: The brightness or pureness of a color.

METAMERISM: When two colors appear to match under one condition but not under another.

MONOCHROMATIC: A color scheme involving the use of only one hue that can vary in value or intensity.

NEUTRAL COLORS: Black, white, gray, and variations of brown.

PIGMENT: The pigment is the element in paint that provides its color.

PRIMARY COLORS: The three primary colors are red, yellow and blue. All other colors are created from the primary colors.

PURE COLOR: A color that has not been mixed with another color.

RGB : RGB (red/green/blue) are the three colors used by computer monitors to display images. 100% of RGB will produce white.

SATURATION: Saturation represents how pure a color is. Low saturation looks light and transparent; opaque color has a high saturation.

SECONDARY COLOR: A color made by mixing two primary colors (red, blue, yellow) to make green, orange, and violet.

SHADE: A pure color to which black has been added. See also pure color.

SUBTRACTIVE COLORS: The subtractive colors are cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK). Combined equally, the three colors (CMY) produce black, while in unequal amounts they create all the other colors.

TINT: A pure color to which white has been added, as opposed to a shade, which is a color to which black has been added; and tone, which is color with gray added to it. See also pure color.

TONE: Color with gray added to it. See also tint and shade.

MEDIA & TOOLS

Words about and related to artistic media and artist tools

ACRYLICS: Paint with a synthetic base that dissolves in water. Colored pigments are added for an opaque finish.

ASSEMBLAGE: A three-dimensional composition in which a collection of objects is unified in a sculptural work.

BLOT: Using an absorbent materials (like a cloth) to soak up or dry excess paint or water is blotting.

BRUSHES: Tools used to apply paint and ink to a surface (paper or canvas).

CANVAS: Tightly stretched strong unbleached cloth, usually of hemp or flax, is fixed over a wooden framework.

GLOSSY: Having a smooth, shiny finish.

CARTOON ART: Cartoon art is reminiscent of cartoons strips in newspapers. It is playful, and often silly. Often seen in fractured tales.

CHALK: The term chalk, when applied to drawing, refers to various natural substances that are somewhat soft and crumbly, formed into sticks for the purpose of drawing.

CHARCOAL: Charcoal is made from wood that is bound together and carbonized in an airtight container to prevent it from turning to ash.

COLLAGE: Three-dimensional design created by gluing flat elements such as newspaper, wallpaper, fabric, wood, photographs, cloth, string, etc. to a flat surface.

CRAYON: Dry color mixed with oily, greasy, or waxy binding media for drawing on paper.

CUT PAPER: Two-dimensional images are achieved by strategically cutting and arranging cut paper.

EASEL: A stand that supports canvases or paper for artists.

FIXATIVE: A type of spray used on artwork created with charcoal, chalk, pencil, or crayons to prevent smudging.

GOUACHE: (pronounced gwash ) A French term used to describe a type of watercolor paint.

GRAPHITE: A form of carbon available in powder, stick, and other forms.

INK: A pigmented liquid used for writing, drawing, and printing.

LINOCUTS OR LINOLEUM CUTS: A substance made by humans which can be engraved and used to make prints.

MATTE: A dull, often rough finish.

MEDIA: Plural of medium.

MEDIUM: The material used to make the artwork. The plural is media.

MIXED MEDIA: A technique involving the use of two or more artistic media and combined in a single composition.

MONOTYPE: A form of printmaking in which no element of the print is repeatable.

OILS: Paint created from mixing colored pigments with an oil base.

PAINT: Colored pigments combined with liquid (called vehicles) which includes a binder that causes it to adhere to a surface.

PALETTE: A board an artist uses to mix paint. It also refers to the array or range of color an artist uses in a particular work or on a consistent basis.

PALLET KNIFE: A tool, the working end of which is flat and is used especially for mixing and/or applying paint.

PASTELS: Pastels consist of pigments that are formed into manageable sticks.

PEN AND INK: Pen and ink is a medium that can stand alone or be used with other mediums to create detail. Pen and ink is often mixed with water to create what is known as "wash" drawing.

PLASTICINE®: A brand name for an oil based modeling clay.

RENDER: The way an artist uses his or her tools and medium to achieve the desired result.

SCRATCHBOARD: A process that includes scratching the illustration in the black paint covering a white board. Colors may be underneath the black paint.

SUPPORT: The material or surface upon which an artist applies the medium.

TEMPERA: Similar to watercolors, except pigments are mixed with a sticky base, such as egg yolk.

TOOLS: Items an artist or illustrator uses, such as brushes, pencils, paint, canvas, paper, and palette.

WASH: A very thin coat of paint, often with the appearance of transparency.

WATERCOLORS: Finely ground-up pigments of color with natural or chemical base that are mixed with water.

Style

Words about and related to artistic style

ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM: In abstract expressionism subject matter is stated in a brief, simplified manner, with emphasis on form, color, and concept.

CARTOON ART: Cartoon art is reminiscent of cartoons strips in newspapers. It is playful, and often silly. Often seen in fractured tales.

FOLK ART: Folk art is a style dependent on traditional techniques and content. It is reminiscent of and evokes a sense of place.

IMPRESSIONISM: Impressionism is a style that captures the moment as it happens, with an emphasis on how light affects objects.

NAIVE: Naive art often has a very childlike quality and is identifiable by a flat, two-dimensional quality.

REPRESENTATIONAL: Representational (realistic) subjects are portrayed with accuracy, shown as they would be in real life.

RETRO STYLE: Retro style evokes a vintage feeling and is reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s.

ROMANTICISM: Romanticism emphasizes the opulent atmosphere around the subject, in the style of old masters.

STYLIZED: Art that adheres to its own conventions, rather than striving for realism; not literal. Examples vary widely and it is the style most attributed to picture books.

SURRELAISM: In surrealism art is represented by imaginative details and startling or bizarre images.

TECHNIQUE

Words about and related to techniques an artist uses when creating illustrations

CONTOUR: The outline or visible edges of a object or figure.

CURVATURE: The act of curving or bending; one of the characteristics of line.

DELINEATE: To draw or trace the outline of an object

DRAWING: Use of lines to depict shapes and forms on a surface such as paper.

DISPLAY: To present or exhibit artwork.

ETCHING: Printmaking method in which lines and image areas are etched into a surface prepared with an acid-resistant substance. The final work is immersed in acid, which leaves depressions in the exposed areas.

FREEHAND: Drawn by hand without the aid of tracing paper or drafting tools.

GESTURE DRAWING: The drawing of lines quickly and loosely to show movement in a subject.

PAINTERLY: A technique in which forms are created by manipulating color and tone. Media used for the painterly technique include, acrylic, gouache, oil, tempera, and watercolor.

PRINTMAKING: The transfer of an inked image from one surface (from the plate or block) to another (usually paper).

SCULPTURAL: Three-dimensional artwork that is either in the round (to be viewed from all sides) or bas relief (low relief in which figures protrude slightly from the background).

SKETCH: An drawing or painting often made as a preliminary study, not the final artwork.

STRUCTURE: The way in which parts are arranged or put together to form a whole.

STYLE: The characteristic expression of individual artists.

SUBORDINATION: Making an element appear to hold a secondary or lesser importance within a design or work of art.

ILLUSTRATION

Words about and related to illustration

BORDERS: Frames used to enclose text or illustrations.

COMPOSITION: The plan, placement, or arrangement of the elements of art and principles of design in a work.

GRAPHIC ART: Visual arts, often linear in character, such as drawing, engraving, and printmaking, used in conjunction with lettering and typography.

FIELD OF ACTION: The page or page spread

FOCAL POINT: The place in a composition which draws the eye, usually because an element is emphasized.

FOREGROUND: Part of a two-dimensional artwork that appears to be closest to the viewer or in the front.

FRAMING: A technique in which the illustrator creates action and movement.

GUTTER: The open space between the pages where the pages form the spine.

ILLUSTRATION: The artistic interpretation of an idea through various techniques, such as drawing, painting, or printmaking.

MOOD: The state of mind or feeling communicated in a work of art, frequently through color.

MOTIF: A unit repeated over and over in a pattern.

OVERLAP: When parts of a picture lie on top of other parts.

PANELS: Illustrations that are broken apart for effect.

PORTRAIT: A likeness of a particular person or animal. Also used to describe vertical orientation.

RUNNING STORY: Objects or picture elements that reoccur throughout the picture book.

VIGNETTES: Small inset illustrations that can be integrated into double-page illustrations or isolated and balanced against text.

NARRATIVE

Words about and related to verbal and visual narrative

CONTINUOUS NARRATIVE: One character or object portrayed in two or more places on the same page or page spread

CONVENTIONAL SIGN: Conventional signs require readers have the code to decipher meaning.

DOUBLE NARRATIVE: Two scenes with different characters or settings on the same page or page spread

ICONIC SIGN: Iconic, or representational, signs are a direct representation of an object.

LINEAR NARRATIVE: Writing with a beginning, middle, and end that is read from left to right and top to bottom.

MULTIPLE NARRATIVE: Multiple scenes with different characters or settings on the same page or page spread

NARRATIVE: Picture books communicate through two narrative forms, the verbal (words) and the visual (images), often diverging into multiple split narratives.

NONLINEAR: As opposed to a linear narrative with beginning, middle, and end, a nonlinear narrative can be perceived from any number of starting points.

SYMBOLISM: Figures and symbols are purposely distorted to express an idea. In picture books, symbols are often imbedded in the illustrations and are not hinted at in the story.

THEME: The overall idea of the story; a common thread running through the story.

VERBAL: Communication through words. The text in a picture book is verbal.

VISUAL: Communication through images. The pictures in a picture book are visual.

VISUAL INTEREST: Illustrators create visual inertest through the use framing, pacing, drama, and picture sequence.

VISUAL LITERACY: Includes thinking and communicating with images. Visual thinking is the ability to transform thoughts and information into images; visual communication takes place when people are able to construct meaning from the visual image.

SPLIT NARRATIVE: Two episodes in the same setting with different characters on the same page or page spread.

FORMAT

Words about and related to book jackets, layout, page spreads

ARTIST OR AUTHOR NOTES: Background information about the origins or process involved in creating the story or illustrations.

BOOK JACKET: The cover of the book, also called dust jacket.

COPYRIGHT PAGE: Found in the beginning of the book, usually opposite the title page..

DOUBLE-PAGE SPREAD: Illustrations that spread across both sides of an open book.

DUAL-IMAGE COVERS: Illustrations on the front and back of the cover are complementary but different from one another.

DIMENSION: A measure of a piece of art. The width, height, depth, or length.

ENDPAPERS: The glued pages inside the cover of the book are the endpapers.

FLAPS: Flaps are part of the book jacket.

FRONT MATTER: The pages after the endpapers and before the first page of the story.

FORMAT: The physical make up of a book. Includes size and shape (square, rectangular, horizontal, or vertical) of a book, as well as binding (paperback or hardcover).

HALF TITLE PAGE: The half-title page is the first page of the book and contains only the title of the work and the name of the publisher.

LAYOUT: The overall design of a picture book, including the text, illustrations, book jacket, and trim size.

RECTO: Right-hand page of a book. See also VERSO

SINGLE-IMAGE COVER: One image appears on the front of this type of cover. The back of the book may contain another small illustration or a solid color that blends with the cover.

SINGLE-PAGE ILLUSTRATION: An illustration confined to one page. Text is often opposite a single-page illustration.

WRAPAROUND COVER: Art in a wraparound cover begins on the front and wraps around to the back.

TITLE PAGE: The title page follows the half-title page and contains the full title and subtitle (if any), the author's name. any editors or translators, and the name and locations of the publisher.

VERSO: Left-hand page of a book. See also RECTO.

PUBLISHING

Words about and related to picture book publishing

CHARACTER: An imaginary representation of a persona in a work of fiction.

CIP DATA: CIP, or catalog in publication, is a bibliographic record prepared by the Library of Congress (LOC) before it is published.

DUMMY: A manuscript laid out in book form, with sketches of illustrations.

FOLDED AND GATHERED (F&GS): A sheet or sheets from a print run, folded, cut, and ready for binding.

GALLEY: An advance copy of a book.

GENRE: A term used in literature to designate a type of literature with shared characteristics or indicate story content.

HALFTONE: An image that has been photographed through a screen to create small dots of varying size or more/less dots per inch (dpi) so that it can be reproduced on a printing press.

ILLUSTRATED BOOK: A book with more text than illustrations.

ISBN: The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique 10-digit number.

IMPOSITION: A plan for pages on a printing sheet. When folded, the pages are in the correct sequence.

IMPRINT: A part of a publishing company with a distinct identity, name, and staff.

LEGENDS: Legends are stories based on historical figures or events, and embellish the acts of a real person.

LIBRARY EDITION: A version of a book that is specially formatted, reinforced to stand up to multiple uses.

LISTS: Semi-annual (or more frequent) groups of books produced by a publisher, announced and placed in a catalog together. They include the backlist (previously published books), the front list (new books for year or season), and midlist (books with reliable but not outstanding sales).

MASS MARKET: Books sold through retail outlets, such as grocery and department stores.

OP: Out of print.

PAPERBACK: An edition with a soft cover, usually a light cardboard.

PICTURE BOOK: A book that depends on illustrations to help relate the story.

PICTURE STORY BOOK: A book with illustrations that complement the text, but are not relied upon to relate the story.

POINT OF VIEW: The angle from which the viewer see the objects or scene.

PP&B: Paper, printing, and binding. The cost of producing a finished book.

PRESS KIT: A packet of promotional materials sent to media outlets.

PROOFS: The typeset pages of a book before it is printed.

REMAINDERS: Surplus books sold at a steep discount.

REVIEW COPIES: Copies of a book sent to reviewers, usually before publication, and often in the form of bound galleys or F&Gs.

SIGNATURE: A printed press sheet of printed pages, folded to size (e.g. large press sheet folded in half, fourths, eighths, sixteenths, or thirty-seconds).

STORYBOARD: An illustrator's plan for a book, thumbnails of all pages on one sheet.

SUBMISSIONS: Manuscripts sent to a publisher by an author or agent. Submissions can be exclusive, multiple, or simultaneous.

THUMBNAILS: An illustrator's rough sketches, called thumbnails because of small size.

TOY

BOOKS: Books that can be manipulated physically and used as playthings.

TRADE EDITION: A version of a book that is formatted for the general public as opposed to a targeted market.

TRIM SIZE: The overall size of a book; the size of the pages, book jacket, and cover.