| No. | Term | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Acrylic paint | Fast-drying water-based paint. |
| 2. | Airbrush | Tool spraying paint in fine mist. |
| 3. | Angle brush | Slanted bristles for sharp edges. |
| 4. | Artboard | Rigid surface for drawing or painting. |
| 5. | Artist’s tape | Low-tack tape for masking edges. |
| 6. | Atmospheric perspective | Depth effect from hazy distant tones. |
| 7. | Binder | Medium that holds pigment together. |
| 8. | Blending | Smoothing transitions between colors or values. |
| 9. | Blocking in | Roughly placing major shapes and tones. |
| 10. | Brushstroke | Mark made by a brush. |
| 11. | Burnishing | Polishing surface to a smooth sheen. |
| 12. | Canvas | Fabric surface for painting. |
| 13. | Charcoal | Black drawing stick from burnt wood. |
| 14. | Chiaroscuro | Strong contrast of light and shadow. |
| 15. | Color wheel | Circular chart of color relationships. |
| 16. | Complementary colors | Opposite hues on the color wheel. |
| 17. | Composition | Arrangement of elements in an artwork. |
| 18. | Contour line | Line defining an object’s edge. |
| 19. | Crosshatching | Shading with intersecting lines. |
| 20. | Dabbing | Applying paint with light taps. |
| 21. | Dry brush | Technique using little paint and water. |
| 22. | Easel | Stand supporting canvas or paper. |
| 23. | Edge control | Managing hard and soft boundaries. |
| 24. | Eraser | Tool for removing drawing marks. |
| 25. | Expressive line | Line showing emotion and energy. |
| 26. | Fixative | Spray that sets dry media. |
| 27. | Flat brush | Brush with flat, squared bristles. |
| 28. | Foreshortening | Shortened appearance from perspective. |
| 29. | Fresco | Painting on wet plaster. |
| 30. | Frottage | Rubbing texture from a surface. |
| 31. | Gesso | Primer for preparing painting surfaces. |
| 32. | Gesture drawing | Quick sketch capturing movement and pose. |
| 33. | Glaze | Transparent layer to modify color. |
| 34. | Gouache | Opaque watercolor paint. |
| 35. | Graphite | Pencil material for drawing. |
| 36. | Grisaille | Monochrome underpainting in gray tones. |
| 37. | Ground | Prepared base layer under paint. |
| 38. | Hard edge | Crisp boundary between shapes. |
| 39. | Highlight | Brightest area where light hits. |
| 40. | Horizon line | Eye-level line in perspective drawing. |
| 41. | Hue | The basic family of a color. |
| 42. | Impasto | Thick paint applied with texture. |
| 43. | Ink wash | Diluted ink used for shading. |
| 44. | Kneaded eraser | Moldable eraser for lifting graphite. |
| 45. | Laying in | Establishing initial colors and values. |
| 46. | Line weight | Thickness variation in drawn lines. |
| 47. | Linear perspective | Depth using converging lines. |
| 48. | Local color | Object’s inherent color in neutral light. |
| 49. | Mahl stick | Rod supporting hand while painting. |
| 50. | Maquette | Small model used for planning. |
| 51. | Masking fluid | Liquid resist for watercolor whites. |
| 52. | Medium | Additive altering paint handling or drying. |
| 53. | Mixing palette | Surface for combining paint colors. |
| 54. | Monochrome | Artwork using one color family. |
| 55. | Mural | Large painting on a wall. |
| 56. | Negative space | Space around and between subjects. |
| 57. | Oil paint | Pigment mixed with drying oils. |
| 58. | Opaque | Not letting light pass through. |
| 59. | Optical mixing | Colors blend visually, not physically. |
| 60. | Palette knife | Tool for mixing or applying paint. |
| 61. | Pastel | Soft colored stick drawing medium. |
| 62. | Pigment | Colored powder giving paint its hue. |
| 63. | Plein air | Painting outdoors from life. |
| 64. | Pointillism | Image built from small color dots. |
| 65. | Portrait | Artwork depicting a person. |
| 66. | Primary colors | Base colors used to mix others. |
| 67. | Proportion | Size relationships between parts. |
| 68. | Raking light | Low-angle light revealing surface texture. |
| 69. | Rendering | Detailed depiction of form and light. |
| 70. | Resist | Material blocking paint or ink. |
| 71. | Round brush | Pointed brush for lines and detail. |
| 72. | Rule of thirds | Composition guide using a 3×3 grid. |
| 73. | Saturation | Intensity or purity of a color. |
| 74. | Scumbling | Thin, broken layer over dry paint. |
| 75. | Sfumato | Soft smoky blending of edges. |
| 76. | Shading | Adding tones to show form. |
| 77. | Shadow | Dark area blocked from light. |
| 78. | Sketch | Quick preliminary drawing. |
| 79. | Soft edge | Blurred boundary between forms. |
| 80. | Solvent | Liquid used to thin oil paint. |
| 81. | Still life | Artwork of arranged inanimate objects. |
| 82. | Stippling | Shading with small dots. |
| 83. | Study | Practice work focusing on one subject. |
| 84. | Support | Surface holding the artwork. |
| 85. | Texture | Surface quality, real or implied. |
| 86. | Thumbnail | Small rough composition sketch. |
| 87. | Tint | Color lightened by adding white. |
| 88. | Tone | Lightness or darkness of a color. |
| 89. | Tortillon | Paper stump for blending graphite. |
| 90. | Underdrawing | Preliminary drawing beneath paint. |
| 91. | Underpainting | Initial layer setting values or colors. |
| 92. | Value | Lightness or darkness of a tone. |
| 93. | Varnish | Protective final coating for paintings. |
| 94. | Viewfinder | Framing tool to choose composition. |
| 95. | Wash | Thin diluted layer covering an area. |
| 96. | Watercolor | Transparent paint activated with water. |
| 97. | Wet-on-wet | Applying wet paint onto wet surface. |
| 98. | X-Acto knife | Precision knife for cutting paper. |
| 99. | Yupo paper | Synthetic smooth paper for watercolor. |
| 100. | Zentangle | Decorative drawing with structured patterns. |