Critiquing Tools

Art Vocabulary List

Foreground- The part of a picture that is nearest to and in front of the viewer.

 Palette- a palette is either a given, finite set of colors for the management of digital images (that is, a color palette), or a small on-screen graphical element for choosing from a limited set of choices, not necessarily colors (such as a tools palette).

Harmony- In order to create harmony and unity, you must design a page or site using consistency and repetition.

Focal Point- The point of the design where the eye is drawn to. A focal point is the most important part of the page or the part of the page that is the most dominant.

Flowing- designed or arranged to offer the least resistant to fluid flow, easiest for the eye to move around the page or design.  

Adjective List

Tacky- Lacking style or good taste, tawdry.

Negative space- Negative space, in art, is the space around and between the subject of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, and not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape, and such space is occasionally used to artistic effect as the "real" subject of an image. The use of negative space is a key element of artistic composition.

Curved- generally speaking, an object similar to a line but which is not required to be straight.

Smooth- Having a texture free from roughness and stubble. Which creates a smooth surface. 

Figure and ground- Figure ground is a visual relationship between foreground and background. This is important to the perception of images, as the edges form the image that we see.

Principles and Elements of Design List

Elements

Line- Line is the basic element that refers to the continuous movement of a point along a surface, such as by a pencil or brush. The edges of shapes and forms also create lines. It is the basic component of a shape drawn on paper. Lines and curves are the basic building blocks of two dimensional shapes like a house's plan. Every line has length, thickness, and direction. There are curve, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, zigzag, wavy, parallel, dash, and dotted lines.

Colour- Color is seen either by the way light reflects off a surface, or in colored light sources. Color and particularly contrasting color is also used to draw the attention to a particular part of the image. There are primary colors, secondary colors, and tertiary colors. Complementary colors are colors that are opposite to each other on the color wheel. Complementary colors are used to create contrast. Analogous colors are colors that are found side by side on the color wheel. These can be used to create color harmony. Monochromatic colors are tints and shades of one color. Warm colors are a group of colors that consist of reds, yellows, and oranges. Cool colors are group of colors that consist of purples, greens, and blues.

Shape- Shape is defined as an area that stands out from the space next to or around it due to a defined or implied boundary, or because of differences of value, color, or texture. Shapes can also show perspective by overlapping. They can be geometric or organic. Shapes in house decor and interior design can be used to add interest, style, theme to a design like a door. Shape in interior design depends on the function of the object like a kitchen cabinet door. Natural shapes forming patterns on wood or stone may help increase visual appeal in interior design. In a landscape, natural shapes, such as trees contrast with geometric such as houses.

Form- Form is any three dimensional object. Form can be measured, from top to bottom (height), side to side (width), and from back to front (depth). Form is also defined by light and dark. There are two types of form, geometric (man-made) and natural (organic form). Form may be created by the combining of two or more shapes. It may be enhanced by tone, texture and color. It can be illustrated or constructed.

Principles

Stability- The condition of being stable or in equilibrium, and thus resistant to change.

Dynamics- In the field of physics, the study of the causes of motion and changes in motion is dynamics. In other words the study of forces and why objects are in motion.

Rhythm- Rhythm - is a movement in which some elements recurs regularly.  Like a dance it will have a flow of objects that will seem to be like the beat of music.

Scale- Scale in drawing refers to the proportion or ratio that defines the size relationships.  Models, architectural plans, maps and paintings/drawings all use scale to create the illusion of correct size relationships between objects and figures.