Armature: The framework of a subject or an object.
Composition: How elements are arranged within a piece of art. A balanced arrangement makes the composition pleasing to the viewer’s eye.
Drawing from life: Depicting an object, a subject, or a scene that is physically in front of you.
Foreshortening: Capturing a three-dimensional object by showing the natural distortions of shape that are seen with the naked eye when viewed from a distance or an angle.
Form: The depiction of a shape in three dimensions. This can be done by shading for form (using light and dark to create the illusion of a 3D shape). Studying form means to look closely at an object to see how it is shaped before drawing it.
Line drawing: A drawing consisting only of lines and no filled-in or shaded areas.
Mark making: The marks used when making art. These can be lines, dashes, dots, scribbles, textures, and patterns.
Orientation: The way a rectangular painting is positioned. “Landscape” means the width is longer than the height, and “portrait” means the height is longer than the width. Orientation has nothing to do with the artwork’s subject matter.
Scumbling: A drawing technique that uses quick little marks in a circular motion to create texture and shading.
Shading: Bringing different tones into your art by building up color to show form. Darker areas appear to recede, and lighter areas come into the foreground.
Sketch: To make a quick, rough drawing of a subject; not usually intended as a final piece but as a quick record or preparatory drawing for a final piece.
Still life: The study of inanimate objects. Still life has a history going back hundreds of years and was traditionally used by artists to explore color, form, and composition in all kinds of subjects, including objects, food, wine, florals, and more.
Tapered line or shape: A line or shape that is thinner at one end.
Vanishing point: The location in a three-dimensional drawing where the perspective appears to disappear into the distance.
Wireframe: Building simple shapes and lines to form the framework of a more complex object.