8th Grade Vocabulary
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN: Parts of an artwork that an artist plans; line, color, texture, value, space, form,
and shape
LINE: An element of art that is used to define shape, contours, and outlines, also to suggest
mass and volume. It may be a continuous mark made on a surface with a pointed tool or
implied by the edges of shapes and forms.
Characteristic of Line are:
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Width- thick, thin, tapering, uneven
Length - long, short, continuous, broken
Direction- horizontal, vertical, diagonal, curving, perpendicular, oblique, parallel, radial,
zigzag
Focus- sharp, blurry, fuzzy, choppy
Feeling- sharp, jagged, graceful, smooth
COLOR: Color is another word for hue, which is the common name of color in or related to
the spectrum, such as yellow, yellow-orange, complementary, cool, warm, etc..
TEXTURE: The way an object feels when it is touched. Also, the way an object looks like it
feels, such as rough or smooth. You have 2 types of texture: tactile and visual
VALUE: The lightness or darkness of a color (pink is a light value of red)
SPACE: The empty or open area between, around, above, below, or within objects.
Shapes and forms are made by the space around and within them. Positive space is filled
by a shape or form. Negative space surrounds a shape or form.
SHAPE: A flat figure created when actual or implied lines meet to surround a space. A
change in color or shading can define a shape. Shapes can be divided into several types:
geometric and organic.
Form: Is a 3 dimensional object such as a cube, cylinder, or cone. It can be measured
from top to bottom, side to side, and front to back
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Hue: another word for color
Color Scheme: A plan for selecting or organizing colors. Common color schemes include: warm and
cool colors, neutral, monochromatic colors, analogues, complementary colors, and triad.
Primary Colors: Red, blue, yellow
Secondary colors: green, purple, and orange: Blue + Yellow = Green
Yellow + Red = Orange
Blue + red= Purple
Warm: reds, yellows, and oranges
Cool: blues, purples, and greens
Analogues Color: colors that are closely related because they have one hue in common. Example:
Blue; blue-violet, violet. They all appear next to each other on the color wheel.
Intermediate colors: a color made by mixing a secondary color with a primary color.
Monochromatic: made of only a single color and its tints and shades.
Neutral color: a color not associated with a hue, such as black, white, gray, or brown.
Triad: three colors spaced equally apart on the color wheel, such as orange, green, and violet.
Contrasting colors: colors that are very different from each other in hue, lightness or brigh