LESSON 4: Visual Art Techniques

 LESSON 4. 

Visual Art Techniques  

Visual arts are typically two dimensional. Drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and digital graphic arts are the most common forms of two dimensional techniques. Two dimensional art can be displayed in multiple formats including hanging in a gallery, propped on an easel, a portfolio in a binder, or digitally as a collection and sent instantly anywhere in the world. Three dimensional art such as sculpture is visual and tactile, and is best seen in physical presence to appreciate the full scope of the work. 

Different Art Techniques

There are many ways to create art. People have been creating art for thousands of years on cave walls, in clothing, on functional items, and for recording information. Art of many forms is found environmentally in homes, communities and cultures.

Five most common art techniques and methods:

1. Drawing

The primary definition is a visual depiction made using tools such as pen or pencil. Unlike painting, which focuses on color. Drawing mainly concerned with line (a one-dimensional path) and form (structure). It is also focused on shape and value (the lightness or darkness of a color). Drawing can also be used to evoke emotions much in the same way that paintings and other forms of art do. 

Drawing in art can be used to depict an image, either from real life or from the imagination of the artist. Drawing is considered a form of art because it is a method used to produce imagery that captures or communicates through visual form. The possibilities for the messages that drawings can convey are endless. 

Characteristics of Drawing in Art

The general characteristics of drawing in art include elements such as line, form, value, perspective, and composition. Depending on the material used, lines can be made thin or thick. They are used to capture the form of whatever object the artist wants to convey.  Perspective is often used in drawings to show spatial relationships between objects. It helps the artist to indicate objects that are closer or farther away. This is most often used with buildings and architecture.  Composition refers to how objects are placed next to one another. The artist uses composition by how they organize their chosen subjects within their frame of work. A still-life artist may choose a variety of fruits and place them according to size. An artist working with real-life models may place them in a way so that the viewer's eyes can move easily from each person. There are many ways in which to compose an image.

2. Painting

Painting is artwork that results from the application of paint onto a solid surface. The paint can be made of many materials, as long as it is pigmented liquid that can dry to a solid thin layer. Some different types of paint are acrylic, oil, watercolor, gouache, and encaustic. A painting is defined by its form, so paint on a 3-dimensional form like a sculpture or pottery would not count as a painting. This two-dimensional piece of artwork captures the painter's vision, whether that means their emotions or their ideas. Like many other forms of artwork, a painting uses the following main elements to convey the painter's intent and theme: color, texture, shapes, lines, and tone. A painting can be in a variety of forms based on the painter's preference or choice of materials.

Forms of Painting 

There are many different forms of painting, as painting can occur on any number of solid surfaces. A few of those forms are listed below. 

Graffiti is considered a style of mural painting

A mural painting is a painted directly on the surface of a wall or ceiling, typically on the interior of a building in order to prevent weathering. Mural paintings are an old form of painting, as examples of murals are found in ancient tombs and temples. Initially murals were designed with simple 2-dimensional grids, but mural paintings have evolved to incorporate the complexity of the building's architecture and to simulate dimensionality.

Virgin and Child with a Donor Presented by Saint Jerome made circa 1450. 

An easel painting is a medium sized painting that is painted on an easel. Easel paintings were typically used as prestige pieces for the wealthy, as they commissioned these paintings to act as focal features in their homes. A panel painting is painted on a wood panel or multiple wood panels. This is an old medium as wood has been available forever and was the most popular medium for transportable paintings until it was overtaken by the use of canvas. These pieces could also act as focal features in private homes, they typically had more of a purpose whether for religious iconography, signboards, or as decoration on functional items like carriages or musical instruments. These paintings were transportable, as opposed to unmovable paintings such as frescos or murals.

Empress Eugenie by Marie Pauline Laurent circa 1855. 

A miniature painting is a portrait painting that is tiny enough to be worn as jewelry. These paintings were initially painted on vellum or prepared paper, but techniques evolved to have paint in enamel on metal or ivory surfaces. The subjects of these portraits were typically loved ones or monarchs. These paintings became less popular with the invention of photography.

Studying a Painting by Zhang Lu in the 16th century. 

A scroll painting is a painting that uses ink on parchment or silk that is unrolled to view. This form was extremely popular in Chinese or Japanese art, therefore most scroll paintings are viewed right to left. The unfurling of the scroll gave the paintings a sense of flow, which made topics of landscapes popular. The ink paintings were dynamic against the open space of the unpainted scroll, which would later inspire Western art in late nineteenth century.

3. Sculpture 

Sculpture is an art form through which 3D pieces of art are produced. There are a few unifying characteristics that most sculptures share. One is that sculpture is 3D: sculptures can be in-the-round, meaning they are not connected to background material, or they can be reliefs, meaning they are partially connected in some way to background material. Because of the three-dimensional nature of sculpture, another key characteristic of sculpture is that sculptors can explore the artistic element of form more so than any other branch of art. 

Elements of Sculpture

• Form Perhaps the most important sculptural element, form is defined as a three-dimensional shape. Because sculpture is 3D in nature, most, if not all sculptures can be defined as a form.
• Line Sculptural line is used very similarly as it is used in 2D work. Line is a connection between two points and may be straight or curved. Line is used to create shape and helps define a sculptural shape as separate from its surroundings.
• Space Space is defined as either positive and part of the design, or negative and is the part of a composition that surrounds the design. Space is important in 3D work because the use of negative space helps define the form of the sculpture. In many modern sculptural styles, there is a pattern of focus shift from positive space to negative space and includes many works that compositionally center the audience's focus on the negative space created by the sculptural form.
• Plane Planes in art and design are defined as sides of a form. Planes represent the surface of a side of a form, and the very nature of planes in sculpture help define form of the sculpture.
• Mass Mass in sculptural design is known as the amount of physical material used in a sculpture. Mass is partially defined by the type of material used in the sculpture, and partially by the amount of space a sculpture takes up.
• Volume Volume is related to mass in that it is used to define an amount but refers to the amount of space a sculpture takes up rather than how much physical material is used.
• Shape A shape is a 2D object defined by boundaries. Boundaries can be lines, or they can be other shapes. In sculpture, shape is used to describe the 2D angle when viewing a sculpture, as any viewpoint of a sculpture renders a 2D image in the mind. Sculptors pay close attention to create forms that are aesthetic from all angles.
• Color Color is used much in the same way by sculptors as it is by 2D artists. Color is used by utilizing the principles of color theory to create a specific theme and mood.

• Contrast and Variety Contrast and variety are the different qualities or characteristics within a form. Contrast and variety make an artwork enjoyable and interesting by using various shapes, textures, forms, and so on. 

• Rhythm and Repetition Repetition creates rhythm in an artwork. There are three key rhythmic devices: duplication of the same form, two different forms used alternately, or the sequential change of a form (for example, changing from large to small). Jon Barlow Hudson’s ‘Double Helix: Flowing Balance’ is an example of how sculptors can use rhythm and repetition.                   
• Emphasis Emphasis in a sculpture makes one element in an artistic work a dominant feature. Emphasis creates a high point or climax in an artwork. It may also be a dominant motif or design element.

• Continuity Continuity is similar to rhythm and repetition. It is an organized movement or rhythm seen within an artwork. Continuity could take the form of repetition, alteration, or progression.

• Balance Balance describes the order and relationship between the different elements of an artwork. Whether a sculpture is symmetrical or asymmetrical, balance will create an equilibrium. Balance can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical.

• Symmetrical Balance symmetry describes visual units which are equal. Symmetrical elements will be displayed either right and left or top to bottom from the center point of the artwork.

• Asymmetrical Balance Asymmetry is the opposite of symmetry. It is a visual balance that is achieved by different visual units. An example of asymmetry would be two or three small shapes shown on the left of a sculpture, balancing one larger form on the right. 

• Proportion Proportion describes how the elements within a sculpture compare to one another: proportion considers an element’s quantity size and degree of emphasis. 

4. Printmaking

The definition of printmaking is the art of producing and transferring inked images or text from a matrix to another surface. The matrix is a template on which an image or letter has been etched or carved. Common materials that are used for matrices include a metal such as copper or aluminum, wood, linoleum, or glass. Ink is usually applied evenly onto the matrix and then is pressed onto the surface of a print medium. The print medium is most often paper or fabric, but wood, glass, plastic, and metal can also be used. A consistent and even amount of pressure is required for a print to be made, and a press can be used to aid in the application of pressure. The matrix is then removed from the surface and a mirror of the matrix image or text is made on the print medium.

History of Printmaking

The first true prints were made in the 6th, 7th, and 8th centuries by Egyptian people, who made woodblock prints on textiles, and by ancient Japanese people who printed woodblock prints of Buddhist charms. In the 11th century, a Chinese artisan discovered a way of printing using movable type, where characters were sculpted and baked from clay, and then used to arrange text which was then inked and printed. In the 13th century in Korea, the first metal movable type was made. These methods, however, all required the blocked designs to be arranged and inked by hand, which was still considerably slow.

5. Photography

A photograph can be either a positive or negative image. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus an object’s visible wavelengths (the light reflected or emitted from it) into a reproduction on a light-sensitive surface of what the human eye would see.

The word photograph was coined in 1839 by Sir John Herschel and is based on the Greek word ‘phos’, meaning ‘light’, and ‘graphê’, meaning ‘drawing’ – so ‘drawing with light.

Types of Photography

There are many different types of photography. Some examples include portrait or portraiture, documentary, nature, long exposure, aerial photography, and more. The purpose and motivation determine the type of photos needed. 

Documentary photography is making a record with no manipulations of the final photo. 

Aerial photography is shot from a camera attached to a hot air balloon, rocket, satellite, or airplane.

Nature photography gives the photographer information about his environment and where the setting was when he took the photograph.

A basic rule of photography is to follow the rule of thirds, which helps photographers take well-aligned photographs. Compositionally, if you divide the frame of the photography by thirds both vertically and/or horizontally, the most interesting part of the photograph should be at one of the intersections of the vertical and horizontal lines. This rule can be applied to each type of photography. Another basic rule is that most images, digital or film should be saved as a .jpg, the most common file format. One more general rule for photographers to remember for outdoor photoshoots is that the golden hours are one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset for the best outdoor lighting.

History of Photography

Although today one can use a digital or film camera, photography started with the camera obscura, which is a darkened box (or room), with a pinhole on one side that allows light to pass through and projects an inverted image on the other side. The earliest mention of this effect was in the 5th century BC, by Mozi, a Chinese philosopher. Leonardo da Vinci, in the 15th century, mentions the camera obscura in his "Codex Atlanticus," a twelve-volume set of his drawings and inventions. Giambattista Della Porta, also in the 15th century, improved the camera obscura by adding a lens in the place of the pinhole.