Art Concepts and Terminology

Front

Background

Back

Images in the back and drawn smaller

Front

Black and white

Back

Not considered colors

Front

Color harmonies

Back

Groups of colors that are related to each other based on the color wheel and how they work together in an artwork

Front

Color wheel

Back

Chromatic scale

Front

Complementary colors

Back

Pairs of colors that are located directly across from each other on the color wheel; blue and orange, yellow and violet, red and green

Front

Composition

Back

Plan, placement, and arrangement of objects

Front

Contour

Back

Lines show the outline of a form

Front

Emphasis

Back

An area in a composition that is special or dominant

Front

Foreground

Back

Objects in the front and drawn larger

Front

Form

Back

3-dimensional object