Essential Visual Design and Geometric Concepts
Visual Arts & Geometry Terminology
Cinematography & Photography Shots
Understanding different camera shots is crucial for visual storytelling.
Extreme Close-Up (ECU)
The nearest shot, informing us of very small details. Used sparingly and only when necessary to emphasize a specific element.
Close-Up Shot
Includes only the character’s head, capturing all gestures, facial expressions, and emotions to convey the character’s feelings.
Medium Shot (Waist Shot)
Captures only half of the body, typically from the waist up, describing the upper figure.
American Shot (Knee Shot)
Frames a person from the knees up, commonly used in Westerns to show holsters and guns.
Full Shot (Long Shot)
Shows a character fully on screen, along with significant background scenery or sets, emphasizing their environment.
Extreme Long Shot (Wide Shot)
The most distant shot, showing the entire landscape or environment, often used to establish setting.
Compositional Elements: Lines & Curves
Lines and curves are fundamental building blocks of visual composition.
The Line
Arises from the stroke that a moving point leaves on a surface, forming the basis of drawing and design.
Line Orientations
Lines can be parallel (maintaining equal distance) or perpendicular (intersecting at a right angle).
Horizontal Lines
Suggest a feeling of rest and tranquility, often associated with horizons and stability.
Vertical Lines
Suggest balance and vertical elevation, conveying strength and aspiration.
Diagonal Lines
Symbolize movement, dynamism, and tension, adding energy to a composition.
Curved Lines
Convey sensations of power and depth when closed, and variable motion or grace when open.
Textures & Surfaces
Texture adds depth and sensory experience to visual forms.
Texture
It is the external quality of forms, referring to the material structure of a surface.
Visual Textures
Those that are perceived by sight, depending on the type and quality of light reflecting off a surface.
Tactile Textures
Those perceived by touch, depending on the degree of softness, hardness, roughness, etc.
Organic Textures
Textures that obey the natural configuration of matter, often irregular and flowing.
Geometric Textures
These are characterized by systematic and repetitive patterns, often man-made or structured.
Textures may be natural or superimposed (applied).
Satin Texture (Smoothness)
The tactile and visual sensation of a polished surface, often perceived through pressure or light reflection.
Fundamental Visual Concepts
Key terms that define elements within visual language.
Sign
In visual language, a mark made to represent or express something, carrying meaning.
Juxtaposition
The act of placing an item or element immediately next to another, often for comparison or contrast.
Light & Illumination
Light is essential for perception and creating mood in visual arts.
Natural Light
Varies according to the hours of the day, changing in intensity and color temperature.
Artificial Light
Is constant, not varying the position of its source, allowing for controlled illumination.
Direct Light
Produces strong contrasts, sharp shadows, and intense highlights.
Indirect Light
Qualifies the surfaces of objects with degraded values, creating softer transitions and diffused illumination.
Color Theory Essentials
Understanding color is vital for creating harmonious and impactful visuals.
Achromatic
A composition or shape devoid of color, relying solely on shades of gray, black, and white.
Gradient
A gradual and constant variation from one tone or color to another.
Color Graduation (Intonation)
The graduation of colors and values to obtain a harmonious effect, creating smooth transitions.
Brightness (Luminosity)
The amount of light a tone possesses, determining its lightness or darkness.
Monochromatic
Applies to figures that have a single color, often explored through varying shades, tints, and tones of that color.
Penumbra
The area between lights and shadows, characterized by intermediate shades and partial illumination.
Primary Colors
The fundamental colors from which all other colors can be mixed. Commonly cited primary colors include Red, Yellow, Blue (traditional pigment primaries) and Magenta, Cyan, Yellow (printing primaries).
Secondary Colors
Created by mixing two primary colors. Examples include Green (Blue + Yellow), Violet (Red + Blue), and Orange (Red + Yellow).
Tertiary Colors
Created by mixing a primary color with a secondary color, resulting in hues like red-orange or blue-green.
Ochre
A yellow mineral consisting of hydrated iron oxide, used as a pigment since ancient times.
Triangle Geometry Definitions
Key terms related to the properties and points of concurrency within triangles.
Polygon
A closed planar figure formed by three or more straight line segments.
Altitude (Height)
The perpendicular distance from a vertex to the opposite side. The intersection of the three altitudes is called the orthocenter.
Median
A line segment from a vertex to the midpoint of the opposite side. The intersection of the three medians is called the centroid.
Perpendicular Bisectors
Lines that bisect each side of a triangle at a right angle. The three perpendicular bisectors meet at a point called the circumcenter.
Angle Bisectors
Lines that bisect each angle of a triangle. They intersect at a central point of the triangle called the incenter (which is the center of the inscribed circle).
Centroid
The meeting point of the three medians of a triangle, also its center of gravity.
Circumcenter
The meeting point of the three perpendicular bisectors of a triangle, and the center of its circumscribed circle.
Incenter
The meeting point of the three angle bisectors of a triangle, and the center of its inscribed circle.