Artist's Resources∼Artist's Dictionary C

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C

C   Symbol on tube of paint indicating a fugitive color.
© The copyright symbol indicating the exclusive right granted by law to sell, distribute, or reproduce the ArtWork.
Cabinet projection   A system of projection similar to isometric, where the lines of an object are drawn parallel to 3 axels, one horizontal, one vertical and one 45 degress to the horizontal.
Calendar painting   Term applied to painting that may be pleasant to look at, having pleasing subject matter, but seldom has lasting value as Art.
Calendar printing   In textile design, same as direct printing.
Calendered paper   A smooth-surfaced paper.
Calico   In textile design, a tiny all over floral print, originally with a bright yellow, dark red, or black background, but now includes all colors.
Calipers   An instrument with two adjustable arms used to measure thickness or distance between two points.
Calligra-cote   Trade name for a protective spray for calligraphy; used with waterbase inks, markers or watercolor.
Calligram   A calligraphic notation; picture or conveyance.
Calligraphy   1. The Art of fine handwriting. 2. A typeface that resembles such writing. 3. Any calligraphic-type line Work used in drawing or painting.
Calligraphy brush   A specially balanced Oriental brush made from weasel, raccoon and horse hairs, used for lettering; only the tip is submerged in ink.
Camaieu, en   (French, as "a cameo") Painted in tones of only one color, usually for decoration.
Camel-hair brush   Any of a number of soft-hair watercolor brushes made of squirrel, badger, goat, skunk, etc. (True camel hair is unsuitable for brushes)
  A small carving in relief, usually on a gemstone.
Cancellation proof   A proof made from a cancelled plate or stone to show that no more prints can be pulled; usually a large "X" is drawn on the plate before the final proof.
Canvas   A fabric (cotton, linen, jute, etc.) prepared as a surface for painting; also a term used for the finished painting.
Canvas Board   Canvas laminated onto cardboard.
Canvas carrier   A frame-shaped metal device made to carry two to four wet canvases without touching.
Canvasette   See Canvas paper.
Canvas pins   Double-point pins used to seperate two wet canvases when carrying or storing them.
Canvas preparation   1. Coating a canvas with gesso or some other primer. 2. On an already primed canvas, painting a tone or underpainting.
Canvas scraper   A tool with a curved blade, used to scrape oils or acrylics from a canvas.
Canvas seperator clips   Spring-controlled clips used as canvas pins.
Canvas stretcher strips   See Stretcher strips.
Cap   A border frame without a liner or mat.
Caravaggisti   The followers of Caravaggio, a prominent Italian painter. (1573-1610)
Caravaggio, Michangelo Merisi da   Italian painter, considered a tenebrist for his low-key paintings. An accomplished Artist who is noted for his precise details and chairoscuro painting.
Carbon paper   Transfer paper coated with carbon.
Carbon pencil   See Wolf's carbon pencils.
Carborundum   Trade name for an abrasive used in graphics; used as a surface in collagraphs to produce gray masses; available in powder form and as a coated cloth.
Car card   A small poster advertisement displayed in buses, subways and streetcars.
Cardboard cut   A design sut into cardboard, used in a printing technique.
Cardboard relief   A collage made up of pieces of cardboard for relief block printing.
Caricature   A distortion of physical characteristics to create a humorous or satirical likeness.
Carolingian Art   Art of a period from the mid 8th to the early 10th century, beginning with the reign of Charlemagne; modeled after the style of Rome during the reigns of Constantine and Theodosius, and after the Byzantine Art of the 6th and 7th centuries. It is characterized by elaborate illumination of manuscripts and decoration with gold and gems. See also Ada School.
Carpenter's pencil   A flat, graphite pencil sizes 2B to 6B, used for sketching.
Carpus   In Anatomy, the bone of the wrist.
Cartoon   1. A satirical drawing or caricature; a comic strip. 2. A drawing for a mural or large painting used as a full-size guide to the final painting.
Cartouche   1. An ornamental scroll-like design sometimes used in printing and hand-lettering. 2. Studio useage refers to all types of scroll outlines and irregular shapes. 3. A signature in picture form from the Egyptian era.
Caryatid   In sculpture, a supporting column carved in the form of a woman. See Atlantes.
Casein   A binder made from casein glue, a milk derivitive, combined with pigments. It resembles opaque watercolor and is used on paper or board, for light impasto, for underpainting, wall decoration, etc. but is too inflexible for canvas. It dries quickly with a waterproof surface and may be varnished.
Casein painting   A technique in which a piece of Masonite board is built up to about 1/16" thickness in multiple layers of casein. An engraving is then made on this hardened surface, and a sealer used to provide a good printing surface.
Cassatt, Mary   (1844-1926) American born, Mary Cassatt spent much of her time in Paris, where she was associated with the impressionists, a friend of Degas; she is noted for her paintings and prints of mothers and children.
Cast   1. To form in a mold. 2. A reproduction of classic or other sculpture used as subject in drawing classes.
Casting off   Computing the amount of space a column of type will occupy when set in a desired typeface of a given size and line measure.
Cast shadow   A shadow cast upon a surface, such as a shadow from a tree upon the grass.
Catch light   The tiny red dot painted into the eye to give it more form and sparkle.
Cat's tongue   A long-haired, flat painters brush, shaped like a filbert but witha thinner, rounded tip; also spelled "kat's tongue".
Cavilier projection   A type of oblique projection.
Cavo-rilievo   (Italian, "hollow-relief") In sculpture, relief carving in which the highest part is level with the surface and the rest is below level; also called "Intaglio."
Cel   In animated cartooning, the plastic sheet on which an animation drawing is traced and painted before being photographed; from celluloid, a trademark for the material of motion \picture film.
Cellocut   In graphic arts, a plastic plate (acetate, lucite or plexiglass) also a plastic varnish used to build up or texture a design.
Celluclay   A papier-mache in powdered form to be mixed with water.
Cement   A general term for adhesives, a special mixture of Portland cement is sometimes used as a base for mural paintings. See Rubber cement.
Cenacolo   A painting of The last Supper.
Center of vision   In perspective, the viewer's eye position in relation to the picture plane and the horizon line.
Cercle et Carre   (French, "Circle and Square") A group of painters founded in 1929 by Michel Seuphor and Torres-Garcia. Mondrian was the major figure in the group.
Cerography   Painting in which wax is employed as a binder. Also called "Encaustic painting."
Cezanne, Paul   (1839-1906) A French postimpressionist whose use of color and structured compositions had a profound influence on aesthetic princibles of several 20th century movements.
Chagall, Marc   (1887-1981) A Russian who spent much of his career in France, he is classified as an expressionist whose Work combines fantasy with Russian folklore. An illustrator, painter, designer and printmaker, he is well known for his whimsical and decorative paintings.
Chamois   Pronounced shammy   1. A soft, pliable skin used to blend and shade pastels and charcoals, and wipe plates in graphics. 2. An obsolete name for yellow-ochre.
Champleve   Carving on metal to form a design with raised lines, wells or cell areas in which enamel is laid; after which the piece is fired and polished; resembles cloisonne.
Character   1. In lettering and type, a letter punctuation mark, or other graphic symbol. 2. Also refers to the personality of the style or face of lettering in relationship to surrounding elements, atmosphere and mood.
Charcoal holder   A handle used to hold charcoal, crayons, or pastels.
Charcoal paper   A paper with a "tooth" used for charcoal pastel drawings and other dry mediums.
Charcoal Pencil   A pencil with charcoal as the inner rod or marking material.
Charcoal vine   Thin sticks of charcoal about 6" long, available in soft, medium, and hard grades, also called "Willow stick."
Charge the brush   A term generally used in Watercolor Work, meaning to fill the brush with color or ink.
Chase   1. To ornament metal by chasing. See Chasing. 2. In letterpress printing, a frame made from metal, used to lock up type and plates so they will retain their position while in the press.
Chaser   One who is skilled in the Art of chasing. See Chasing below.
Chasing   A process in metalwork and sculpture in which chasing tools or punches are tapped with a hammer to create an indented design; also a name for the surface finishing of a metal cast.
Cheesecloth   A soft guaze-like cloth used to wipe plates in graphics. Also used as "tackcloths" when removing wood dust, stonedust from carvings and sculptures.
Cherub See Putto.
Chevron nbsp; A "V" pattern repeated vertically.
Chiaroscuro   (Italian, "light/dark") Strong emphasis on the change from light to dark in drawing or painting.
Chia hua   (Chinese) A painting made by using fingers and fingernails in place of brushes.
China bristle   Bristle hair from China for manufacturing brushes.
China-marking pencil   A pencil that has grease crayon substance as the rod; used for marking on glass, ceramics, china and other slick surfaces.
Chinkinborl   (Japanese) A lacquer technique using gold dust sprinkled on black lacquer.
Chinoiserie   (French, "Chinese things") European style of decoration that was inspired by Chinese Art, beginning in the 16th century.
Chipboard   Newsboard, a heavy, stiff cardboard, used for mounting, backing or as a cutting board surface.
Chip carving   Carving by cutting wedge shapes and triangular shapes from a wood surface.
Chiro-Xylograph   A woodblock in which a space is left empty so that text can be put in by hand.
Chisel   A cutting tool with a sharp, beveled edge used for carving.
Chisel brush   A brush with hairs shaped like a chisel, useful in sign-writing.
Chisel draft   In sculpture, marks on the edge of a stone or other solid material that are used as a cutting guide.
Chisel point   1. A manner of shaping a pencil point to that of a chisel-type edge. 2. A lettering brush.
Chroma   The intensity, strength, or saturation of color, distinguishing the chromatic colors from black and white.
Chromatic colors   All colors are chromatic; black, white and the mixture of black and white to create grays are "archromatic."
Chungking bristle   The finest bristle used for brushes, from the province of Chungking, China.
Cinquefoil   (French "5-leaved") A motif using 5 leaves in a pattern.
Circle cutter   An adjustable tool used to cut exact circles.
Circumference   The boundary line or border of a circle; the distance or length around a circle.
Cire perdue   (French, "lost wax") See Lost wax process.
Classic   Having permanent quality in accordance with established princibles of excellence; pertaining to ancient Greek and Roman civilizations.
Classical Art   Pertaining to the Art of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Claude Lorraine glass or Claude glass   See Black mirror.
Clean color   A pure color, not reduced.
Cleaning agent   In printmaking, ammonia, whiting, salt and vinegar are used to remove fingerprints from metal plates.
Cleaning bag   A cloth bag that contains a powder that absorbs dirt, used to clean drawings.
Clean lines   Lines in ArtWork that are stated simply but suberbly.
Cleavage   Flaking off of paint as it cracks and seperates from its ground.
Cliche verre   (French "exposure of glass") A graphic Art in which clear glass is covered with opaque pigment, a design is scratched into the coating with a stylus, and the glass is exposed on photo-sensitive paper.
Cloisonne   A form of painting of the 1880's marked by gray lines between the areas of color; developed by Emile Bernard and Paul Gauguin; resembles the metallic line seperating lines in cloissonne.
Closure   The ability to of the mind to complete a pattern or picture where only a suggestion is exists.
Cockled   A term applied to paper that is rippled or slightly wrinkled.
Cold-pressed Oil   Vegetable oil extracted from seeds and nuts by pressing them without heat. See also Linseed Oil.
Cold-pressed Paper   A handmade watercolor paper made with a medium to rough texture, made as chemically pure as possible.
Collage   (French, "pasting") Bits and pieces of paper, fabric, nuts, shells, bolts, etc, any objects or materials are then pasted on the pictures' surface to serve as the design; may be combined with paints.
Colophon   (Greek, "finishing touch") An inscription giving information about a publication a or Artist, usually placed at the end of a book or on the Mat of a picture.
Colophony   A rosin used in the process of relining paintings on canvas.
Color fatigue   Tiring of certain color receptors in the eye, causing inaccurate color perception.
Color seperation   1. A photographic process used in photolithography that seperates colors through the use of filters; the standard fout color process reduces each full-color picture to four seperate plates-magenta, yelloe, cyan and black, but more than four colors can be used; when printed one over the other, a reasonably accurate reproduction of the original is acheived. 2. By hand, color seperation is usually accomplished by using acetate or rubylith overlays keyed to the base Art; or colors can be indicated on tissue overlays from which a camera process creates seperate negatives that are used to make the required printing plates.
Color Slide   A photographic transparency; Artists often send color slides, rather than their Work, to be viewed for prospective Shows or for Sale.
Color symbolism   The use of color to express an emotional, political, religious or other meaning.
Color Triad   Three colors spaced an equal distance apart on the Color wheel, such as red, yellow, and blue; or orange, green and violet. See also Color Wheel.
Color Wheel   A divided or sectioned circle with colors in a spectrum effect. See also " Triads, Complementary colors, Ives color wheel, Munsell theory, Newton's color wheel, Ostwaid system, Primary colors, Secondary colors, Tetrads, Tertiary colors".
Commercial Art   Art that is created to serve a specific business purpose, such as selling a product; advertising illustration, textile designing, packaging, lettering and fashion illustration are some of the facets of Commercial Art.
Commission   An authorization to create a Work of Art for a stated price.
Compass cutter   A drawing compass, but with a blade to cut circles.
Complementary colors   Colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel, such as yellow-purple, red-green and blue-orange are called complementary pairs.
Composite Shape   A group of two or more objects or shapes (sometimes including shadows) that form an easily recognizable shape or unit.
Composition Brayer   A soft gelatin roller used in graphics.
Cone of Vision   In mechanical perspective, the visual field, in a cone shape of about 45 to 60 degrees, in which a person views the points in a picture.
Constructivism   An abstract movement in sculpture, begun in Russia about 1917, that used metal, wood, plaster, tin, and other industrial materials to build 3-dimensional sculptures, paintings, and graphics; a form of Art and everyday life; also called "Tatlinism", after Vladamire Tatlin (1885-1953) a champion of Art form.
Contact screen   A halftone screen.
Conte crayon   Trade name of a unique French drawing crayon that is made in square sticks or in pencil form, is grease-free and available in several colors, the reddish crayon is sometimes called a "Sanguine." Conte also manufactures a line of pencils, pastels and chalks.
Contemporary Art   Art of our era or times.
Cool colors   Colors in which blue, green or violet predominate.
Copal painting medium   A medium made from resin, pure oil and rectified turpentine, used with oil paints.
Copal Varnish   A quality varnish sometimes used as a finish coat on an oil painting after it is thouroughly dry (six to twelve months)
Copper tooling   Creating a design or picture on copper by means of pressing a tool into the surface either from the front or back; sulphur is then applied to make different values.
Copper Wheel engraving   The process of engraving a design on glass with various copper wheels and abrasives. The copper wheels are fitted on a small lathe and the object to be engraved is held against the spinning wheel.
Coptic Art   Early Christian Art, mainly in Egypt during the 5th to the 8th centuries.
Corundum   An extremely hard mineral abrasive used to smooth or grind.
Counter-etch   To resensitize a lithographic or other printing plate so that it will accept crayon or tusche.
Cover paper   A heavy-duty colored paper used for covers of brochures, catalogs and cards, etc.
Cover Stock   A type of smooth or textured papaer produced in single or double weight, in white as well as in different colors; used for covers, advertising, greeting cards, etc.
Cray-pas   Trade name for oil-stick colors that combine qualities of crayons and pastels, do not need to be fixed, and can be used with turpentine to create a special effect.
Crest   In design, a crown or coat of arms. See also Heraldic.
Creve   In etching, the collapse of a whole area of a plate where lines are close together and the plate is left in the acid too long.
Criblee  Covered with dots punched on an engraving plate to create an image; also a technique of surface decoration with dots; also called "dotted manner, maniere criblee, schrottblatt".
Critique   A constructive discourse covering a Work or Works of Art, pointing out areas that are well done as well as things that might be improved upon.
Crop marks   Marks or indications on ArtWork or photographs to be reproduced that give instructions where to crop or cut.
Croppers   Two "L" shaped pieces of MAt board held aound a picture to judge how a composition can most effectively be cropped.
Croquis   (French, "Sketch") Sketch and notes that will be used for a full Art rendering at a later date; often used in fashion drawing.
Crosshatch  A means of creating a tonal effect by repeated and parallel horizontal, vertical or diagonal lines.
Crossmarks   See "Registration marks."
C-scroll   A design in the shape of the letter "C".
Cubism   An abstract Art movement of the early 20th century, initiated by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque; in painting, a means of representing volume in a 2-dimensional plane without resorting to the illusion of depth as usually developed within the picture space. In sculpture, in Africa, Oceania, and Alaska, cubistic form was used at much earlier dates.
Curve ruler   A piece of rubber or plastic with a piece of flexible metal in center (and covered) that has the ability to bend into various curves as an aid in scribing lines.
Cycladic Art   Art of the islands of the Aegean sea called the Cyclades, about 2600-1100 B.C.; consisted mainly of pottery and sculpture.