MEDIUMS AND TECHNIQUES OF VISUAL ARTS
The field of Visual Art is very broad. Anyone wishing to specialize in this area
should know that there are very varied visual arts techniques.
Some examples of Visual Arts…
1. Craft
2. Drawing
3. Painting
4. Sculpture
5. Architecture
6. Design
Over the years, photography, Print making and video appeared as a result of
technological advancement under the name of “digital arts.”
1. CRAFT
- Skill in planning, making or executing.
- An occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill.
- Handicraft - A particular skill of making decorative objects by hand.
Kinds of Handicraft
1. Pottery
- The process of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic
materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard, durable form.
2. Basket Weaving
- The process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into two or three dimensional
materials, such as mats or containers.
3. Weaving
- A method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are
interlaced at right angles to form a fabric of cloth.
4. Tatting
- A technique for handicraft a particularly durable lace from a series of knots and
loops.
5. Crochet
- A process of creating fabric by interlacing loops of yarn, thread or strands o other
materials using a crochet hook.
6. Tapestry
- A form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom.
- Weft – faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed
work, unlike cloth weaving thread piece of art or image of image made from the
assembling of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials.
7. Mosaic
- A piece of art or image of image made from the assembling of small pieces colored
glass, stone, or other materials.
2. DRAWING
a form of visual art in which a person uses various drawing instruments to
mark paper or another two-dimensional medium.
Instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds
of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, various
kinds of erasers, markers, styluses, and various metals (such as silverpoint).
Digital drawing is the act of using a computer to draw.
3. PAINTING
Made up of lines, forms, colors and tones.
The art of putting together the elements on art on any flat surface like wood,
metal, canvas, plastic, paper, glass, wall or even the body of man.
The materials that used in painting (medium)
1. Water Color
- Mixture of pigment and water applied to a surface with good shining quality.
- Colors are less luminous.
2. Fresco
- Mixture of water and pigment applied to wet or moist plaster surface and become a
part of the surface.
3. Tempera
- Mineral pigment mixed with egg yolk or egg white with ore, gum or glue used as
binder because it dries quickly.
4. Pastel
- Dried paste made of pigments ground with chalk compound with gum water and
very flexible.
5. Encaustic
- Wax color fixed with heat used in portraits.
6. Oil
- Most expensive pigments used with linseed oil applied to canvas.
- Very glossy, dries slowly but lasts long.
7. Acrylic
- Quick dry synthetic or plastic medium with emulsion as binder.
4. SCULPTURE
A three- dimensional form constructed to represent an imaginary or natural shape.
May be free standing, relief and kinetic.
A plastic art that express in tangible lines, mass, proportion and molding.
Especially made to perpetuate the memories of events or persons.
Maybe civic formal or informal.
Two Kinds of Technique in Sculpture
1. Additive Sculpture - Adding the materials little by little to form a new image.
Some examples of Additive are Pottery, Paper Mache, Casting, Welding, Mobile, Body
Form
2. Subtractive Sculpture - A process of cutting away until the desired form is
reached like Carving and Molding
POTTERY
The process of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic
materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard, durable form.
PAPER MACHE
sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or
wall paper paste.
CASTING
A positive or reproduction of the original piece of sculpture created by pouring
materials into a preformed mold.
WELDING
The process of forming by the use of welding machine.
MOBILE
The sculptural works that moves and with sounds.
CARVING
is cutting out from the block of stone, marble, log of wood, soap, glass and other
materials until what is left is the desired shape.
MOLDING
is shaping smaller pieces of sculpture with the hand.
5. ARCHITECTURE
Style and designs depends on climate, geographical location, aspects of life
social, political, economical, ideological and technological.
Known as “Frozen Music” because of the rhythmic aspects of its lines.
Medium in Architecture
Mortal construction – Cement, sand, gravel, rocks, ect.
Organic Materials – Wood-yakal, guijo, apitong, tanguile, lauaan, Made into
plywood, lawanit, etc.
Highbred Materials – Adobe, brocks, tiles, marbles, granite.
Metal – Corrugated and plane GI (galvanized iron) colour roof.
Reinforced bars – 6, 8, 12, 16, 18, 20 mm, ect.
Synthetic materials – Plastic, glass aluminium, etc.
High tech steel for skeleton support
AUDITORY ARTS
The Art of Arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified,
and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm and timbre.
Includes languages, narratives, broadcasting, poetry, prayers, proverbs and music.
Audio Art is an art that can be enjoyed by the sense of hearing (ears). Examples of
audio art are as follows:
1. Art Music
- The art that can be enjoyed through the tone. For example, gamelan performances
or piano.
2. Literary Art
- The art that can be enjoyed through the word.
For example, reading poetry or drama.
They will explore a range of literary forms such as prose, poetry, and drama, as well
as a variety of writing forms, like short stories, play scripts, comics, creative non-
fiction and different types of poetry.
Literature is the art of combining spoken or written words and their meanings into
forms which have artistic and emotional appeal.
Drama - a story re-created by actors on stage in front of an audience.
Prose Fiction – includes narratives created by an author as distinguished from
true accounts.
Essay – a non-fiction expository writing ranging from informal, personal topics
to closely critical treatments of important subjects.
Poetry – highly expressive nature using special forms and choice of words and
emotional images. Narratives includes epics, romance and ballads and lyric
forms includes the sonnets, ode, elegy and song.
Miscellaneous – are history, biography, letters, journals, diaries, and other
works not formally classed as literature.
3. Sound Art
- The art that can be enjoyed through the tone and words.
For example, band performances.
4. Broadcasting
- Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience
via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the
electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model.
COMBINED ARTS
Those are the different art forms interacts and create something new and exciting.
It can refer to a collection of different art mediums, such as painting, singing and
musical performance.
Some examples of combined arts are theatre, festival, film making, etc.
We can easily recognize the combined arts in Film showing.
FILM
Film refers to the art of putting together successions of still images in order to create
an illusion of movement.
Filmmaking focuses on its aesthetic, cultural, and social value and is considered as
both an art and an industry.
Motion pictures.
Film can be created by using one or a combination of some techniques:
Motion-picture camera ( known as movie camera)
Animation techniques
Computer-generated imagery ( CGI) - Specialized program (Adobe
Illustrator, Corel draw, and etc.)
Filmmaking simulate experiences or creates one that is beyond the scope of our
imagination as it aims to deliver ideas, feelings, or beauty to its viewer.
ELEMENTS OF FILMMAKING
Lighting – Direction, Quality, Source or Color of Light.
Musical Score – The original music that accompanies a film.
Visual Effects – The process by which imagery is created or manipulated
outside the context of a live – action shot in filmmaking and video production.
Direction – Includes both the camera shots and the lighting to obtain both a
particular type of effect and mood.
THE COLLABORATIVE ART OF FILMMAKING
Because of its technical complexity, involves entire teams of artist, writers,
and production experts, supported by technicians taking charge of the cameras,
lighting equipment, sets, props,costumes, and the like-all under the supervision of a
film director.
Film directing- envisions the final effect of the film on its viewers, visually,
mentally and emotionally.
Acting- film actors had to learn to express themselves without the exaggerated facial
expressions and gestures used in stage.
Cinematography- art of film camera work. A camera placement and movement,
lighting, and other special techniques.
Editing- the art of selecting the precise sections of film, then sequencing and joining
them to achieve the director’s desired visual and emotional effect.
Production/ Set design- this recreated in physical terms.....through location,
scenery, sets, lighting, costumes, and props.
