Artistic Checklist

Have you ever created a piece of art thinking it looked ok, then received a critique or looked at the artwork later and thought "What was I thinking? How could I miss a key artistic element like that?"

When a friend isn't available to give you some friendly advice, I find it helpful to go through a checklist to make sure I didn't miss something as simple as correcting the white balance.

1. Creative - Unique - Detailed - Interesting - Character - Original - Storytelling
2. Light - Lighting - Reflections - Transparency - Depth - Shadows - Color Temperature
3. Contrast - Squint Test - Back Up - Zoom In
4. Color - Variance - Monochromatic - Hue - Saturation - Balance - Complementary - Texture - White Balance - Grading
5. Details - Neat - Solid - Careful - Consistent - Scale - Accuracy
6. Composition - Blank Space - Negative Space - Viewpoint - Juxtaposition - Bull's Eye Effect - Emphasis - Perspective (Up High & Down Low) - Framing
7. Background - Context - Understandable - Separation
8. Focus - Sharpness - Realism - Depth of Field
9. Movement - Motion - Blur - Action
10. Expression - Simile - Morph - Familiarity in Unfamiliarity
11. Abstract - Combine Elements
12. Repetition - Patterns

What does each word mean in this list? Well, if I told you, that would ruin the whole point of your artwork. This is simply a list of words to help you think through what you may have missed.

A great supplement is an elements and principles of art list, found in any introduction to art book.

1. Line
2. Color
3. Value
4. Shape
5. Form
6. Space
7. Texture
8. Balance
9. Emphasis
10. Contrast
11. Rhythm
12. Movement
13. Pattern
14. Repetition
15. Unity
16. Variety
17. Proportion

You may have noticed a bit of crossover between this list and my checklist.

Posted on: October 30, 2015