SATURATION – Also called in the US as Intensity and refers to the relative purity of the hue present in a color.
SCALE – A size relationship between different shapes or forms.*
SECONDARY COLORS – PURPLE / GREEN / ORANGE. Colors mixed from adjacent primaries.
SHADING – The darker value on the surface of an object that gives the illusion that a portion of it is turned away from or obscured by the source of light.
SHADOW – The tone produced upon a surface when light upon it is obscured by an object. Also called “cast shadow.” It is generally colder and more opaque than shade. Reflected lights may occur within cast shadow as well as in shade, but are likely to be less noticeable.
SHALLOW SPACE – The illusion of limited depth. With shallow space, the imagery appears to move only a slight distance back from the picture plane.
SHAPE – A visually perceived area created either by an enclosing line or by color and value changes defining the outer edges. An Element of Design.*
SHAPED VALUE GRADATION – Value gradation that takes on a curve or sharp bend or other interesting line which echoes an important shape in the art work. The result is that the shaped value gradation not only does its primary job of blending from dark to light but it also does a secondary job of echoing a shape.
SPACE – Refers to the distance or area between, around, above, below, or within elements; both positive and negative space are important factors to be considered in every design.*
SPACIAL DEPTH – The illusion of 3 dimensional space in a 2 dimensional art.
SPLIT COMPLEMENTARY – A complementary color plus the two colors on either side of its complement on the color wheel.
STATIC – A composition that is at rest or an object that appears stationary.
SUBJECT MATTER – The person, object, event, or idea on which an artwork represents. One of the Components of Art along with Content and Form (some authors also include Context.)
SYMMETRY – A quality of a composition or form wherein there is a close or precise correspondence of elements on either side of a center axis or point; implies formality, tradition, stability. Symmetrical Balance is created when shapes are mirrored on either side of a central axis, as in a composition that is vertically divided down the center.*