Visual art is art that is intended to be viewed with the eyes. There are many different types of visual art, and artists can use a variety of materials, media, and techniques to create their works. Painters and cartoonists, for example, work in two dimensions, using a medium to create an image on a flat surface. Sculptors and architects, for example, work in three dimensions, molding, carving, and combining materials to create their works of art. Photographers and video artists capture images in artistic ways using cameras and video recorders.
Painting and drawing are two types of visual art that entail creating images on a flat, two-dimensional surface, such as canvas, drawing paper, cardboard, the side of a building, or even a busy city street sidewalk. Although there are many other options available to the artist, a painter typically uses a brush to apply the medium of his choice to that surface. Oils, watercolors, pastels, and acrylics are among the mediums available to painters. Comic book artists, animators, editorial cartoonists, children’s book illustrators, and caricaturists are among the artists who specialize in creating images on flat surfaces. Artists have used a wide range of instruments and supplies to create their works throughout history, including pencils, crayons, pens, markers, and even soft metals like silver and tin.
Sculpture and architecture, for example, are three-dimensional forms of visual art. A sculptor shapes a material such as stone, glass, wood, clay, or even ice chiseling or carving away certain sections of the material, or molding it into a specific shape. A sculptor can also make a sculpture combining various materials and objects. Topiary is a type of sculpture that involves shaping a bush, shrub, or tree into a desired shape. Baskets, jewelry, and origami are all examples of three-dimensional visual art.
Certain types of visual art entail the artistic capture of images using equipment such as cameras and video recorders. Color photography, black and white photography, and monochrome photography, in which the photographic image is created using a single hue, are the three main types of photography. Video art, in comparison to photography, is a relatively new visual art form, having first appeared in the 1960s. The artwork created in video art can either stand alone or be incorporated into a larger artistic work, such as a sculpture or a performance art performance.