1916-1920s
The Dada movement included a heavy undercurrent of a spontaneity and chance.  It emerged among European writers and artists starting around 1915 and lasting until 1922.  The term “Dada” was coined by Tristan Tzara who stabbed a dictionary with a knife in the effort to create a name for the growing movement.  Artists and writers of the time were growingly becoming fed up with the killings and atmosphere created from World War One; as a result, they tried to shake people up to take notice and to change things.  Key artists of the movement include; George Grosz, Otto Dix, Hans Richter, Jean Arp, and Marcel Duchamp.
 

A term referring to the workprint prior it being edited.  The term originated from the practice of some labs having the workprint finished the same day it was dropped off by a client.  Sometimes it is also known as rushes. 

A resin produced from conifer trees that is put into varnishes and oil mediums.

 A heavier type of cloth that contains a reversible 2D pattern woven in it.  In is frequently created from items such as silk, rayon, cotton or a mixture of these or other items.

“Dandy” is a descriptive term used for men self-conscious about their appearance and looking smart in their choice of clothes.

Information expressed in numbers OR factual information that is organized for analysis. 

In anime, dating sim is shorthand for dating simulation.  Dating sim is a kind of interactive first-person computer game.  In dating sim, a character tries to generate romantic interests in a variety of possible story lines.  They usually do not contain any animation.  Once in awhile dating sim may include hidden characters.  Often they are used for source material in anime series.

Having the color temperature of 5,400K.

The color temperature of daylight; on a color temperature scale daylight is 5,400K.  Exterior shooting requires color film to be balanced for daylight so the resulting image will not be bluish.  Used in interiors, daylight balanced film will make an image take on an orange color. 

A spool made of aluminum that holds 100 feet of film footage.  The spool is painted black and features opaque solid sides that are necessary to guard the film from exposure when the camera is loaded in daylight.  The term comes from the idea that the film has the ability to be loaded inside the camera without the use of complete darkness (to keep the film from being exposed obviously).  There are 400 foot daylight spools as well; however, they are not often utilized because they are not very compatible with a magazine. 

1917- 1931

De Stijl is an art movement that was devoted to simple forms and complete abstraction.  Geometric shapes such as the square, along with primary colors and black and white were the main focuses of the movement’s creative expression.  Piet Mondrian, an artist from the Netherlands, was the key catalyst that started the movement.  Neo-Plasticism was a manifesto written by Mondrian in 1920 that fueled the movement.  Another artist from the Netherlands named Theo van Doesberg worked to expand the influence of the movement’s ideas through his journal De Stijl begun in 1917.  Other key artists in the movement include J.J.P. Oud, George Vantongerloo, and Gerrit Rietveld.


 

   Colors that are used to under-paint canvases.

Paint that gives off a matte finish; it is oil-based and is utilized in many traditional ways. 

A finish that gives a decorative touch.  It is often created using uniform designs from a machine or using special tools.   The design is heat-pressed onto the surface of leather.  The result is the creation of a series of depressions (as opposed to raised marks in embossing) that add up to form the design.  

A term for the rough edge on handmade papers.

A declaration block is the second part of a CSS rule.  It consists of one or more declarations made up of a CSS property and a value associated with that particular property.  Each declaration ends with a semi-colon with the last semi-colon of the last declaration being optional.  

The process of cutting designs from paper and then placing them on surfaces in order to create a collage. 

The term deep is a descriptive word regarding the locations of the body.  The term deep signifies moving toward the middle of a form that is solid (like the leg). 

The deltoid is positioned at the lateral third of clavicle and spine of scapulal; it includes the acromion process.  It is inserted almost halfway down on the lateral surface of the humerus, and allows the body to raise the arm at the shoulder.

A color that washes out after around twenty to twenty-five shampoos.  It is ideal for people who wish to blend small bits of grey, make their hair brighter, add some shine, or go darker.  On the other hand, if used extensively, the color will build up in the hair and not be able to be washed out, contributing to regrowth issues and making the demi-permanent permanent.    

Demotic script is the informal script from Egypt.  It originates from hieratic script and hieroglyphs.

A depressor is the term used to describe a muscle that lowers something. 

Depth of field refers to the area in focus in front of and behind a plane that is increased as an iris becomes smaller.  The longer a lens is, the less the depth of field is and vice versa.  It does not spread out in a balanced manner; rather, an area is around 2/3 behind the plane of focus and 1/3 in front of it.  It is best to use a depth of field table in order to help take into consideration all the variables that determines the depth of field.  Tables can be found in the American Cinematographer’s Manual. 

A descender is the section of the letterform that goes under the baseline; frequently it refers to lowercase letters, as well as to various punctuation marks.  However, a few typefaces include uppercase letters with descenders.

High quality Gouache paints.  They are used extensively in commercial art. 

A diacritical sign is a mark or accent.  The sign demonstrates how a certain syllable or letter is pronounced.

A type of filter placed over a camera lens to create a gentle focus effect.  The term diffusion may also refer to a sheet of material put on a movie light in order to create softer shadows. 

This is a type of camera that intakes information in a digital file format (as opposed to film).  This type of camera removes the film process of reproducing an image.  This creates the opportunity for permitting less color casts.  And since the data is digital, the archive is better.

A digital print is a print that is made on an inkjet printer; the print comes from a digital file on a computer. Giclees are a type of digital print.

Liquids that work as a diluting agent in oil paints.  Water is an example of the diluent used in waterbased paints.     

Diminution occurs in linear perspective; it involves objects becoming smaller and smaller as the space between the viewer and the object increases.

Dingbat typeface is a kind of typeface that is created from non-alphabetic marker characters (like arrows, numbers within circles, and asterisks).

A section of the view-finding system of a camera; it can be altered to take into consideration a person’s eyesight which allows a person to view the ground-glass with clarity.

Formatting is often used to convey meaning in an artistic work. One way to do this is to create a diptych - combining of two canvases together.  By presenting images that relate to one another, an artist is able to make a statement with more force than if the image stood by itself.   

 (1731 - 1809) Dirck van der Aa was one of the most known persons from a family of Dutch painters from The Hague.  He specialized in grisaille decorative panels for the interior of buildings.  

A discretionary hyphen is a type of hyphen that happens if a word is displayed at the end of a line, as opposed to if the word is displayed in the middle part of a line.

The term refers to the process of creating a homogeneous combination of ingredients in paints.  Pigment particles are spread evenly in the paint. 

Display type is the decorative and/or big type utilized as visual elements or headlines in shown pieces.  Usual sizes of display types include: 14, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60, and 72 point.

The movement between two film shots; while one is fading out, the other is at the same time fading in.  They are created at the labs during the printing phase.  However, they were gotten ready by the negative cutter.  Dissolves completed in a lab can only be done in set amounts, such as 48 frames or 24 frames.

The term proximal is a descriptive word regarding the locations of the body.  The term distal relates to a section on a limb that is father from the trunk (in proximity).

    A combination of chalk, water-based paint and glue.  Artists use it mostly for posters and murals.

A type of water-based paint that gives off a powdery finish.

A dither is the making of a flat bitmap to create digital halftones.  Dots are the same size and are congested in darker areas and spread out more in light areas (versus deep bitmaps that are utilized in gray-scale images). 

Using a bill of sale is the ideal way to go for artists because it allows one to include some essential terms of the sale, as well as keep a record of past sales.  It is not enough to use a receipt or invoice because they permit only limited information of one’s sales.  A bill of sale can include: the size and title of the art piece along with other identifying information, other additional items included in the sale (such as any matting or framework), the sale price, the sale date, certain instructions (such as maintenance concerns), and particular terms of the artwork agreement.  If the artwork is a commission piece, the bill of sale should describe the terms of the commission agreement. 

The term refers to fans of anime that take favorite characters from anime series and make them in their own fiction stories.  The practice is heavily done and enjoyed in Japan despite the fact that it is technically illegal under Japanese copyright laws.   

A type of shot that involves a camera positioned by a dolly that changes position during the filming of a scene.  Sometimes it is referred to as a tracking shot.

A particular women’s fashion between the 1870s and1880s.  The dolly varden style was coined after Charles Dickens’ novel Barnaby Rudge published in 1841.  The style was a revival of the Robe A La Polonaise style. 

Dono is an archaic honorific term used in anime that translated means “honorable.”  In other countries its equivalent is “Lord” or “Sir.”

The term dorsal is a descriptive word regarding the locations of the body.  The term dorsal is the same thing as posterior.  In addition, dorsal may refer to the top of the foot or the back of the hand.

Dots per inch or pixels per inch are the units of measurement used by the output device quality of print.   It relates to the number of pixels or dots that a printer is capable of printing in each inch. For example, a print at 72dpi will have 5184 dots on one square inch or the paper (72 x 72).  It may also relate to the pixels or the dots per inch of an image that is scanned.

A double exposure happens when exposed film is re-shot.  Another image is thus on top of the first shot.  Many exposures can be taken.  However, it is not correct to refer to it as a “triple exposure or “quadruple exposure.”  Instead, one might say “three double exposures” or “six double exposures.” 

16mm that contains a row of perforations that follow both sides of the film. 

In regard to 35mm, a double reel is made up of two single reels that are attached together.  To distinguish double reels from single reels, labeling such as 1 A/B, 2 A/B, 3 A/B, 4 A/B…etc is used.  The biggest double reel is 2,000 feet. 

A term relating to the idea that picture and sound are two different elements that are recorded separately, and edited or projected at the same time.  Both 35mm and 16mm utilize the double system.  In the double system, a tape recorder records the sound, and a camera takes the picture.  However, the end result becomes a single system as the two elements of picture and sound are brought together to create the same piece of print stock. 

A type of projector that was made to play a mag track in sync and to project a workprint. 

Douchi is a popular salt-fermented food in China made out of soy.  The fermentation process turns the soybeans black and soft.  Douchi features a salty, sweet, somewhat bitter taste; its smell is rather pungent and spicy.

In calligraphy, a downstroke is a stroke that is positioned downward along the descender or base line. 

DPI refers to the unit of measurement that gives the resolution of printed output.  300 dpi is the standard desktop laser printer output.  600 dpi is the medium resolution printer output. 

Drawers are underpants worn by women starting from the nineteenth century. 

Drawing is the depiction of art elements – such as color, tonal variations, and lines – on a picture plane to create forms and shapes.  Drawing is the foundation from which a picture is created.  In general, drawing is dominated by line, as opposed to painting – which is dominated by mass.

Drawing, like anything else, takes practice.  By taking the time and diligently practicing drawing exercises, a person will improve his/her draftsmanship over time.  And the learning never ends - there is always more to learn in the realm of art.  But once the basic master of drawing skills is achieved, a person has the ability to draw anything - ships, portraits, animals, flowers, landscapes... 

Through drawing, a person not only learns a new skill, but learns to open up the creative side of his/her brain.  The imagination is unleashed and one perceives himself/herself in a whole new way, as well as the rest of the world. 

Drawn work is openwork embroidery created by taking out some threads in either direction of the fabric and interlacing the leftover yarns with decorative stitches.

   A material that starts or quickens the drying process of oil paint, because it encourages oxidation. 

A drop shadow is a shadow that goes below the image or text that lends an illusion of shadows from the effect of the lighting used, as well as giving a three dimensional appearance to an object or figure.

A fancy silk fabric created with detailed, complicated patterns from the eighteenth century.

A type of painting technique that involves putting a small amount of paint onto a dry brush.  The effect of applying the brush to a surface is a rough, scratchy visual effect.

Dry Mount is a framing method that includes gluing a print to a firm backboard (like foam core) with a heat activated dry adhesive.  The method is not ideal for a limited edition print.  However, dry mounting is recommended if one knows that a piece of artwork will be exposed to temperature changes and humid conditions.  The dry mount technique will prevent the piece from buckling. 

An oil that absorbs oxygen and then changes into a firm film after being exposed to air.

Recording the dialogue of a script inside a sound studio; this happens after the film scenes are shot.  The actors of the film watch the film in order to move their lips to the same time as the footage. 

Dubtitles is a term that refers to subtitles for an anime that are identical to the English script (as opposed to a straight translation of the original Japanese content).

In calligraphy, a ductus is the direction, number and sequence of the strokes that work together to create a letter. 

A duotone is a halftone image that is printed with one dark and one light color.  A photograph is half-toned a second time (the screen is used twice at two different angles).  By using both, the detail and contrast of the image is improved.

A positive copy of a positive or a negative copy of a negative.  It is created in the reversal process.

A dust ruffle was a ruffle placed on the inside of the hem of a full-length petticoat or dress during the nineteenth and early twentieth century in order to guard the dress from getting dirty when a woman was outdoors.

A diagonal viewpoint of a scene by the camera.  It is also known as a canted angle. 

Dysbiosis is an unhealthy balance of intestinal bacteria in the gut.  Dr.Eli Metchnikoff popularized the term; he promoted the theory that all disease starts in one’s digestive tract due to an imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the gut.  The term “symbiosis” is its opposite, which means things are living together in harmony with each other.  Eating fermented foods such as homemade yogurt, kefir and sauerkraut aids in restoring a correct balance of bacteria in the intestines and prevents dysbiosis from occurring.