Art Bingo Cards for the Art Room, With a Definition for Every Word

Art vocabulary bingo: you read a definition, pupils cover the art word it describes.

Tap a square to mark it. For a PDF, press Print and choose Save as PDF.

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Art words list, 40 words. Paste your own to replace it, or type to add to it.

Cards per printed page

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Ready to play

40 words in the bag

Every word is called once, in random order.

Playing with 40 words. The game is kept in this browser until you start a new one.

Called so far 0

Nothing called yet. Each call is listed here so a winning card can be checked.

Next step Print an elements of art word searchPick a pupil to read the next definition

How it works

Art bingo for the art room: 40 words, from the elements of art and principles of design to color words, kinds of art and studio tools. Each comes with a short definition to read out.

Read the full guide

Read the definition, not the word

Press Call the game, then Call the next one. Read only the definition: "A very hot oven that hardens clay into pottery." Pupils cover Kiln. Print the call sheet lists all 40 with their definitions.

Play one unit

For a color lesson, delete every line but the 10 color words and choose 3 × 3. The cards follow the list.

Questions and answers

What are the elements of art?

The Getty Museum lists six: line, shape, form, space, color and texture. Many classrooms teach value as a seventh. Getty counts value as part of color, with hue and intensity, so this set files Value under color words.

What are the principles of design?

Getty's list has nine: balance, emphasis, movement, pattern, repetition, proportion, rhythm, variety and unity. All nine are on the cards. Contrast, which some lists add, shows up here inside Emphasis: the part that stands out from the rest.

Is this bingo for drawing challenges?

No, this set is art vocabulary for a class. For a drawing-challenge board, replace the list with your own prompts, one per line, such as Draw your shoe.

All 40 art words

Elements of art 6

  • Color Light reflected off things. It has a name, like red, a lightness and a brightness.
  • Form A shape with three dimensions: length, width and depth, like a ball or a box.
  • Line A mark that is longer than it is wide. It can be thick or thin, curved or straight.
  • Shape A flat, closed area with length and width, like a circle or a leaf.
  • Space The area around and between things in a picture, or the feeling of depth.
  • Texture How a surface feels, or looks like it would feel: rough, smooth, soft or hard.

Principles of design 9

  • Balance Spreading the visual weight so the picture feels steady, like a scale that does not tip.
  • Emphasis The part that catches your eye first, because it stands out from the rest.
  • Movement The path your eye takes through a work of art.
  • Pattern The same object or symbol repeated all over a work of art.
  • Proportion How the sizes of the parts fit each other, like the size of a head next to a body.
  • Repetition Using the same line, shape or color again and again so the work feels active and whole.
  • Rhythm Repeating parts to make an organized movement, like a beat in music.
  • Unity The feeling that every part of a work belongs together.
  • Variety Using different lines, shapes and colors to keep the viewer interested.

Color words 10

  • Color wheel A circle of colors that shows how they are related.
  • Complementary colors Two colors straight opposite one another on the color wheel, like red and green.
  • Hue The name of a color, such as red, green or blue.
  • Intensity How bright or dull a color is.
  • Primary colors Red, yellow and blue: the colors you mix to make the others.
  • Secondary colors Green, orange and violet: each is two primary colors mixed together.
  • Shade A color mixed with black to make it darker.
  • Tertiary colors Colors like yellow green and blue violet, made by mixing a primary and a secondary color.
  • Tint A color mixed with white to make it lighter.
  • Value How light or dark a color is.

Kinds of art and tools 15

  • Collage Art made by gluing pieces of paper, cloth or pictures onto a surface. The name comes from a French word for glue.
  • Easel A stand that holds a painting upright while the artist works on it.
  • Horizon line The line in a picture where the ground or sea seems to meet the sky.
  • Kiln A very hot oven that hardens clay into pottery.
  • Landscape A picture of natural scenery, like mountains, rivers and trees.
  • Mosaic A picture made of many small pieces of stone, glass or tile set close together.
  • Mural A painting made right on a wall or ceiling.
  • Negative space Empty areas next to and between the things you drew.
  • Palette The board or tray where a painter sets out and mixes paints.
  • Portrait A picture or sculpture of a person, where the face matters most.
  • Sculpture Art with three dimensions that you can walk around, carved, molded or built.
  • Self-portrait A portrait an artist makes of themselves.
  • Sketch A quick drawing done to try out an idea, not a finished work.
  • Still life A picture of things that do not move, like fruit, flowers or a vase.
  • Symmetry When both halves match, like a butterfly's wings.

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