Media, or mediums, are the core types of material (or related other tools) used by an artist, composer, designer, etc. to create a work of art.
The following is a list of artistic categories and the media used within each category:
Architecture
Carpentry
Ceramics
Drawing
Common drawing materials
Common supports (surfaces) for drawing
Common drawing tools and methods
Electronic
-
Graphic art software and 3D computer graphics
-
and desktop publishing software
-
Digital photography and digital cinematography
-
Specialized input devices (e.g. graphics tablet and )
-
Digital printing
-
Programming languages
-
Video game
Film
-
Video art
-
Single-channel video
-
Video installation
Film, as a form of mass communication, is itself also considered a medium in the sense used by fields such as sociology and communication theory (see also mass media). These two definitions of medium, while they often overlap, are different from one another: television, for example, utilizes the same types of artistic media as film, but may be considered a different medium from film within communication theory.
Food
A chef's tools and equipment, including
Oven, stoves, grills, and griddles. Specialty equipment may be used, including salamanders,
, woks,
, and
.
Glass
Glassblowing,
Glass fusing, colouring and marking methods.
Installation
Installation art is a site-specific form of
sculpture that can be created with any material. An installation can occupy a large amount of
space, create an , transform/disrupt the space, exist in the space. One way to distinguish an installation from a sculpture (this may not apply to every installation) is to try to imagine it in a different space. If the objects present difficulties in a different space than the original, it is probably an installation.
Literature
Traditional writing media
Common bases for writing
Natural world
Painting
Common paint media
Uncommon paint media
Supports for painting
Common tools and methods
Mural techniques
use many of the same media as
Panel painting, but due to the scale of their works, use different techniques. Some such techniques include:
Graphic narrative media
Comics creators use many of the same media as traditional painters.
Performing arts
The
performing arts are a form of
entertainment that may be created by the artist's own
Human body,
face, and presence as a medium. There are many genres of
performance;
dance,
theatre and re-enactment are a few examples.
Performance art is a performance that may not present a conventional formal linear
narrative.
Photography
In
photography, a
photosensitive surface is used to capture an optical still image, usually utilizing a lens to focus
light. Some photographic media include:
Printmaking
In the art of
printmaking, "media" tends to refer to the technique used to create a print. Common media include:
Sculpture
In
sculpture, a
solid structure and surface is shaped or combined using substances and components, to form a three-dimensional object. The size of a sculptured work can be built very big and could be considered as
architecture, although more commonly a large
statue or bust, and can be crafted very small and intricate as
jewellery, ornaments and decorative
.
Materials
Carving media
Casting media
Modeling media
Assembled media
Finishing materials
Tools
Sound
The art of
sound can be singular or a combination of
speech or objects and crafted instruments, to create sounds,
and
music for a range of sonic hearing purposes. See also
music and
sound art.
Technical products
The use of
technology products as an art medium is a merging of
applied art and
applied science, that may involve
aesthetics,
efficiency and
ergonomics using various materials.
Textiles
In the art of
a soft and flexible material of
or
yarn is formed by spinning
wool,
flax,
cotton, or other material on a
spinning wheel and
,
knitting, macramé (
),
weaving, or pressing fibres together (
felt) to create a work.
See also
External links
