Chapter 15: Mediums and Techniques in Visual Art
Watercolour or charcoal, soot or gold — every medium has a character, and a way of handling it.
Original notes — ready CBSE (NCERT, English Medium) • Class 9 • Arts • Book: Madhurima
Chapter 15: Mediums and Techniques in Visual Art — EG's own notes, in simple words
Book: Madhurima (CBSE, Class 9) | Chapter 15 | Section: Visual Arts | Medium: English
Diagram (labels are printed on the image): Watercolours, clay and pencils — different mediums, each with its own technique. A general picture about art materials; it is not a scene from the book.
Students trying watercolour painting and clay work side by side.
What the chapter is about
Now that you have gone through the essential warm-up activities like sketching, this chapter moves to mediums and techniques: the materials artists use, and the ways of handling them that make each medium behave.
A medium is not just a material; it is a character. Watercolour flows and cannot easily be undone. Charcoal smudges and stains — even the artist's hands, face and clothes, as one student in this chapter discovers. Clay must be shaped, dried and fired. Knowing a medium means knowing what it will and will not do.
Colour: wheel, pairs and natural sources
Colours are organised on the colour wheel. Complementary colours sit directly opposite each other on the wheel; analogous colours lie next to each other, usually in groups of three. Practising tints (colour + white), shades (colour + black) and tones (colour + grey) shows how one hue can become a whole family.
Colours also come from nature. Traditional artists used soot from oil lamps to make black, and the chapter asks you to list five or six natural sources for colours from food and nature around you. The Mewar miniature painting studied here, in opaque watercolour and gold on paper, shows how precious and natural materials meet in one work.
Perspective and other techniques
Perspective is a drawing technique used to show three-dimensionality, or spatial depth, on a two-dimensional surface: nearer things larger, farther things smaller, lines meeting towards a vanishing point. Without it, a scene looks flat even when its objects are correct.
Other techniques in this chapter include warm-up sketching, working on different surfaces (paper is not the only one), and choosing mediums for purpose: a wall mural wants different materials from a small sketch. Reflecting on the mediums you have used — what each did well, and where it fought you — is how technique grows.
What you should learn
Every medium has a character and a handling: colour-wheel pairs, tints/shades/tones, natural colours, and perspective for depth.
Key Terms
- Medium — A material used to make art, e.g. watercolour, charcoal, clay.
- Technique — The way of handling a medium.
- Complementary colours — Colours directly opposite each other on the colour wheel.
- Analogous colours — Colours lying next to each other on the colour wheel.
- Tint / Shade / Tone — Colour + white / colour + black / colour + grey.
- Perspective — Technique showing 3D depth on a flat surface.
- Opaque watercolour — Watercolour that covers, not see-through, as in Mewar miniatures.
- Mural — A large painting made directly on a wall.
Remember
- Watercolour flows; charcoal smudges and stains.
- Complementary = opposite on the wheel; analogous = neighbours.
- Tints add white, shades add black, tones add grey.
- Traditional black came from soot of oil lamps.
- Perspective gives flat drawings spatial depth.
Common mistake: using any medium for any job. Match the medium to the work: a wall mural, a miniature and a quick sketch need different materials and techniques.
Chart / Table: Mediums and how to handle them
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Watercolour | Flows; light washes; hard to undo — plan light areas first |
| Opaque watercolour + gold | Covers fully; used in Mewar miniatures on paper |
| Charcoal | Smudges and stains; good for bold outdoor sketching |
| Clay / ceramic | Shaped by hand, dried, fired in a kiln |
| Natural colours | From food and nature, e.g. soot black from oil lamps |
| Perspective drawing | Nearer larger, farther smaller, lines to a vanishing point |
Practice set — try it yourself
- Make tints, shades and tones of one colour.
Hint: Add white, black and grey in steps. - List two pairs of complementary colours and two pairs of analogous colours.
Hint: Use the colour wheel. - List five or six natural sources for colours around you.
Hint: Think food and nature, not shops. - Draw one scene twice: flat, then with perspective.
Hint: Compare depth. - Reflect on mediums you have used: what did each do well?
Hint: Note where each medium fought you.
Questions with Answers
- What are complementary and analogous colours?
Complementary colours sit directly opposite each other on the colour wheel. Analogous colours lie next to each other, usually in groups of three. - What are tints, shades and tones?
Tint is a colour mixed with white; shade is a colour mixed with black; tone is a colour mixed with grey. - How did traditional artists make black?
From soot collected from oil lamps — a natural source, not a shop-bought tube. - What is perspective in drawing?
A technique for showing three-dimensionality, or spatial depth, on a flat surface: nearer things larger, farther things smaller. - Why does the choice of medium matter?
Because each medium behaves differently: watercolour flows and cannot easily be undone, charcoal smudges, clay must be fired. The medium shapes the result.
Extension questions — go deeper
- Write a paragraph about the Mewar miniature painting, covering medium, colour and detail.
Opaque watercolour and gold on paper; note its colours, fine detail, and how precious materials serve a small, rich work. - List two pairs of complementary and two pairs of analogous colours seen in a painting shown in class.
Read them off the colour wheel from the painting's actual colours, not from memory. - You have learnt traditional artists used soot from oil lamps. What other natural colour sources can you find?
Answers list five or six from food and nature around you, with the colour each gives. - Design a wall mural: which mediums and why?
A mural needs durable, large-scale materials and techniques — different from a paper sketch — and a plan for working at size. - Reflect on all the mediums you have used. Which suits you best, and why?
Judge by control, pleasure and result: the medium that lets your ideas come out most clearly is your current strength.
- Medium = material; technique = how you handle it.
- Complementary opposite; analogous neighbours; tint/shade/tone = +white/+black/+grey.
- Natural colours: soot black from oil lamps, and more from food and nature.
- Mewar miniature: opaque watercolour and gold on paper.
- Perspective = depth on a flat surface.
How to use this page: Read the summary, say the Key Terms in your own words, then try the practice set without looking. Use the Questions with Answers to check yourself afterwards. Ask your teacher or parent to check your answers.