In color theory, value is how light or dark a color is. When you mix a hue with white, you raise its lightness while keeping the color family the same. That lighter version is called a tint. Tints are the pastel, airy versions of the original color, like red plus white making pink or blue plus white making baby blue. A tone, by contrast, comes from adding gray, which dulls the color and lowers saturation. A shade is created by adding black, making the color darker. The hue itself is simply the color name (red, blue, etc.) without changing its lightness.

Foreshortening is the drawing technique used to convey depth by shortening parts of an object that point toward or away from the viewer. When a limb or another element is oriented toward you, the artist compresses its length in the direction of the line of sight to create the illusion that it is receding into space. This specific shortening captures how the object would actually appear if you were looking at it from an angle, which is why it exactly demonstrates parts appearing shorter than their true length. Proportion focuses on the relative sizes of different parts within the same subject, but not on how depth affects length. Perspective describes the overall system for representing three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface, including vanishing points and convergence lines, rather than the particular shortening of a single part. Scale deals with the overall size of an object relative to a reference, not the internal shortening caused by viewpoint.

Greek architectural orders are the three main column styles used in ancient Greece: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. When describing them together, you’re referring to the three orders as a group—the three classical orders. The best descriptor is simply listing all three styles because that shows the complete set that defines the collective. These three names form the recognized trio that defines the Greek (and later classical) system of orders.

Encaustic painting relies on a wax-based binder that is heated to fuse the paint to the surface. The pigment is mixed into beeswax, which melts and can be applied in layers, then fused with heat to create a durable, luminous film as it cools. This wax binder is what gives encaustic its characteristic texture and surface quality. In contrast, linseed oil binds pigments in oil paints, gum arabic is used with watercolors and inks, and acrylic polymer binds pigments in acrylic paints. So beeswax is the binder that defines encaustic painting.