Arts media are the materials and tools used by an artist, composer or designer to create a work of art,[1] for example, "pen and ink" where the pen is the tool and the ink is the material. The following lists types of art and the media each uses.
See main article: Outline of architecture and Building material.
See main article: Ceramic art.
See main article: Outline of drawing and drawings.
See main article: Electronic art.
See main article: Outline of film and Cinematic techniques.
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.[2]
See main article: Culinary art. A chef's tools and equipment, including ovens, stoves, grills, and griddles. Specialty equipment may be used, including salamanders, French tops, woks, tandoors, and induction burners.
Glassblowing, Glass fusing, colouring and marking methods.
See main article: Installation art. 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 ambience, 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.
See main article: Literature and Writing implement.
See main article: Gardening and Landscape architecture.
See main article: Outline of painting.
Muralists use many of the same media as panel painters, but due to the scale of their works, use different techniques. Some such techniques include:
See main article: Graphic narrative. Comics creators use many of the same media as traditional painters.
See main article: Performing arts. The performing arts is a form of entertainment that is created by the artist's own body, face and presence as a medium. There are many skills and genres of performance; dance, theatre and re-enactment being examples. Performance art is a performance that may not present a conventional formal linear narrative.
See main article: Outline of photography. In photography a photosensitive surface is used to capture an optical still image, usually utilizing a lens to focus light. Some media include:
In the art of printmaking, "media" tends to refer to the technique used to create a print. Common media include:
See main article: Outline of sculpture. In sculpting, a solid structure and textured 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 reliefs.
See main article: List of musical instruments and Music theory. The art of sound can be singular or a combination of speech or objects and crafted instruments, to create sounds, rhythms and music for a range of sonic hearing purposes. See also music and sound art.
The use of technical products as an art medium is a merging of applied art and science, that may involve aesthetics, efficiency and ergonomics using various materials.
In the art of textiles a soft and flexible material of fibers or yarn is formed by spinning wool, flax, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel and crocheting, knitting, macramé (knotting), weaving, or pressing fibres together (felt) to create a work.