contouring

Sculpting facial features

Contouring is the practice of using light and dark shades to create the illusion of depth and dimension.

In makeup, contouring sculpts facial features—defining cheekbones, slimming noses, sharpening jawlines: She spent twenty minutes contouring before the photo shoot.

The technique also applies to mapmaking, where contour lines trace elevation, and to cosmetic procedures that reshape the body.

makeup

highlighter

Luminous ink pen

bronzerComplexion-warming makeup
sculptingShaping material into forms
blendingCombining into uniformity

cheekbones · jawline · nose · shading · strobing · baking · chiseled · definition · Kim Kardashian · brush

art

outline

Summary of key elements

shadingDepicting light and darkness
formShape or document
renderingInterpretive depiction or performance

cross-hatching · modeling · value · chiaroscuro · volume · dimension · depth · tone · gradation · highlight

sculpting

carving

Shaping by cutting away

modelingSimulating or demonstrating form
shapingGiving something its form
clayMoldable earth for ceramics

chisel · form · surface · relief · texture · planes · armature · subtractive · additive · smoothing

cartography

topographic

Concerning surface feature arrangement

elevationHeight above reference point
intervalDuration between two points
reliefEasing of distress

mapping · surveying · gradient · terrain · hillshade · isobars · USGS · GIS · landform · slope

manufacturing

milling

Processing grain mechanically

CNCAutomated machining via code
machiningSubtractive metalworking process
profilingCharacterizing by patterns

toolpath · cutting · shaping · die · template · precision · CAD · surface · finishing · lathe

contouring

highlighter

outline

carving

topographic

milling

contouring

Opposites

Phrases

Categories

Family