upstroke
Pen moving skyward
An upstroke is a stroke made in an upward direction—the pen moving up the page, the piston rising in the cylinder, the wing lifting before the downbeat.
In handwriting, upstrokes are typically thinner than downstrokes.
The calligrapher's upstrokes were delicate and precise.
Mechanism for vertical transport
Pen's writing tip
- ascenderOne moving upward
- flourishTo grow vigorously
- swashWater flowing over ground
- baselineStandard for comparison
cursive · script · lettering · serif · ligature · penmanship · quill · ink
Sweeping across guitar strings
- pluckSpirit or yank
- pickingAct of selecting
- fingerstylePlucking strings directly
- guitarFretted stringed instrument
ukulele · banjo · mandolin · fretboard · arpeggio · tremolo · acoustic · electric
Regaining what was lost
- pullForce toward oneself
- catchSeize or snag
- freestyleWithout prescribed technique
- backstrokeSupine aquatic locomotion
breaststroke · butterfly · propulsion · technique · rotation
Reciprocating cylinder component
- cylinderCircular-based solid form
- compressionForcing into smaller space
- engineMachine producing motion
- reciprocatingMoving back and forth
crankshaft · combustion · intake · pump · hydraulic · pneumatic · actuator · linear motion
lift
Mechanism for vertical transport
raising · elevation · swing · arc · motion · return · follow-through
nib
Pen's writing tip
baseline · cursive · script · lettering · serif · ligature · penmanship · quill · ink · italic
strumming
Sweeping across guitar strings
- pluckSpirit or yank
- pickingAct of selecting
- fingerstylePlucking strings directly
guitar · ukulele · banjo · mandolin · fretboard · arpeggio · tremolo · acoustic · electric · bass
recovery
Regaining what was lost
backstroke · breaststroke · butterfly · propulsion · technique · rotation
piston
Reciprocating cylinder component
- cylinderCircular-based solid form
- compressionForcing into smaller space
- engineMachine producing motion
reciprocating · crankshaft · combustion · intake · pump · hydraulic · pneumatic · actuator · linear motion
- strokesbackstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, crawl, freestyle
- rasgueofinger roll
- guitar basicsstrumming, chord progressions, power chords, barre chords, palm muting
- guitar techniquesshredding, fingerpicking, bends, arpeggios, hammer-on
- letteringlettering styles, letterforms, calligraphy, hand lettering, handwriting
- pen techniqueshatching, crosshatching, stippling, shading, outlining
upstrokedownstroke
Stroke moving downward
downswing · power stroke · descent · exhaust stroke · shade