Digital Painting Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield Digital Painting facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What is the role of 'lost edges' in a painting? → They soften transitions between shapes to guide viewer focus and add realism
2. What is the Gradient tool used for in digital painting? → Creating smooth transitions between two or more colors
3. Which brush setting controls whether the edge of a brushstroke is sharp or soft? → Hardness
4. What does 'DPI' stand for and why does it matter when setting up a digital painting canvas? → Dots Per Inch; determines print sharpness and physical size at output
5. What is the 'terminator' in painting a 3D form? → The boundary line between the lit and shadowed areas on a form
6. Which blending mode is commonly used to add light and glow effects in digital painting? → Screen or Add (Linear Dodge)
7. What is the primary use of a 'texture brush' in digital painting? → To add surface texture variation that mimics real media like canvas or paper
8. Which technique involves using a stiff, nearly dry brush loaded with a small amount of paint to create rough, textured strokes? → Dry brushing
9. What does the 'texture' setting in a digital brush simulate? → The surface grain of canvas, paper, or other materials interacting with the brushstroke
10. What is 'impasto' style in digital painting? → Simulating thick, textured paint with visible brushstrokes and raised edges
11. When painting a scene with a warm key light, what color temperature should the ambient fill light be? → A complementary cool temperature to create natural contrast between light and shadow areas
12. What is 'simultaneous contrast' in color perception? → The way a color appears to change based on the color placed next to it
13. What is 'ambient occlusion' in digital painting and 3D-reference art? → Soft shadow that occurs where surfaces are close together and light is occluded
14. The 'bird's eye view' perspective places the horizon line: → Near the top of the canvas or above it
15. What effect does lowering 'flow' (separate from opacity) have on a brush stroke? → Reduces how much paint is deposited per stroke pass, allowing gradual buildup
16. What is the function of the 'Undo' command in digital painting? → Reverses the last action taken
17. What does the 'Smudge' tool simulate in digital painting? → Blending wet paint by dragging and smearing existing colors
18. What is the function of the Lasso tool in digital painting? → To make a freehand selection of an area
19. In digital painting, 'subsurface scattering' is most visible in which type of material? → Human skin and wax
20. Which type of perspective uses two vanishing points on the horizon line and is ideal for painting corner views of buildings? → Two-point perspective
21. In figure painting, which area of the body typically shows the most subsurface scattering effect? → Thin, translucent areas like ears, nostrils, and fingertips held up to light
22. What does 'Angle Jitter' do in a Photoshop brush preset? → Randomly rotates the brush tip angle with each stamp
23. Which principle states that elements closer to the viewer should be placed lower on the picture plane while distant elements appear higher? → Vertical Placement / Height in Picture Plane
24. What does the Burn tool do in Photoshop? → Darkens pixels in the area you paint over
25. What is the term for the visual path that guides a viewer's eye through a painting? → Leading Line
26. What does 'chroma' refer to in painting terminology? → The purity or saturation intensity of a color
27. In most digital painting apps, what does pressing 'X' typically do? → Swaps the foreground and background colors
28. What is the primary purpose of the Smudge tool in digital painting? → To blend and push existing colors together
29. Which color mixing model is used in digital painting software that combines red, green, and blue light? → RGB additive model
30. What is the advantage of working in a high resolution (300 DPI) for a digital painting intended for print? → It ensures the image has enough pixel density to appear sharp and detailed when printed