Art: Finished artistic work displayed on paper, canvas and other means.

Artist: A person who by virtue of imagination and talent or skill is able to create works of art.

Background: The ground or scenery located behind something.

Biographer: A person who writes another person's life story.

Blue pencil: See Pencil.

Brush: A holder with a cluster of animal hairs used for inking and painting. Barks used a variety of brushes for both his comic books and his paintings.

Canvas: A heavy, coarse, closely woven fabric of cotton, hemp, or flax, used for oil paintings.

Cartoon: 1. An animated cartoon (see Animated short). Barks was involved in many cartoons when employed by Disney's. 2. A drawing representing current public figures or issues in a symbolically and often satirical way. Barks made a number of cartoons for magazines, newspapers and campaigns.

Character: A person or animal portrayed in a comic book or animated film.

Charcoal: A natural dark brown to black graphitelike material consisting of amorphous carbon with various organic and some inorganic compounds. Barks used charcoal as a drawing medium in his childhood.

Coal: See Charcoal.

Comic: See Comic book.

Comic book (American: Comic book, English: Comic): An art form that features a series of static images in fixed sequence, usually to tell a story. Typically, a comic book is printed on paper, and text is often incorporated into the images. The most common formats are newspaper strips, magazine-format comic books, and larger bound volumes called graphic novels.

Comic book story: A published story in a comic book. It may contain any number of pages.

Composition: The combining of distinct parts or elements in a comic book or a painting to form a whole.

Crayon: A stick of colored wax, charcoal, or chalk, used for drawing. Used by Barks to draw his pastels.

Dialogue: The lines or passages in a script that are intended to be spoken.

Draft: (American: Draft, British: Draught). A design in systematic, often graphic form.

Draught: See Draft.

Drawing: 1. The art of representing objects or forms on a surface chiefly by means of lines. 2. A work produced by this art.

Edition: The entire number of copies of a comic book issued at one time or from a single set of type.

Elastic panel: A panel that does not follow the common rectangular format. It is usually stretched in one or more of its sides, interfering with the surrounding panels.

Fanzine: An amateur fan publication. There are many fanzines in circulation on Barks.

Figurine: Small works of art made in, for instance, porcelain or bronze.

Four Color: Series of comics produced by Dell (Western Publishing) characterized by hundreds of different features. Named after the four colour process of printing.

Frame: An individual drawing within an animated short. See also Panel.

Frame-in-frame: A small (usually circular) individual drawing within a row.

Front cover: A single drawing covering the front page of a comic book.

Giveaway: Type of comic book intended to be given away as a premium or promotional device instead of being sold.

Graphic novel: A long-form comic book.

Half-page panel: See Splash panel.

Heading: The title or subtitle that stands at the top or beginning of a comic book.

In-betweener: One of many anonymous persons who draws the movement cels between the extremes of an action that the regular animators has finished.

Indicia: Publishing and title information usually located at the bottom of the first page or the bottom of the inside front cover.

In-joke: A joke that is appreciated only by members of some particular group of people.

Ink: Pitchblack liquid used in the final stage of producing the lines in a drawing. Barks always used Faber-Castell's Higgins Black Magic Waterproof Black Ink in 29ml bottles.

Inker: Artist that does the inking.

Interior splash panel: A splash panel appearing within a comic book story.

Issue: A comic book produced and published by a publisher. The comic book is issued in a certain quantity.

Issue Number: The actual edition number of a given comic book.

Layout: 1. The art or process of arranging printed or graphic matter on a page. 2. The overall design of a page including elements such as type size, typeface, and the arrangement of titles.

Logo: The title of a comic book as it appears on the front cover.

Magazine. A periodical publication containing a variety of articles and cartoons on various subjects. It is often printed in colour on coated paper. Barks worked for several magazines such as The Calgary EyeOpener in his early years.

Magnifying-glass effect: A panel drawn in a circle with blackened edges thus creating the illusion of seeing the objective through a magnifying glass, i.e. close by.

Manuscript: A typewritten or handwritten version of a comic book prepared and submitted for publication in print.

Masonite: A type of fiberboard employed for insulation, paneling, or partitions. The name is trademarked. Barks painted several of his paintings on Masonite.

Oil paint: A pigmented substance in which the vehicle is a drying oil. Also called oil colour.

Oil painting: A picture made either on canvas or Masonite and covered in oil paint.

One Shot: A comic book series published where each issue has a different title (See also Four Color).

Opening panel: See Splash panel.

Outline: 1. A summary of a comic book. 2. A preliminary draft.

Page: A normal comic book page would contain only 8 square standard panels on each page. A story would, for instance, consist of 10 pages.

Painting: See Oil painting.

Panel: A single drawing within a comic book. See also Frame.

Paper: Barks used Strathmore 500 Series Mediumweight Bristol. It is 100% cotton fiber and acid free and takes repeated erasures and reworking without feathering. Barks divided the sheets into two sections and finished one part at a time.

Pastel: A drawing made on paper usually with a crayon.

Pen: Metal nib that is attached to a wooden holder. Each nib is used for a specific purpose. For instance, Barks used Speedball B for lettering. One of his favourites was the American Esterbrook 356 pen with extra flexible action.

Pencil: A narrow, generally cylindrical implement for writing, drawing, or marking, consisting of a thin rod of graphite, colored wax, or similar substance encased in wood or held in a mechanical holder. After Barks had written a story he would sketch out the panels using a pencil with a light blue lead. Blue colour pencil is not picked up by the cameras in the final production stage. This enables the artist to draw rough lines without having to erase them afterwards. Barks then used tracer pencils to trace tighter lines on top of the loose blue lines. The next stage was a very firm line drawing using a mechanical pen with long leads.

Perspective: The technique of presenting three-dimensional objects and depth relationships on a two-dimensional surface.

Plot: The pattern of events or main story in a comic book.

Publisher: A person who is engaged in publishing printed material.

Redrawing: To draw again. To make a second draft or copy of a story.

Rough draft: The first attempt to make a graphic presentation. See also Draft.

Row: A continuous set of panels running horizontally.

Script: A written text for a comic book or an animated cartoon.

Set : A grouping of comic books.

Shooting script: When a synopsis has been completed a shooting script breaks it down into panels.

Sketch: 1. A hasty or undetailed drawing or painting often made as a preliminary study. 2. A brief general account or presentation; an outline.

Splash page: A full page drawing in a comic book. Barks drew a small number of splash pages as the first panel for some of his stories.

Splash panel: A large starting panel in a comic book, mostly a half-page. Typically, a splash panel includes the title and credits. See also Interior splash panel.

Speech balloon: A graphic convention used in a comic book containing the speech or thoughts of a character. Speech balloons have unlimited shapes, but are generally white.

Speech bubble: See Speech balloon.

Staff member: An employee in a company.

Story: See Comic book story.

Storyboard: A board containing rough sketches outlining the scene sequence and major changes of action or plot in a comic book or an animated short. The individual sketches are usually pinned to the board.

Synopsis (plural: synopses): A brief outline or general view of a written work.

Text box: Used for narration in a comic book. It is generally square and connected to the edge of the panel. Often it is also coloured to indicate the difference to the speech bubbles used by the characters.

Thought balloon: See Speech balloon.

Three-dimensional drawings: A number of drawings of the same object as seen from all sides. Barks used the technique when creating figurines.

Tissue: A fine, very thin fabric, such as gauze.

Title: The name of a comic book story or a painting. About half of Barks' stories had no printed titles, while all his paintings did.

Tracer pencil: See Pencil.

Transcript: Something transcribed, especially a written, typewritten, or printed copy.

Vignette: 1. A short, usually descriptive, sketch. 2. A small illustration in the background of a panel, or binding more panels together.

Watercolour: A water-soluble, dry colouring pigment. It is mixed with water before use.

Word balloon: See Speech balloon.