Page "Artistic license" Paragraph 2

Another example of artistic license is the way in which stylized images of an object ( for instance in a painting or an animated movie ) are different from their real life counterparts, but are still intended to be interpreted by the viewer as representing the same thing.

This can mean the omission of details, or the simplification of shapes and colour shades, even to the point that the image is nothing more than a pictogram.

It can also mean the addition of non-existing details, or exaggeration of shapes and colours, as in fantasy art or a caricature.