AP Studio Art: Drawing Portfolio
Quick Outline
The Drawing Portfolio is intended to address a very broad interpretation of drawing issues and media. Line quality, light and shade, rendering of form, composition, surface manipulation, the illusion of depth and mark-making are drawing issues that can be addressed through a variety of means, which could include printmaking, painting, mixed media, etc. Abstract, observational, and invented works may demonstrate drawing competence. The range of marks used to make drawing, the arrangement of those marks, and the materials used to make the marks are endless. Any work submitted in the Drawing Portfolio that incorporates digital or photographic processes must address drawing issues such as those listed previously. There is no preferred (or unacceptable) style or content.
The AP Portfolio has THREE sections: QUALITY, CONCENTRATION, and BREADTH.
Quick Outline
The Drawing Portfolio is intended to address a very broad interpretation of drawing issues and media. Line quality, light and shade, rendering of form, composition, surface manipulation, the illusion of depth and mark-making are drawing issues that can be addressed through a variety of means, which could include printmaking, painting, mixed media, etc. Abstract, observational, and invented works may demonstrate drawing competence. The range of marks used to make drawing, the arrangement of those marks, and the materials used to make the marks are endless. Any work submitted in the Drawing Portfolio that incorporates digital or photographic processes must address drawing issues such as those listed previously. There is no preferred (or unacceptable) style or content.
The AP Portfolio has THREE sections: QUALITY, CONCENTRATION, and BREADTH.
- SECTION I: QUALITY (SELECTED WORKS) Rationale Quality refers to the understanding of drawing issues that should be apparent in the concept, composition, and execution of the works, whether they are simple or complex. Requirements For this section, students are asked to submit five actual works in one or more media. Students select the works that best demonstrate their understanding of drawing issues. These five artworks will be sent for judging that demonstrates your best work (technical skill/ composition/ creativity). Be sure the artwork is on flat surfaces, such as paper, cardboard, canvas board, or unstretched canvas. Students will receive all the portfolio materials for submission for the Quality section in early May. Artwork submitted for this section cannot be larger than 18” x 24” and no smaller than 8” x 10”. To protect the artwork, all artwork should be backed or mounted unless using canvas board. Remember if matting, the mat size including your artwork should not be larger than 18” x 24”. If the work is matted, a neutral color for the mat is advisable (black or white only). Students will need to have a sturdy, opaque overleaf that is hinged to one edge of the backing so that it may be easily lifted to provide protection. Materials that may be smudged must be protected with fixative. The artworks submitted may come from the Breadth (Range of Approaches) and/or Concentration (Selected Works) section, but they do not have to. They may be a group of related works, unrelated works or a combination of related and unrelated works.
- SECTION II: CONCENTRATION (SUSTAINED INVESTIGATION) Rationale A concentration is a body of related works that demonstrate a student’s sustained and thoughtful investigation of a specific visual idea. It is NOT a selection of a variety of works produced as solutions to class projects or a collection of works with differing intents. Students should be encouraged to explore a personal, central interest as intensively as possible; they are free to work with any idea in medium that addresses drawing issues. The concentration should grow out of the student’s idea and demonstrate growth and/or discovery through a number of conceptually related works. In this section, the evaluators are interested not only in the work presented, but also in visual evidence of the student’s thinking, selected method of working and development of the work over time. Students are encouraged to include images that document their processes of thinking and creating. Requirements For this section, 12 digital images must be submitted. They may include detail views, process documentation, sequential storyboards, or film stills of a series of related works. Students select a theme that they will explore and that allow them to demonstrate the process of exploration. In other words, each of your concentration pieces should not just be rework of the same thing. Your concept or theme should evolve to become more focused. All images should be labeled with dimensions (height x width) and material. The Digital Submission Web application incorporates space to include this information. Regardless of the content of the concentration, the works should be unified by an underlying idea that has visual and/or conceptual coherence. The choices of technique, medium, style, form, subject and content are made by the student, in consultation with the teacher. The Web application for development and submission of the Concentration and Breadth sections is available in late January. The Concentration section includes spaces for a written commentary describing what the concentration is and how it evolved, which must accompany the work in this section. Students are asked to respond to the following: 1. Clearly and simply state the central idea or your concentration. 2. Explain how the work in your concentration demonstrates your intent and the exploration of your idea. You may refer to specific images as examples. The choice of works to submit should be made to present the concentration as clearly as possible. When preparing to upload Concentration (Sustained Investigation) images, the student should give some thought to the sequence of images on the Web page. There is no required order; rather, the images should be organized to best show the development of the concentration. In most cases, this would be chronological. Students may NOT submit images of the same work that they submit for Breadth. Submitting images of the same work for Concentration (Sustained Investigation) and Breadth (Range of Approaches) may negatively affect a student’s score.
- SECTION III: BREADTH (RANGE OF APPROACHES) Rationale The student’s work in this section should demonstrate understanding of a wide range of drawing concern’s, such as drawing from observation, work with invented or non-objective forms, effective use of light and shade, line quality, surface manipulation, composition, various spatial systems and express mark-making. Students must therefore be actively engaged with these concerns while thoughtfully composing their art. The work in this section should show evidence of conceptual, perceptual and expressive development, as well as technical skill; thus, the student’s work should demonstrate a variety of drawing skills and approaches.