This aim of this blog post is to help students produce a stunning, high quality A-Level Art sketchbook. It is targeted at A2 Art & Design students of any discipline (Painting, Graphic Design, Photography, Textiles etc) but is also likely to be of assistance to NCEA, IGCSE or GCSE Art students.
NCEA Level 3 scholarship workbook exemplar, sourced from NZQA:
This collection of beautiful sketches by a L3 NCEA Art student is an excellent example of what an A-Level Art sketchbook page should look like: thorough investigation of form.
This sketchbook page by artist Leonardo da Vinci provides a great example of what a quality A-Level Art sketchbook page should look like: overlapping, incomplete sketches, surrounding by evaluative handwritten notes.
The A-Level Art sketchbook is a creative document that contains both written and visual material. It accompanies the main Coursework project and includes items such as: drawings and paintings (particularly those that are incomplete or experimental); media trials; photographs (Note: photographs taken by yourself should be clearly labeled, so examiners know the work is yours and reward you for it; those sourced elsewhere should be referenced or acknowledged as second-hand imagery); and pamphlets obtained on gallery visits (Note: it is crucial that the sketchbook is NOT merely used as a dumping ground for fliers and pamphlets. If you are going to glue something in: evaluate it, discuss its relevance and explain how it will help inform your own work). It is the place for exploring, planning, drafting and developing ideas – for testing, practising, evaluating and discussing. It is the place where a student learns and brainstorms.
Despite being somewhat informal in nature, your sketchbook should not be a general all-purpose journal that you use to doodle Pokémon characters or scribble notes to a friend. All the work contained within it should support your Coursework project, whether by helping to illustrate the development process or explaining your ideas to the examiners.
This A-Level Art sketchbook page by Nikau Hindin shows an analysis of paintings by Janet Fish. The bottom left image is a photocopy; the top right image is an acrylic copy of part of the painting (there is rarely any need for students to slavishly replicate an entire painting - a small portion is enough for students to gain an understanding of the techniques and processes used).
Annotation
The notes in a sketchbook do not have to be full sentences (although many choose to write in this format, as it can help to clarify thoughts); jotting down notes or writing in abbreviated form is absolutely acceptable.
Students should use correct terminology and demonstrate a good understanding of art vocabulary (using phrases such as ‘strong contrast’, ‘draws the eye’ and ‘focal point’ etc). While it is important to research your artist models (and to convey an understanding of this information), you should avoid copying or summarising large passages of information from other sources (this demonstrates nothing more than the ability to regurgitate facts). Instead, you should select the information you think is relevant or useful to your project and link it with your own viewpoints and observations. Research findings can be used to make you sound clever and knowledgeable – to prove that you are aware of the artists and cultural influences around you – and to help you to critically evaluate artworks (by giving you background information and a peek into the mind of an artist, and through providing you with examples of how others have responded to an artwork…as this can also help you form your own opinions about the work). Research should not be used as a method to fill your sketchbook with the boring facts.
Evaluate things, don’t just describe. Show the examiner that you can think independently.
NCEA Level 3 scholarship printmaking workbook exemplars, sourced from NZQA:
This Level 3 scholarship NCEA sketchbook is a perfect exemplar for A-Level Art: it shows how second-hand imagery can be seamlessly integrated with your own photographs, written documentation and analysis.
This is another page from the same Level 3 scholarship NCEA workbook - it is an excellent example of how media trials and experimentation can be included within an A-Level Art Sketchbook.
When writing the notes within an A-Level Art sketchbook, it can be helpful to answer such questions as:
- What subjects / themes / moods / issues / messages are explored? Why are these relevant or important to you?
- What appeals to you visually about this topic or artwork?
- How does the composition of an artwork (i.e. the relationship between the visual elements: line, shape, colour, tone, texture and space) help to communicate ideas and reinforce a message? Why has this composition been chosen? (Discuss in terms of how the visual elements interact and create visual devices that ‘draw attention’, ‘emphasise’, ‘balance’, ‘link’ and/or ‘direct the viewer through the artwork’ etc.)…
- What mediums, techniques (mark-making methods), styles and processes have been used? How do these communicate a message? How do they affect the mood and communication of ideas? Are these things useful for your own project?
- How does all of the above help you with your own artwork?
These questions are a guide only and are intended to make you start to think critically about the art you are studying and creating.
This A2 sketchbook page by Nikau Hindin contains media trials (collaged found materials) and a plan for an accompanying A1 sheet of preparatory work
A-Level Art Sketchbook Presentation Ideas
Presentation of the A-Level sketchbook is an area I see many students floundering unnecessarily: using precious time that would be far better spent developing, creating and evaluating outstanding artwork.
Another sketchbook page by Nikau Hindin, showing compositional studies - plans and evaluation of her own A2 paintings.
Sketchbook presentation should help students to think and act like a real artist – to assist with developing and refining their artworks. It should be reminiscent of what you might expect a ‘real’ artist to create – not a tacky ‘school project’, with coloured headings and sparkly backgrounds.It does not need to be – and indeed, should not be – heavily structured or ‘over worked’. It does not need to be rigidly ordered or excessively flowery and decorative. You do not need to spend time adding borders; typing out information or working over and over pages again. The workbook is not meant to be a complete a book of finished artworks or illustrations, it is meant to be a creative document of exploration and investigation. This does not mean, of course, that your sketchbook should be unattractive. A good art student instinctively knows how to place things on a page so that the layout is pleasing to the eye. Even the quick addition of handwritten notes can be done in a harmonious way.
The examples on this page belong to both students and artists and are intended to give you an idea of excellent sketchbook or journal practices. Please do not hesitate to ask a question below if you are unsure or need any further guidance about A-Level Art sketchbook presentation or sketchbooks in general.
A beautiful A2 Fine Art sketchbook page by Claire Lynn
Another amazing A Level Art sketchbook page by A2 Fine Art student Claire Lynn. Imitation of artist works allows students to learn techniques and processes.
More excellent A Level Art sketchbook pages are featured in Nikau’s CIE A2 Painting project and Claire Lynn’s AQA A2 Fine Art project.
A final piece of inspiration: this Youtube clip shows a brief glimpse into sculptor Paul Komoda’s sketchbook. Simply beautiful:
Written by Amiria Gale [artist + experienced teacher]:
- Art and Design Teacher for seven years;
- Faculty Co-ordinator, responsible for the course design, curriculum development and assessment of Art and Design work in high-achieving Auckland schools;
- Bachelor of Architectural Studies; Bachelor of Architecture (First Class Honours) and Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Secondary);
- CIE Accredited Art & Design and Design & Technology Coursework Assessor.
[This is part of a series of blog posts aimed at assisting Art A-Level students to gain exemplary grades]
hey there,
would it be possible for you to maybe put up a few more pictures of Nikau Hindin’s sketchbook so that it would be easier to understand what exactly a sketchbook is suppose to contain in order to show the creative journey through her example?
When I get a chance, I will write a post on her A2 work (her A1 boards and sketchbook are introduced on this post about development) and will include more of her sketchbook there. She only did five A1 boards – the last one is her final painting – and got 98% overall.
the number of A1 boards to complete is an issue which i have now understood and i am aiming at producing enough quality works that will be generated through the process and will then figure out how many A1 sheets will accomodate all these works. its all a matter of displaying the thought process and creative journey, right? so, how many ever sheets areneeded to fullfill this, are the number of sheets i’ll use according to how my coursework spans out…
i was wonding how exactly did the artist Janet Fish influence Nikau Hindin’s work? i wasn’t able to fully figure this out as i am not fully aware of how she proceeded with her work… who are the artists thatshe was influenced by and how did she incorporate this inspiration in her works?
When I get around to doing a Case Study on Nikau’s A2 work I will explain this in more detail. She didn’t reference Janet Fish that much – only as inspiration for her very initial compositions, with setting up the picnic scene / glass reflections etc. Nikau’s full folio (i.e. everything except her sketchbook) is shown on the development post.
okay, thanx! will be looking forward to this case study…
hey!
for the sketchbook would u reccommend working on loose individual sheets and then later getting them bound in the correct order, or would u advise working directly into a sketckbook….this is in regard with the a-level coursework…
and, what size should the sketchbook be???
As with most of these things, there is no one right answer, but in my experience, A4 is a good size, simply because this can be easily carried to and from school by students. Bigger sketchbooks that don’t fit in school bags tend to be a) lost or b) damaged / scuffed in transit. My students work on lose A4 sheets which are stored in a clearfile for the duration of the year and then bound, just before they are posted away, with a cover that has their best image printed on it + name and candidate details etc. The advantage of working on loose sheets is that you can use a whole range of different papers; you can easily work on different pages at once, without having to wait for a page to dry before being able to turn it over; and if any pages are ruined, there are no issues with tearing them out etc…
Any suggestion on how many pages the sketchbook should be ideally?
I am trying to remember how many my students would have submitted. I never counted the pages… They usually submitted A4 sketchbooks that were 20 – 50 pages? I would say at least 20 pages? But it really depends on the nature of the sketchbook. Some students produce really ‘filled’ comprehensive pages…others have very little on each page…
Hi Amna,
Apologies, upon reading over my last reply to your query, I don’t think I answered your question very well at all! I must have been half asleep. I only get to work on this blog late at night when my baby is asleep and so my brain only works in slow gear…
Sorry!
Okay, so I will try and be more helpful this time…
The way to narrow the theme ‘light’ down is to pick a particular scene, object or thing in which light plays an important part. i.e.
• A busy picnic scene containing lots of reflective plastic and/or glass surfaces, i.e. in the style of Janet Fish;
• A student working late at night, under an old desk lamp… (theme could be to do with the drive to do well academically / stress related to the pressure to succeed etc);
• Light falling on pools of dank, dirty water in a city street;
• Looking through a window at the rain streaming down – streaks of sunlight splashing through… (using Impressionist artist models etc);
There are many possibilities, as almost all subjects have light falling on them… It really just depends on your own interests etc. Whatever these are, you can focus on them in terms of light. For example, if you play a sport, you could have figures in motion, with light falling on them… or you could look at the scientific / physical side of light, looking at the mechanical parts of light bulbs etc…
Similarly, for nature, you simply need to identify a natural scene, object or thing that has personal relevance… It is too hard to list any examples, as there are just so many.
If you let me know some of your likes and interests, it will be easier for me to suggest examples, as otherwise I am unsure where to start!
Hi again!
I’ve been really confused over the last few days because of the whole topic thing. When i used to decide on something, my teacher often rejected my ideas which used to make me go blank. And so i started thinking again.. So i realised that one the most important things to me is family and love. My family has stood up for me even when they could’ve just done nothing and this made me realise how much they mean to me. Is this a good topic for component 3?? Portraying family? The love, affection and neverending care? Do you think it’ll work out? And if you think so, please give me ideas as to how can i develop my topic? Thank youuuu!
Hi Amna,
Family can be a great topic. The only thing to be aware of when drawing the human form is that it is very unforgiving of inaccuracy. By this I mean that errors in shape and proportion are immediately apparent to the observer as we are such experts at viewing and judging the human form. If you are a strong drawer, this is not a problem. It is also not a problem if you do not intend on working in a realistic fashion.
As for how you develop, it really depends on your strengths and the artists you look towards for inspiration. You would need to decide how you are going to begin, by deciding what kind of image will help you best portray the love and affection from your family. For example, is there a scene or memory that best sums up this love? It could be the family gathered around the dinner table, or on some kind of outing, or perhaps your mother hugging you (although this is probably too obvious and literal). Begin by drawing this scene from different angles / viewpoints etc, in a range of different mediums…
Another approach might be to avoid portraiture and simply draw objects that symbolise the love from your family…
Hi Amiria,
Firstly, thanks for writing this blog! You will not believe how much this blog has helped me especially since I have been given the wrong information and impression about the A-level Art course during my AS.
Now that the process has been clarified by my new teacher and well your blog, I found myself facing a new problem. Most of the supporting work I’ve done during my AS for both coursework A and coursework B should belong in a sketchbook and they are not(Nor do I have a sketchbook for coursework A). They are huge, mostly bigger than A2 with a few major piece in the size of A1. So my solution to this crisis is to get a huge sketchbook, A2 or bigger and stuck my existing huge studies into it as well as future small pieces. How do you think this will affect my overall performance? Or is there an alternative that you would suggest? I couldn’t bear to crop my paintings to smaller pieces.
Thanks.
Hi CheerWay,
Thanks for your question. Firstly I want to clarify whether you are doing CIE A-Levels? This is my area of speciality and thus I can only give specific advice related to that.
If you are, then please make sure you have read this post on AS Coursework and this post on A2 Coursework. You will note that in AS you are not required to submit a sketchbook at all, so it is no problem that you don’t have one.
You are required to submit a sketchbook at A2, but it is incorrect that most of your work be included in the sketchbook. Indeed, the majority of your work should be displayed on [a maximum of] ten A1 sheets, so it is no problem at all that most of your work is large. It is generally the A1 sheets that contain the refined, time consuming pieces, rather than the sketchbook. The sketchbook should contain things that are much less time intensive, i.e. quick practices with media; analysis of artist work etc, as outlined in the post above. I would certainly not crop work (unless beneficial to the work in question), and would not submit a HUGE sketchbook. Instead, you should use the majority of your existing work to make the supporting A1 sheets (a maximum of 4 for AS, 10 for A2). If your work takes up more space than this, I would strongly advise selecting your best pieces. Another option is to photograph some larger pieces and put smaller versions on your boards (but not if this will reduce the quality of the works – sometimes it can actually make work look better, however). Arrange and present your work so that it shows a development journey, as explained in that post.
If you happen to live in a country where the examiners travel to your school to assess the work (i.e. NZ) I wouldn’t worry if you have presented the work in slightly the wrong fashion… the examiners are very forgiving. The size restrictions mainly exist to ensure that postage and sorting of the work for marking is feasible – this is not an issue if your school sets up the work for assessment and has ample room for display.
With regards to your A2 sketchbook, however, which is a necessity, I would suggest you create an A4 one from scratch. You should include in it the things listed in the blog post above. To make it easier, in your case, I recommend also doing things like:
- photographing some of your works, and writing notes / diagrams around them analysing them;
- drawing ‘plans’ of your A1 sheets, working out the best way to present your work;
- locating some of your trials / experimentation – i.e. the scrappy / practise bits you have done over the year (or paintings that ‘failed’). Cut / trim bits of these to show trialling of different techniques etc and glue into your sketchbook with accompanying written thoughts;
- Additional sketches / notes / planning to illustrate thought processes and decisions you had to make while completing your artwork (composition studies, artist analysis, media trials etc). For example, do a quick basic sketch of one of your paintings, perhaps with a few alternate compositions, and annotate it as if you are ‘planning’ your composition…
Hmmm, had to write that in a rush, so hope it makes sense! Please don’t hesitate to ask further questions if you are still unsure!
Yes, I’m doing CIE A-level.Thank you so much for clarifying it for me. My new teacher’s specialty is in Edexcel instead of CIE. Now I feel much more confident in what I’m doing.
hey amiria,
i was curious to find out whether pages of different sizes could be bound together to make a sketchbook for the A level coursework? like this example:
http://www.upton-by-chester.cheshire.sch.uk/ResizeImage.aspx?img=~/Websites/upton/PhotoGallery/1016200/P1070106.jpg&w=768&h=824
Hi SJ,
There is no reason that this couldn’t be done. CIE doesn’t give any page size requirements and are flexible with this. The only thing to bear in mind is that sometimes pages of different sizes are harder and more irritating to turn – and you run the risk that the examiner won’t bother looking through your entire sketchbook. However, in saying this, it is your own teacher who assesses your Coursework (the examiners just moderate it) and your own teacher will obviously be careful to view every page. Despite the inconvenience of different sized pages, it is also possible that you could do this is a clever, arty way, perhaps related to the style of one your artist models (although I wouldn’t spend too much time on something like this, when there are so many other important things to do). A few pages here and there of different sizes are not an issue either… just think carefully before you make the majority of pages different sizes.
Amiria
Hi Amiria,
Firstly, I want to thank you for writing this blog as it has definitely given me a clearer idea of what to do and provided some great examples. I a year 13 student also doing CIE Art and Design.
I am a bit confused as in what to do for my sketchbook as for my coursework, I am doing packaging design. Could you please give me some ideas? I asked my teacher about it and they’re not very familiar with CIE and they said the content of the sketchbook does not have to relate to the coursework. Does it have to relate?
Thank you very much for your help!
Hi Jenny,
The sketchbook should definitely relate to your Coursework – indeed, it is part of your Coursework. It is possible to have some things within the sketchbook that do not relate to the project, such as a few random exploratory exercises as you refine your theme (which is perhaps what your teacher meant), however, the majority, if not all, of the material within your sketchbook should support (and thus relate) to your Coursework project. In my experience, Graphic Design students have very comprehensive sketchbooks, with fewer A1 sheets than students specialising in Painting, as many Graphic Design projects tend to involve work at a smaller scale (logo designs etc) which lends itself better to being displayed in workbooks and also takes up less space on an A1 sheet. This may or may not be the case with your packaging design project.
Whatever the case, your sketchbook should include things such as:
- analysis of existing packaging designs;
- analysis of the work of graphic designers;
- analysis of your own work;
- experimentations with fonts / materials / card folding and joining techniques etc (the more refined of this work will appear on your A1 sheets – the sketchbook will contain more experimental, ‘rougher’ versions of this);
- notes (as described in article above) evaluating work and explaining ideas etc;
- planning of your A1 sheets (working out how to layout your work / best present it so that it shows development of ideas etc).
You may be interested in this student work published by NZQA. It is a NCEA Level 3 Art submission (which is the New Zealand equivalent of A2 Art & Design), but is very similar to the sort of thing that CIE Art & Design can produce. It is the design of the ‘packaging’ for a paint company… (the link is obviously to A1 boards, however, not a workbook, but you may be interested in looking at it anyway)!
Hope that helps!
hey amiria,
I have been working on my sketchbook for the cie A level coursework – coursework 3. My art teacher is pressuring me to create very realistic drawings from the photographs that I have clicked. I wanted to find out whether these drawings, or sketches, in the sketchbook have to be soo perfect and be complete copies of photographs? Can these sketches just be attempts or first trial of the images, leading to improvement of the same image? Do they have to be perfect drawings from the beginning, from the very first sketch TO GET A GOOD GRADE?
Can these sketches instead be the student’s personal interpretation of the image, represented in a form the student wishes to present them in? (and not have to be PERFECT copies of photographs? – as I have seen in examples at the juliastubbs website) Also, my teacher wants us to work in an A3 sketchbook, which is difficult to carry around. Would it be ok to have an A4 sketchbook instead for the A level coursework – 3?
Eagerly waiting for your reply!
Hi Aria,
Sketchbook drawings do not have to be ‘perfect’. By this I mean that they do not have to be complete; nor do they have to be ‘realistic’ (although it can be beneficial to demonstrate at some stage within your preparatory work that you are capable of drawing realistically from observation – just to ‘prove’ to the examiners that you can – even (or indeed especially) if your work evolves into more expressive or abstract pieces).
In other words, it is more than acceptable to submit sketchbook drawings that are partially finished (you do not want every preparatory work to be incomplete of course, as this gives the impression of laziness). The sketchbook is where you ‘work things out’, so drawings might be very sketchy, or just include outlines, or even rough diagrams of what works might look like etc. Similarly, if your work develops into styles that are not realistic, then of course the accompanying work within your sketchbook should also explore this style. For example, if you are endeavouring to complete smeared paintings such as these ones by Andy Denzler, then your sketchbook drawings and paintings would also be in this style… some might be copies of his work…others would be you working out how to paint or draw your own subject in his style etc. (Note, however, that your style will evolve throughout the course, as you learn from different artists, and for most students, towards the start of the year they do begin with more realistic work).
I need to be clear, however, that while incomplete, expressive ‘non realistic’ pieces are fine, bad work is not. If, for example, you are working in a realistic style, then your sketchbook work should also be. While it can be unfinished, and a bit more loose and expressive, proportions and shapes should be correct and so on. Any ‘rough’ work should not be the kind of work that makes it look like you can’t draw. It is difficult to explain this, but some rough, sketchy drawings look awesome and skilful (even though it may have taken very little time to complete) whereas others just look poorly executed. It is good to remember that the prep work you submit (sketchbook + A1 sheets) should be selective – that is, it should present your skills in the best light. If your teacher is wary about some of your work, I would advise looking at them very carefully to make sure they don’t suggest to the examiners that you are unable to record proportion, shape and form accurately.
I will upload Nikau’s A2 sketchbook soon which should help clarify this – I videoed it the other day, so I am making progress!
Btw, an A4 sketchbook is fine – this is what my students use. A3 is also common, however. I would personally go with your teacher’s advice, as your teacher probably has ideas of the sorts of activities s/he wishes to include within it and they may not fit within a smaller book. Either way, it is not such of a big deal – it is probably worth doing what s/he says just to keep your teacher happy.
Thank you so much Amiria. Your response has been a huge help. I would love to see Nikau’s A2 sketchbook, hope you upload it soon!
i was also wondering whether smaller works can be made and attached onto larger pages in the sketchbook. For example, if I have created an A4 size work, but need to maintain an A3 sketchbook, is it ok to paste the A4 work onto an A3 sheet and include it in the sketchbook?
Hi Aria,
Works of any size can be glued onto sketchbook pages. There are really no rules for sketchbook presentation. Ripped things can be glued on; little experimentation offcuts can be trimmed and assembled etc… The NCEA Level 3 scholarship printmaking workbook exemplars in this middle of this blog post show pages that contain numerous small images (photos / drawings / paintings / media trials etc) that have been glued on. This sort of thing is all great…
Hey Amiria,
Thanks so much for answering my last question, it really helped me:)
Ive been doing lots of obsevational studies of the body in positions that show their insecurity.Most of them are drawings or pantings of backs, Ive also done a sculpture of a back, but I dont have many photos in my book to “prove” that these are observational,will this lower my grade?
Hi Esra,
Examiners can usually tell instantly when a drawing is observational, so you should be fine. It is usually quite easy to tell from the accuracy of the drawings and your involvement in the project as to whether these are images that you have a personal connection to, versus ones you have taken from other sources. In saying this, is it possible for you to take any photos now and add them in at the appropriate place? It is becoming quite common for students to integrate photography within their painting folios (primarily within the sketchbook) so it might be a good idea to take some and put them in. I would also mention in your notes that your works are observational and drawn from life.
Any grade penalty from using poor source material usually arises because the resulting artwork is of a lower quality (less detailed / less accurate / less personal)… not because the examiners decide to slash your grades to punish you. Unless, of course, the issue was plagiarism. That would be a different matter entirely!
Hello, I’ve just completed my as level coursework in fine art and im thinking of ideas for my exam. I’d love to do something with mythical creatures and comic characters but i’m struggling to think of how to develop this into a more developed idea with some meaning behind it?
Hi Hannah,
Have you read this post on how to come up with a good A Level Art idea? Hopefully it will help you! A lot of the questions and comments on this post also contain info that might be helpful to you
hey just wanna say THANK YOU for making this blog , its so useful and im definitly going to use your tips on how to develop a stunning sketchbook even though im doing gcse ,just thank you !!!
… i hope you can reply thank you 
btw im doing an exam , and the theme given is ‘ordinary and/or extraordinary’ , soo ive had this idea of following the theme ‘bones’ , and someohow relating to ‘natural disaster’ like today i was in art class, and i picked at random this animal skull to do an observation drawing of ,, and then i carefully analysed it and noticed the cracks on it , and it just reminded of an earthquake! so it hit me ! so i thought of an idea so far , that i could somehow turn an object such as bones and link it to natural disaster , so i am asking if you know any artists or anyone i could do an analysis on or be inspired even more by , that does works relating to bones or natural disaster or even someone who ‘makes something look like something else ‘ … or any tips or advice would be amazing !!
oh and also (hope im not sounding too… needy) could you give me some tips on how to draw something realistically or better ? other than bringing a little sketchbook with me and start drawing at ranodm (which is what i already do
Thanks Alisha
I’m glad you find this blog useful!
I think your idea sounds as though it has potential and could also be very fun and creative – the key would be to try and retain as much first hand observation as possible (i.e. even though you might be drawing things in an imaginative way, it helps to refer to real objects, so that you achieve a good level of realism and richness in your works). One idea might be to depict the aftermath of a natural disaster? i.e. a barren looking landscape, absent of humans and animals…with bones / decaying structures etc?
Hmmm, I’m not sure of artists – surrealist ones seem to be the most obvious… perhaps this work by Roy Hobdell could give you some ideas (i.e. skulls instead of shells, with plants etc beginning to grow out cracks)? Or Giorgio de Chirico (stark highly contrasted empty landscapes with a few skulls/bones scattered here and there – but painted as thought buildings were semi-collapsed etc)?
With regards to drawing more realistically or better – I will be doing a blog post on this as soon as I get a chance. If you sign up to this blog (see top right on web page) you will get sent an email whenever I make a new post.
Hope that helps!
aha! the idea of the aftermath of a natural disaster sounds great ! and interesting ! and i’ve searched up both artists and they seem really inspiring , however i was looking for the piece youve mentioned of Georgio de chirico but i couldnt find that one, if you could tell me the name of the piece would be great
P.S. i honestly feel i learn much much more here than i do in art class thanks again
Hi Alisha,
Georgio de Chirico doesn’t actually have one with skulls…I was just describing what maybe you could do perhaps in the same kind of desolate / empty landscape style of his works…
Thanks – I’m glad you find this site helpful!
Hey amiria,
Just wanted to know that im using a a3 sized sketch book. How many pages should there be in it, And i have photography as my paper 3 topic so what exactly do i practice in my sketchbook? I have made portraits and close up of still life just as in pictures. Would that be okay? Or should i start afresh and do something different?
Hi Usman,
As I mentioned in my previous comment, my experience lies with CIE Art and Design, which has no requirement for sketchbook size or length. A photography sketchbook generally contains:
- Written notes about ideas / analysing work etc (see description of the sort of thing to include in notes in the article above) – here and here are two examples;
- Experiments with different media and photographic practises (see this blog post for creative photography ideas);
- Prints of small photos (test strips) which are analysed etc;
- Test strips of different exposures etc (something like this).
Hope that helps!
Hey, great blog!
I am doing A2 Fine art, Topic title -Combination and alliances.
I have two ideas but can not decide on what? firstly Gambling and Addiction, my only concern is that in may not be broad enough for 4 months work? I would be able to get good primary resources for this topic but do you have any ideas what I could look at within this topic?
Secondly, The combination and alliance of the human body and adorn and decoration.(Teachers idea) As i am interested in fashion, and I find recyclable fashion very interesting so she came up with this title to fit the exam title. Do you have any ideas of other Fashion routes to go down? or what would you personally do for this exam title? Thanks
Thanks Holly!
Just checking whether you have read this post on Art Exam ideas? It contains all the suggestions I could think of for the Combinations and Alliances topic.
Gambling and Addiction is a great topic. It is definitely not too narrow – in fact, it would be possible (even advisable) to narrow it down even further by focusing on one particular type of gambling or addiction. Personally I would select an aspect of this that relates to you in some way, or which has impacted upon your personally (i.e. a family member who has a gambling problem, or a friend who suffers from a particular addiction etc) and then use subject matter related directly to this.
The human body / adornment topic has potential too – and could be great visually, which is no doubt why your teacher suggested it. Are you imagining paintings / drawings with a fashion-based theme, or are you able to produce three-dimensional work (i.e. an actual fashion design project)? Please clarify and I will give you some more assistance if you need it.
hi amira ur blog is great and truly inspiring
I am doin a project on memories howver i do not knw wat obeservational drawings i can do i am totally stuck… would u plzzz give me some ideas
Thanks Mariah
What you draw would depend entirely on how you choose to interpret your topic. Are you looking at one particular memory – or is more a scientific study of how the brain records and stores memories? If it is the latter, you might look at little unfolding boxes with little memories or photographs tucked inside – or images of brain scans and someone undergoing brain experiments (just some random suggestions). You might also choose to look at in terms of how we all remember an event slightly differently…perhaps by depicting the same thing in a multiple of different ways, all in the same image. If you haven’t really decided how you will interpret the topic, then this is your first step! Please read this post on how to come up with a good A Level Art idea for more guidance. Thanks!
hi amiria!
The topic I have chosen for my A levels is “alone”. I started out by doing portraits of people who are sad ..and people all alone in darkness.. but those are really common ideas. Some other thingsIi thought of was a person trapped inside a bottle ..to show how people resolve to alcohol when the feel alone or sad..but sometimes.. its not always a bad thing.. people like being alone in their own fantasy world..
I would like it if you could help me with some unconventional ideas as I feel my work is not moving forward.
thanks a lot!
Hi NS,
I think your idea of painting people trapped in bottles could be awesome! This certainly isn’t a common approach, as far as I am aware.
Here are some other artist works that might help with you with ideas:
- Alone with myself (perhaps multiple people – all the same – inside bottles…clamouring over each other etc?
- Emphasising the negative space…
- Applying media in a way as to suggest tears;
- Multiple images in one. Alone with myself, part 2;
- Traces left behind. Little objects that have been forgotten;
- Human insignificance, in a vast empty landscape;
- Street children.
Hope that helps!
thank you so much for the ideas!these help alot!!
i will work along these lines:)thank you!
No worries!
hi amiria ive been given some quetsions to chose from that i must use to produce my final exam project for my GCSE in fine art. I’ve narrowed the questions down to either exploring ‘traces’ or ‘contrast’ (the human condition) but i dont quite know where to go from there. I want topic that keeps me interested and gives me a lot to work with if thats possible. I was thinking for contrast- maybe the difference between the lives of africans and the lifestyle we have but i realised i didnt really have far to explore. I dont even know where to start with traces though. I’m getting quite frustrated, do you have any ideas which i could use?
Hi Megan,
Does ‘traces’ have to relate to the human condition also?
If so, you could look at:
- traces of memories;
- remnants of things on a person’s body that provide clues as to where they have been and where they are from (i.e. traces of their history)… (scars / necklaces etc);
- faint images of another scene showing on a person’s body / limbs;
- traces of movement (see this, this and this);
- footsteps / marks left behind;
- old photographs / forgotten items;
- traces as in tracing around things: an exploration of the edges / boundaries / lines in between.
Are you very knowledgeable about the lives of Africans? Have you been to Africa? If not, I would probably avoid this interpretation…
Hope that helps!
Hey Amiria!
Thank you so much for posting this, it has helped an unbelievable amount!
I am doing portraiture for my AS coursework and I’m not too show on how to develop it into something different because my teachers sometimes reject my ideas so it’s hard to know what to do now cause I don’t know if it’s AS level. :/
Do you have any suggestions on how to develop my idea? :s
Thank you!
Thanks Shep!
How you develop your work depends on the ideas you are exploring (see this blog post about A Level Art ideas for more info on this) and also what artists you choose to reference. This blog post about how to develop your work should also help. You may also be interested in viewing my Pinterest boards which contain lots of examples of creative portraiture.
Good luck!
HI Amiria,
THank for you reply regarding my A level exam. I have decided on doing domestic and I am thinking of what to do for my mock and also my exam. I just completed my coursework and I am a month behind on my exam prep. I have to start my skecthbook before monday and I AM not sure how to get to my final piece and also other things that I need to include in iot. I am decided to base my project on domestic violence. I have two Ideas. one is haveing a women (not full body just face and neck) and having a chanin around her neck. THe other one is having a heart with blood coming out of it. I want to do both but I dont know which one to do for exam and which one for mock. Anyways more important how do I structure my sketch ook as in what kind of things should I include. My chosen artists are barbara kruger (words inspired me), florian nicholle, ben tour and allision tornese. I like works like ben tour- inky and drippy
Can you suggest me the any artist who bases their work on domestic violence?
And also things to inlcude in skectbook eg. artist pages (x 4)
Observation and soo on..
I really appreciate you help. Thank you sooo much!
PRIYA
hI Amiria,
I just looked at your “how to develop your work” blog. It has helped me a lot. It basically answered the question I asked above. THank you.
But I have a few questions regarding that page.
“Complete 4-10 drawings of your chosen topic in your A-Level Art Sketchbook, using a range of black and white and coloured mediums such as graphite pencil, Indian ink, acrylic…..You are merely conducting visual research and exploring your topic.” wHAT does this mean? AS I am doing domestic violence, I know the kind of photographs I am going to take so should I do 4-10 drawing of the photograohs plus some observational? Is that what you mean. For example, a drawing of a girl sitting on the floor with her hands on her face crying. If I take a photograph of this, then draw it from phtograph and use different mediums and more drawing in this method. Is that what you were saying. And also when I do artist research what kind of things do I do with their work? For coursework, all I did was write up about them and I did a transcription for one artist only. I know thats not enought but for my exam I really what to do well.
Sorry for this double messages.
THank u!!!
Hi again Priya,
I am pleased to hear that the development post has helped you. The statement meant this: You should produce 4-10 realistic drawings (drawing from your photographs and/or from direct observation), and each drawing should be a different composition (i.e. with your subject arranged differently and viewed from different angles etc). Each work should be completed in a different medium, or different combination of mediums. But this is just a guide – there are no precise rules, and every project is different.
Artist research can include imitation of works or parts of works; analysis of the composition etc. The blog post above contains ideas for sorts of things you can include.
Hope that helps!
Hi Priya,
Just a quick note regarding your ideas…both are quite literal (i.e. obvious) expressions of your topic. I would be particularly wary about using the heart symbol in your work – this is such an overdone symbol that it is very difficult to use it without appearing cheesy. If you happen to have a realistic image of a heart to draw from, however, this is a different matter.
You also ask which one to use for the mock exam and which one for the mock… I am not sure what qualification you are studying for (apologies if you have already told me – I am getting so many comments these days that it is hard to keep track), but if you are a CIE Art and Design student, your body of work should all lead towards the final piece (even the mock exam, which I imagine will later form part of your preparatory work). In other words, the two should not be separate, discreet ideas, but the mock exam should be part of the journey towards the real exam – and they will thus explore similar ideas.
Hi Amiria,
This blog is amazing and has been so helpful for me especially in my resit of AS fine art!
I was just wondering about a few things.
1. Is drawing or painting from your own photographs a bad idea for a piece of development work if you mix it with other influences?
2. My title is combinations and alliances and I first began looking at war, and I have previously studied emotion so to link them together I chose to look at the emotional side of war and the emotions it can invoke. I read that it has to have a personal twist but I’m not entirely sure how to do this :s I was wondering if using the idea of portraying how I’d feel if I lost my boyfriend or friends to war, or they were leaving for a long time ( not only am I going to uni next year but my boyfriend is from a country where they still have military service that he may have to do) and I was wondering if this is a good personal twist or not?
In my school we critique an artist on a sheet of paper that goes on display too, not in our sketchbooks, are these 3 sheets to be added onto the ten A1 sheets for A2 art?
4. I LOVE MY SKETCHBOOK TOO MUCH! I constantly lose things and I put the majority of my work even pieces last year in my sketchbook, is this bad? As I’m resitting the coursework for AS, should I start making pieces that don’t go in my book and just use my sketchbook for notes, experiments, and evaluating?
5. Do we have to evaluate our own pieces as we go along? How many pieces do I do and what size?
Sorry for soooo many questions! I’d be so grateful if you answer even half of them! I’m keeping your website in my favourites!
Hi Shannon,
Don’t mix in last year’s work into your sketchbook (i.e. definitely do not mix AS with A2) – the work for different components should be kept separate. In a way this is a method of artificially ‘bulking up’ your sketchbook to make it look extra thorough…I would not recommend it…it would be very frowned upon if the examiners discovered this! Also, it is intended that your AS and A2 work be quite different (different themes / artists etc) so it shouldn’t really relate to each other…? Yes, you need to make pieces to fill the 10 A1 sheets…
1. Drawing from your own photographs is fine.
2. A personal approach is indeed best. The idea of how you’d feel if you lost boyfriends or friends to war is actually quite a cool idea. Perhaps you could do kind something based on a fictional ‘modern’ war, in a 1st world country… perhaps mimicking old images of soldiers etc, but with teenagers / young adults wearing modern clothing / accessories… hmmmm, I’m not sure if I’m describing this well, but I think there could be real potential with this idea.
3. Are you a CIE student? I am unable to guide you with exact assessment requirements otherwise, as my experience lies primarily with CIE Art and Design. If you are studying CIE, then the artist study you refer to could either be the Personal Study, which is a separate component and can presented in any way you see fit (and is thus NOT part of the 10 sheets), or you could be referring to general artist analysis that occurs as part of your coursework component (usually a range of different artists are studied / learned from as part of your A2 Coursework). If this is the type of artist analysis you are referring to, then most schools that I have been familiar with include this sort of thing within the sketchbook, and put original student work on the 10 sheets, but there are not strict guidelines regarding this and CIE is quite flexible.
4. Try not to lose things!
5. Yes you should evaluate your work as you go. Look at some of the sketchbook pages in this A2 Art Coursework project for ideas. I am not sure what you are referring to with your last question: how many pieces / what size. But CIE doesn’t specify numbers of individual pieces for virtually any components, so there is unlikely to be specific answer to this question anyway!
Ok, hopefully I covered most of your questions there!
Thanks for ‘favouriting’ my website! Thank you!
hey amiria!
I was wondering if you could help me with any ideas that I could do for my exam? I understand if you can’t give me ideas but any artists that I could look up for my own title, political encounters? Thank you!
Hi Dais,
This is actually a tricky one. There are of quite a few graffiti artworks that explore political ideas, such as this and this. Thomas Prass also creates some overtly political artworks. An artwork who I think is really interesting however, is Kelani Abass, a Nigerian artist who has produced a series of work entitled Man and the Machine.
One of the comments he makes about his work is:
This could be related to something about political encounters. He definitely has an awesome collage / mixed media technique.
Hope that helps.
hello amiria,
i am currently doing both as and a2 art. for my a2 subject i chose to do multiple personality disorders.i don’t know how to make my work “flow” i am inspired by 2 photographers because they link to my theme very well but i am much better at painting. i need to do drawings which link to this concept but i don’t know where to go from there and express myself properly.what should i do after that?
also (sorry for the long post)for my as topic I’m doing traumatic childhood experiences but I’m struggling with finding artists and coming up with a concept that isn’t too cliche. i am finding it really difficult to stay on top of everything and i am afraid i am going to fail. whats a good structure to help me finish my work for both as and a2.
sorry for rambling on and thank you so much for your time.
Hi Amy,
Your topic sounds really interesting!
For help with course structure, please read how to develop a coursework project.
It is fine to be inspired by photographers for a painting project, but I would find some painters to inspire you also, as you will benefit from learning painting processes and techniques as well as the compositional ideas that can be gained from photographers.
Artworks like (this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this or this might be relevant, as they make me think of your theme without being too literal or self explanatory.
I am going to write some posts about how to stay on top of you workload etc soon – make sure you are subscribed by email (see top right of web page) if you want to be alerted whenever I write a new post.
Are you a CIE Art & Design student? If you need in depth help I am now offering paid progress reports.
Good luck!
Hey Amiria! It’s Seamus, you commented on my portfolio video on youtube and we chatted! I am just filling you in on what i’m upto on my exam work! Decided to study ‘Natural Oasis’ as harmony in nature is listed in the exam paper. Loving it! Haven’t really got any A* standard work yet, first hand anyliticals are looking good though but still need more work. I looked at the work of Carol Carter (floral watercolours) and Akiane, who is a child prodigy artist who gets visions from god and paints incredible huge fine art work! My exam is THIS MONDAY! Planning to do a large thin board, black background, relief lily and a butterfly in mid flight off it… Just experimenting at the moment. Want to know your thoughts? Is that too slim? Does the theme need a more deep meaningful outcome? P.s my teacher told me to do a ‘Thought book’. I liked the idea so i did. It’s an a4 sketchbook full of pictures, experiments and hand written notes. It’s quite messy (the book doesent close) and it’s not like the sketchbook examples you have here standard wise. Should i start it again with better presentation? Bare in mind all my work will be mounted on a2 sheets for presentation and i would like those to be the focal points! Any ideas on how to decorate my pages so they stand out? was thinking have floral decor around the edges and fonts that are floral… on plain white/ or tea stained a2 sheets!
Hi Seamus,
I love the enthusiasm you have for your Art projects – this is excellent! I wish more students shared your passion!
As your exam is only days away now, I am hesitant to make too many suggestions as I don’t want to set you off track or put you in panic-mode just before your exam. The only thing I would say is that what you have described for your final work does sound as though it might run the risk of being a bit ‘pretty’, however it is certainly something that would fit in with a Natural Oasis theme. My gut feeling is that to pull off such a composition, you would need strong observational work – i.e. excellent realism achieved with the butterfly etc so that you get all the details and it looks absolutely real (with no hint of an illustrative or cartoonish style, for example). It is difficult for me to really say without seeing your prep work, however. There are always exceptions!
As for sketchbook presentation, I would not have floral decor or floral font, as in my mind these are unnecessary and would just distract from the artwork. This would also take valuable time that is better spent improving the quality of your artwork. My students simply add notes and headings in small, tiny pencil writing, however, I know this is not common practice in the UK, so just use your best judgement.
With regards to a messy presentation, this in itself is not a problem. It just depends on the quality of the work. A messy/arty sketchbook can be amazing!
Good luck for your exam!!
Hello!
Due to unforseen circumstance (family issue etc) I am very behind on getting my sketchbook complete. I only have research on artists completed and My sketchbook is due in, in two weeks. I also have a couple of A3 sheets of development and one A3 sheet of a giant observation.
I really really love art and I am currently putting in hours and hours to try and catch up I hope to take art further by doing an Art Foundation course and through some medium at Uni too but am I scared because of my lack of work my grade will be too low.
So I was wondering if you had any tips on what to include in the two weeks I have to put in my sketchbook to help get my grade as high as it can be as well as quick ways to get things done. I understand quality is better than quantity but at the same time you have to hit certain criteria and get a certain amount done.
I’m just stuck as what to do for the best basically.
Any ideas would be really appreciated
Thank You!
AS level student, Molly.
Hi Molly,
Hmmm…this is a tricky one. Drawing onto interesting surfaces like old library books can be a good way to save time, as part of the work is essentially already created just with the selection of the background material (see this blog post about creative use of media for more ideas). Obviously the things you draw on would have to relate to your project, however, and not just be a random space-filling exercise!
Working on grounds of all kinds is probably my best advice actually.
Also computer generated works (merging your own drawings together or merging your own photographs with drawings etc) can also be a fast and awesome way to generate work that looks superb (assuming you know how to do this – if you don’t, don’t try and learn as it is quite frustrating and time consuming learning how to use most software drawing packages).
Hope that helps – good luck!
Hi Amiria
I am really enjoying your blog. I am a teacher returning to NZ for 3 weeks who would appreciate some professional development with you in June if possible. It is clear that you are very busy, but I am hoping you will be able to help me for a short while. Please reply to my email if this is possible. Thanks.
Hi Andrea,
I have sent you an email!