Advanced Placement Studio Art: 2 D/ Drawing
Art Pathways / Pre-requisites
The pathway for students in Advanced Placement Studio Art 2D is to have completed the
prerequisites of Art 1, Art 2 and Art 3 and to have maintained high academic grade levels
overall. AP Studio Art is recommended for students in their senior year of high school
because of the strenuous nature of the portfolio and the number of works of art that are
required to be submitted to the College Board1. Students are advised to begin their
preparations for AP while enrolled in Art 2/3 to allow students enough time to complete
the extensive body of work necessary for the portfolio submission.
All candidates for AP Studio Art are encouraged to preview portfolio sample artworks
from the College Board and review the instructions from the AP studio Poster2. AP
Studio students are also expected to complete an independent Summer Sketchbook
Assignment3 in preparation for their fall semester. All AP students will use a sketchbook
all year to develop their design ideas and show evidence of their working process4.
Introduction:
AP Studio art program is a cooperative endeavor that helps high school students to
complete college-level courses and permits colleges to evaluate, acknowledge, and
encourage that accomplishment through the granting of appropriate credit and placement.
The teacher will provide students with an in-depth, sequential course of study with a
specific range of assignments and timelines. Students will meet regularly with their
instructor to receive ongoing guidance and critical feedback. Students will need to spend
a significant amount of after school hours devoted to their studio work and independent
studies. Final assessment for AP Studio is not based on a written exam; instead students
submit portfolios for evaluation by the end of the school year. Students are required to
investigate all three aspects of the portfolio including Quality, Concentration, and
Breath.
AP Art program is designed for students who are seriously interested in the practical
experience of art. To meet the high national standard for visual art, AP students must be
willing and prepared to take on the rigors and challenges of performing at a college level
which involve:
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time commitment to independently manage homework, starting with a summer assignment
maintaining a sketchbook or journal and work outside the classroom beyond scheduled periods
ongoing problem solving, refinement of visual literacy skills, and fluency with the elements and
principles of design
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See instructor for details of on-line sources for College Board.
See instructor for AP studio poster.
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Posted on website
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See instructor for details and College Board guidelines for AP Studio Art.
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strong interest in exploring and researching Cultural and Historical art connections
ability to work collaboratively and critically alongside fellow students and instructor
active participation in campus exhibits, local art community, galleries and art museums
The instructor recommends all students enrolled in an Art major/AP pathway begin
building their Breadth and Concentration portion of their portfolio during their Junior
year. Students are shown examples of previous Concentration projects from students in
the past as well as Breadth examples. Students also will be given lectures on relevant Art
Cultural/History information that pertains to the media/style of art being taught. Each
Breadth project will be assignment-based and teacher taught. Students are given a
medium and/or a subject matter to complete and all assignments will be followed with a
self-critique and a class discussion of the assignment. Recommended projects for Breath
and Concentration are listed on page 5-6.
Grading
Portfolio grading rubrics will be based on the current AP scoring Guidelines for Studio
Art (1-6 point scale)5. The grading for the A.P. classes is based on several components:
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Time management - Student work is completed on time and in accordance to contract.
Artistic Concept - Student work is original in thought and design and displays interesting composition.
Creative risk-taking - Level of difficulty or range of experimentation by the student
Technical level - Student work will be graded on the level of technical difficulty of the project.
Craftsmanship - Care and effort in the presentation quality of the project will be graded.
Academic Integrity - Student Code of Conduct:
Our high school has a clear Academic Code of Conduct Policy. This policy includes rules
against cheating of any sort and plagiarism. Plagiarism is any time a person uses someone
else’s work and claims that work as their own. In art, plagiarism is when students use
photography or any other medium from other artists in their work. It is ok to use
photography as a “reference”, meaning that you can use the basic shapes and forms and
colors of the work, but it is very important not to copy it. Copying artwork infringes on
the original artist’s copyright and can be punishable by a fine. As A.P. Art student, you
must use your skills and imagination as an artist to come up with original, intriguing, and
imaginative solutions in your artwork. To avoid plagiarism, all work must have a predrawing on newsprint paper checked off by the teacher before the final work is begun.
Course Textbooks: Discovering Art History by G Brommer, Art Talk by R Ragans
Additional resources: Art Synectics by N. Roukes, 200 projects by V. Colston
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See College Board scoring guideline for 2D art.
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Summer Assignments:
Due first week of school
1. Portrait of family or friend - Pick someone that has character in their face or
expressions. Through a medium of your choice, capture the character of that individual
through the medium. For example, a moody individual would be drawn in dark charcoals
with a dark background.
2. Assemble a still life of all of your favorite objects. The key is to have a wide variety of
textures, shapes, colors, etc. Then with a view finder find the best composition using the
division of thirds property with your paper. Draw the composition using the five (5) rules
of proper shading as well as proportion, and color blending/mixing with the pencils.
Your project should look abstract.
3. Construct an interior ‘Room’ or exterior ‘Place’. Make sure that you are challenging
yourself with an unfamiliar technique. You have an entire summer to come up with a
solution to the difficult medium that you are working in.
All students must continue drawing in their sketchbook, on average one 1 independent
drawing per day or 4 planning sketches per week. This will be critiqued in the school
term on a weekly basis and assessed before each 6 week progress reporting cycle.
Sketchbook requirements:
A new sketchbook is required before summer vacation. As advanced students
considering art as a potential career or college minor, a sketchbook is a must for
developing ideas, practicing skills as well as a documentation device. By this time in
your education, you have learned to draw from photographs very well. However,
drawing from life is essential to becoming an excellent artist. You should be carrying
your sketchbook with you at all times as a creative writer would keep a journal log. This
sketchbook is a critical link to your imagination and should be treated as a companion to
the artist more so than a pen, pencil, or brush. The work in your sketchbook should be an
ongoing process (not a chore or assignment), but a way to practice your drawing
techniques and experiences. Here are some guidelines for your sketchbook:
DO:
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Draw from life. The more you draw from life, the better your analytical skills of
light/shadow, color, proportion, etc will be. You need to learn how to translate
the three dimensional world into the two dimensional.
Fill the page with your drawings. The larger your drawings are the better idea
you and your audience will have with what you are trying to express.
Date your work. You will be able to refer back to your work and reflect how your
ideas have changed and/or become better.
Be experimental and challenge what you have drawn in the past. Remember this
is a sketchbook. You are not being graded on the quality of your drawings, but
rather the thought processes of your drawings.
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Treat this sketchbook like a diary. Put your thoughts down when they come to
you.
Be diverse in your drawings-draw buildings, animals, robots, fruit, etc
Be diverse in your media-paint, use ink, pencil etc
Practice composition - this is as important as technique
Use your sketchbook as a scrap book. Using a glue stick, put ticket stubs, dried
flowers, receipts, poems, shells, shoelaces etc. into your sketchbook for later
collage use. You never know when you might want to use these items for a work
of art later.
DON’T
 Draw from photographs. You can use photographs for the final projects in class.
We want to develop your life drawing skills.
 Draw cute, pretty, precious, adorable, or trite things. You are considered a
college level art student, and these images will not be acceptable.
 Be perfect with your sketches. That is why we call this a sketchbook and not a
work of art book. Allow yourself to be free.
 Do not stop a drawing once you have started it. Like anything in life, get used to
finishing something you start. There is no greater sense of satisfaction than to
struggle and then work hard and pull through.
 Do not worry about what other people think about your sketchbook. I actually
recommend that you don’t share your sketchbook until you are finished with it.
This sketchbook is a unique record of your own creative development.
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