BEGINNING DRAWING
FINAL EXAM (10% of semester grade)
FALL 2011
Part 1: Performance (class project)-100 points (Due before or at the end of the scheduled
exam date for the class)
You will create a shaded drawing of your choice on an 18”X24” white drawing paper that
illustrates an original conceptual idea. Be creative and imaginative by using all of your artistic
skills and technical abilities. Your piece should incorporate what you have learned from the
class. Consider the composition, the Elements and Principles of Art and Design, and the message
you are trying to get across to your audience. Create 3 different compositions or designs for this
project. Each must be different and interesting. You and I will pick the best of these three
designs for your project.
The quality of your piece should reflect a minimum of 10 hours of work. Anything less will be
graded accordingly. Remember, this is 50% of your Final Exam that will affect the semester
grade.
SEE ATTACHED ART RUBRIC FOR MORE DETAILS
REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECT
Finished quality of product is atleast 10+ hours of work with 3 different detailed sketches to
display planning and problem solving skills
A well balanced composition/design (applications of Elements and Principles of Design)
Aesthetics-Attention to details
Art Skills-Proper applications of techniques
3-D illusion of depth/shading/values
Creativity/imagination
Overall look and feels-Craftsmanship/Presentation
Art as language-purpose of project and personal vision
Part 2: Term Paper (1000+ words)
Select 3 of your best art pieces that you’ve created during the semester. Write a 1000+ words
essay (art critique) on your art pieces. Plagiarized papers will receive an “F”. Save your paper as
a word document and E-mail me your finished essay as an attachment.
It should include:
 Description of the techniques and the processes that you used.
 How did you grow as an artist from your earliest piece to the latest?
 What did you learn by working on these pieces?
 What are the strong parts of your projects?
 What are the weak parts of your projects?
 Looking back - what would you do differently to make the pieces better in quality?
 Your thoughts, ideas, reflections, etc.
Type your self-critique using Times New Roman, size 12 font, double-spaced.
Email me a copy of the self–critique by January 16, 2012 at: vued@mail.milton.k12.wi.us
Write in full sentences. Do not simply answer the above specific questions, but write an
informative narrative essay critique-tell me a story about your journey as an artist. Check
spelling.
Grading scale:
Does not meet
requirements
0-5
1000+ words
Email a copy to teacher by
deadline, Monday, January 16
Paper is written in your own
words
Essay is informative, insightful,
and thoughtful
Essay is written using full and
complete sentences, paragraphs,
Missing some
requirements
6-7
Meet requirements
8-9
Exceeds
requirements
10
and proper punctuations &
spellings
Correct descriptions of the
projects and processes
Self-evaluation, reflection
Art vocabulary usage
(Elements/Principles)
Essay answered the 6 questions
Includes a personal summary
Points
Earned
/100
EXAMPLE
Final Exam Essay (1,065 words)
I feel like I have grown a lot artistically since my earliest piece. I am able to identify most
of the elements of design and incorporate them into my projects. The thing I have most improved
on is shading. At the beginning of the year I had a vague understanding on how to shade and
when it was necessary. Now I can look at a piece of art and understand why there is shading and
how it makes the art three dimensional. Since we did a lot of shading in our projects this year I
feel like I have had a lot of practice at it. I can recognize now how poorly my shading was at the
beginning of the year compared to what it is like now. I also believe that my understanding of
color and how to put different colors together has improved. I can now see the effect that
different colors have when they are put together. With colors, I now understand when it is
appropriate to use warm or cool colors in a painting and the difference it makes when you
interchange the two. Overall I feel like I have grown tremendously from the begging of the year
not only in my understanding of the elements but in my individuality as an artist.
My favorite project was the mandala. The pattern I created allowed me to try different
shading techniques which I enjoyed. The repetition of colors allowed my project to seem like an
endless circle. The weakest part of my project would have to be my lines. Although it was the
same reflected pattern, some of the lines weren’t congruent to each other which made some lines
look lopsided. By working on this piece it allowed me to see how different colors work together
and how some colors don’t. I think I chose the right colors because they seemed to flow together
and work coherently. It was easy to shade with these colors too because they blended nicely into
each other. The strong part of this project was the shading. By practicing on a separate piece of
paper I was able to create a nice illusion with the colors I chose. Looking back I don’t think I
would change much besides the lines.
My most creative piece would have to be my surrealism project. I was able to use my
individuality as an artist and translate it to a project. I feel like this piece allowed me to express
myself as an artist which let me grow artistically. The strong part of my project was the illusion I
created using space. I was able to make it look like a joker was actually popping out of a playing
card. Not only did it look like the joker was popping out but it looked like the joker was growing
the farther it came out of the card. I learned a lot about spacing and proportionality while
working on this project. The weakest part of this project was my coloring. I used only primary
colors which gave it a nice effect but it didn’t create any depth to my project. Although my
spacing was unique, the project still looked two dimensional because I didn’t shade with my
colors. If I were to do this project over I would change some things. First, I would be more
creative with my coloring and use my coloring to add more depth. Second, I would create more
form in order to make my project more three dimensional instead of flat.
My self portrait project helped me grow as an artist as well. There were a lot of weak
points in this project but I think that helped me grow a lot. I was able to pick out shapes in my
self portrait and translate it into my project. That was probably the strong part of my project. One
of my weak points was shading. I didn’t know enough about shading then to correctly shade all
the shapes in my project. Even though I wasn’t very knowledgeable about shading I feel like I
learned a lot about shading shapes from this project. After this project I felt more confident about
my shading and was able to shade shapes better. The form in my project was also a weak point.
Form uses shading to make up shapes and I feel like I was unable to shade correctly. My poor
shading skills made my project look very two dimensional. I wasn’t able to express depth in my
project either because shading was my weak point. The color in my project was another weak
point. Even though it was black and white, I didn’t quite understand when to use black and how
to fade it into white. If I were to do this project I over I feel like I would have a better
understanding on how to make my project three dimensional and how to use the shading to
create different illusions.
I enjoyed the coffee painting the most. I first had to copy a model proportionally onto a
bigger piece of cardboard. I found it very challenging to take something smaller and to translate
it bigger onto something else. Although it was difficult, it gave me a better understanding on how
to place lines and appear balanced. I then had to paint the project with coffee which was also
difficult. I had to layer coffee in order to create the correct color to emphasize depth. I think that
was my strongest point, the painting. I was able to translate the shading on the model onto my
project using the correct amount of coffee in just the right places. I also added texture in there
using salt that I placed on certain areas while the coffee was still wet. Once the painting was
done I felt like I properly represented the original model with my project. The one thing I would
change about this project was the difficulty. I wish I picked a more challenging model to work
with so I could use more techniques in my project.
Overall I feel like I have learned a lot from doing these projects. I have a better
understanding of art and I appreciate it more. I was able to improve my sense of depth and my
shading techniques which will allow me to grow as an artist.
PROJECT
ESSAY
/100
/100
GRADE FOR FINAL EXAM
/200