AdvancedPlacementDrawingSyllabus

WelcometoAdvancedPlacementDrawing.Theintentofthisclassistoofferthestudents
anopportunitytodocollegelevelcourseworkinthefieldofdrawingandcompilea
portfolioofworkforevaluationbytheAPBoard.Theclasswillbeinvolvedandrigorous,
butbytheendoftheyearyoushouldhavehighlevelunderstandingofthemarkmakingas
wellaselementsofartandprinciplesofdesignandtheabilitytousetheminproducing
collegelevelwork.Thecoursewillfocusonthreeelementsofportfoliodevelopment;
quality,concentration,andbreadth.Throughdevelopingyourportfolioandhelpingyour
peerstodeveloptheirsyouwilldevelopanunderstandingoftheelementsofartand
principlesofdesign.Withthisyoushouldbeabletounderstand,describe,andcontrolhow
viewersinteractwithdrawnimagery.
Theclassobjectiveistoincreasethestudentsunderstandinginfivemainareas:
MarkMaking:Drawingisdifferentfrom2Ddesigninthatitfocusesheavilyonmark
making.Thedrawingstudentneedstohaveanunderstandingofawidevarietyofeffective
andengagingmarkmakingtechniques.
ElementsofArt:Thestudentmustunderstandtheeffectiveuseofline,shape,form,space,
colorandtexture.Eachpiecethestudentcreatesshouldprominentlyfeatureatleasttwoof
theseelements.Workcreatedfortheportfolioisnotjustcreativeexpression,butalsoa
demonstrationofunderstanding.
PrinciplesofDesign:Studentsmustalsodemonstrateunderstandingofbalance,emphasis,
movement,pattern,repetition,proportion,rhythm,variety,andunity.Ineachpiece,
studentswillstrivetocreateaproperbalanceofvarietyversusunity.Thewilluse
emphasistocreatefocalpointsthroughcontrast.Theywillunderstandandutilizebalance
inavarietyofways.Theywillstrivetofeatureatleastoneotherprincipleintoeachpiece.
ProblemSolving:Studentswillstrivetobothcreateandsolveproblemsintheirwork.In
thebreadthphaseinitialproblemswillbeintroducedbytheinstructor.Theseproblemsare
tobeseenasstartingblocksratherthanfinishlines.Themostsuccessfulstudentswill
solvetheseproblemsbythemostinterestingmethodratherthanthemoststraightforward.
Intheconcentrationsectionstudentswillbeinchargeofdefiningtheirownoverarching
problem.Thestudentisbasicallyrequiredtocreatetheirownassignment.
ArtisticVoice:Artisticvoiceiswhatmakesyourartuniqueandidentifiableasyours.The
encompassesthematerialsyouuse,thewayyouusethem,andtheideasyouincorporate
intoyourwork.Yourartisticvoicewillbeaproductofyourtechnicalaptitude,your
interests,andyourinfluences.Artisticvoiceisanecessarycomponentforhighlevel
achievementinthiscourse.
Proficiencyandunderstandingintheseareasshouldbeevidentprimarilyinthestudents
work,butalsointheiranalysisoftheworkoftheirpeersandotherartists.
APDrawingSummerAssignments

TheFollowingAssignmentsarefromorhavebeenheavilyinfluencedbyStealLikeanArtist
byAustinKleon:
ArtJournal:Workthroughoutthesummerinasketchbookoralteredbook.Analtered
bookisheavilyrecommendedasitstartstheartistwithanimmediateproblem.Carrythis
bookwithyouandhaveitonhandwheneverpossible.Sleepwithitnexttoyourbed.Strive
tomakeatleastoneentryperday.Entriesmayconsistofdrawing,painting,collage,
collecting,writing,orwhateverelseyoumightputinsideofabook.Keeptrackofthoughts,
memories,ideasanddreams.Thisbookistoserveasatooltocaptureideaswheneverthe
spiritmovesyou,asahistoryofyoursummer,andasaresearchanddevelopment
laboratory.Haveanexcitingsummerandletthisbookserveasproof.
GenealogyofArtisticInfluence:Createafamilytreeofartisticinfluence.Findthree
artistswhohaveinfluencedyourworkorwhoyouwouldliketoemulate.Researchthe
artistswhoinfluencedtheseartists,andtheoneswhoinfluencedthem,andsoon.Createa
physicalfamilytreeofartistsandtheirwork.Tracetheseartistsasfarasyoucan.Tryto
createthebiggesttree.
CreateatLeast4CompletePiecesofArt:Createfourpiecesofartcombiningyour
favoritelook,feel,techniques,themes,andsubjectsfromyourartisticinfluences.Ifyou
findthatyouaredoingsomethingthatnoneofyourinfluenceshavedone,trytofind
someoneelsewhoisorwasdoingit.Thinkaboutwhatyourfavoriteartistsnextpiece
wouldlooklike.Thinkaboutwhatoneartistspaintingwouldlooklikeifitwererepainted
byanotherartist.Thinkaboutwhatkindofpaintingswouldbeproducedifyourfavorite
threeartistsweremergedinahorribletimetravelaccident.Thinkaboutnewwaystothink
abouthowtocombineinfluences.Eachpiecemustbe18x24orsmaller.Piecesshouldbe
onahighqualitypaperorboard.Piecesmaybeinanytwodimensionalmediumormedia.
KeepaWorkLog:Writedownwhatyoudoeachdaypayingspecialattentiontowhenyou
workandwhatyouworkon.Thiscanbeshortsimplenotes.Itsnotnecessarilyadiary.
Theideaistokeeptrackofyourworkhabits.Thegoalistoworkeveryday.Youcankeep
thisloginyourArtJournalorkeepaseparateworklog.Findwhatworksforyou.
KeepaWorkCalendar:Cutandpasteorjustdrawalittlecalendarinyourworklog.Draw
anXthrougheverydaythatyouworkforatleastpartoftheday.Trytokeepthestreak
goingaslongaspossible.Youwillprobablyfindthatthelongerthechaingets,theharderit
istobreak.
SchoolYearCoursework:
GeneralOverview:
Wewillbegintheyearbygoingovertheclasssyllabusandportfoliorequirements.Wewill
viewanddiscusssampleimagesfromtheAPwebsiteanddiscusstheratingsystemfor
portfolios.Wewillalsodiscussstrengthsandweaknessesofreferencemethodsforcreating
artincludingobservation,imagination,andphotographs.Wewillthendiscusscopyright
issuessurroundingimagesthatdonotbelongtotheartist.Theclasswilldiscussartistic

integrity,plagiarism,andmovingbeyondduplicationastheyproduceartisticwork.Wewill
discusstherecentlegalissuesaroundtheartistShepardFairey.Studentswillbeshown
legaloptionsforobtainingreferencematerials,typesofreproductionrights,andmethods
formovingbeyondsimplereproductionoffoundimagery.Attheendofthethirdweekwe
willviewandcritiquesummerprojects.
Thefirstsemesterwillprimarilyfocusonthebreadthsectionoftheportfolio,whilethe
secondsemesterwillfocusonconcentrationandputtingeverythingtogether.Thequality
sectionwillbeaselectionofthemostappropriatepiecesfromtheothertwosectionsor
additionalworkcreatedduringthisyearorpreviousyears.
TheWorkLogandCalendar:
Maintaintheworklog.Trytodoarteverysingleday.Strivetomaintainthetenyearstoten
thousandhoursschedule.Thismeansworkingsomewhereclosetothreehoursaday.Itis
notaclassrequirement,butifyouwanttobeproducingtopnotch,competitive,artwhen
youleavecollegeitisagoodattitudetohave.
Sketchbook/ArtJournal:
Sketch!Captureeveryidea!Honeyourskills!Makeyourmistakesinthebook,notonthe
canvas!Thesketchbookisavaluabletoolforideationandinformedcritical
decisionmaking.Inityoucanperformexperiments,brainstorm,testcompositions,
practice,andsaveideasforlater.Throughoutthecoursestudentswillbeassigned
sketchbookexercisesincorporatingavarietyofideationtechniques,suchasbrainstorming,
automaticwriting,ideamapping,andjournaling.And,ofcourse,therewillbelots
sketching.Attheendoftheyear,yoursketchbookshouldntmerelybeabookofsketches,
butarecordofyourartasanongoingprocess.
Feelfreetocombineyourworklogandsketchbook.Makeamessofthewholething!Itis
foryou,nooneelse.Itneedstobeasorganizedasyouneedittobe.
Portfolio:
Ourworkduringtheschoolyearwillrevolveprimarilyaroundthecreationofyour
portfolio.Theportfolioisdividedintothreesectionsquality,concentration,and
breadth.Eachsectionwillbeevaluatedbasedonyourcomprehensionanduseofthe
elementsofartandprinciplesofdesign.Therefore,yourdevelopingmasteryofthese
elementsandprinciplesisexpectedtosupporttheproductionofworksofcontinuously
increasingquality.
Atthebeginningoftheyear,wewillexamineeachsectionandviewsampleimagesfrom
theAPwebsite.Wewilldiscusstheratingsystemandhoweachsamplepiecewasprobably
evaluated.Wewillalsodiscussplagiarismissues.Wewillreviewsummerassignmentsand
practicesandtalkaboutwhatportfoliosectioneachsummerpiecewouldmostlikelybe
placedinandperformcritique/evaluations.

Portfolioworkwillbeginearlyintheyearwiththebreadthsection.Forthissection
studentswillreceiveassignmentsfromtheinstructorexploringvariouswaystoapproach
thecreationofart.Theseassignmentsshouldleavestudentswithenoughpiecestofillout
thebreadthsectionoftheportfolio.Fromthesepieces,studentswillalsoselectpossible
piecestomakeuppartorallofthequalitysectionaswell.
Theinstructorshallgiveassignmentsappropriatetothecurrentmoodandprogressofthe
classandmayevengivedifferentassignmentstodifferentstudentsastheclassprogresses.
Belowarelistedsampleassignmentsthatmaybegivenduringthebreadthsectionofthe
course.Duringthefirstsemester,wewillattempttoworkatapaceofonepieceperweek.
Everythreeweekswewillcritiqueworkindifferentgroupsandconfigurations.The
instructorwillalsogivegradesandcommentsonstudentwork.Studentsareencouragedto
presentallworkatthistimeevenifitisunfinished.Thefocusofcritiqueisanalysisand
evaluationoftheelementsofartandprinciplesofdesigninstudentandpeerwork.
Studentsusesheetswiththeseterms,definitions,andexplanationstoencouragefamiliarity
andintegrationofvocabulary.Critiqueismeantasatooltohelpstudentsmakeinformed
criticaldecisionsaboutwhenworktheirworkisfinishedandhowtoimproveit.Workin
thisclassismorethananexercisetoimproveskills.Rather,itispartofanongoingprocess.
Eachpieceshouldtakemorethanonesessionandprobablymorethantheallottedinclass
time.Studentswillbeexpectedtocontinueworkingonunfinishedpiecesathomeas
homework.
Asstudentsworkinclasstheinstructorwillholdinstructionalconversationsindividually
witheachstudentatleastonceperweek.Atthistimetheinstructorwillprovidefeedback
onwork,answerquestions,andprovidetechnicalassistance.

BreadthAssignments:
Thissectionwillpresentarangeofproblemsolvingapproachesinresponsetoinstructor
prompts.Studentswillexploreavarietyofapproachesfordevelopinganddemonstrating
masteryofmediaandunderstandingandintegrationoftheelementsofartandprinciples
ofdesignintheproductionofhighqualitywork.Studentsareallowedtoexploreavariety
ofmediaorafewmediaindepth.Someassignmentsfocusonspecificelementsofartor
principlesofdesignwhileothersencouragethestudenttodecidewhichoftheseto
emphasize.Atalltimesduringcreationandanalysisofartstudentsareencouragedtokeep
theseelementsandprinciplesinmindastheywillbetheprimaryfocusofportfolio
evaluation.Atthebeginningoftheclass,studentswillbegivenhandoutsdefiningand
explainingtheseelementsandprinciples.Theseareforreferencebothinthecreationand
evaluationofwork.
StillLifewithDifferentMedia:Studentswillworkwiththeinstructortocomplete
drawingsandpaintingsinavarietyofmediapossiblyincludinggraphite,charcoal,ink,
watercolor,pastels,andvariouspaints.Studentswillfirstcompleteapiecewiththe

instructorandthenworkfromastilllife.Theobjectiveistohoneobservationalskillsand
introducestudentstonewmediaorpromotefurtherskilldevelopment.
PhotographyandComposition:Studentswillexperimentwithcompositionbytakinga
setofphotosusingdifferentcompositionalstrategies.Studentswilldemonstrate
understandingoffiguregroundrelationship,centeringasinglesubject,theruleofthirds,
andbackground,middleground,andforeground.
WorkingfromorwithaPhoto:Studentswillchooseonephototoinspireanewpieceof
art.Theywilleitherusethephotoasareference,physicallyalterthephotograph,alterthe
photographusingphotoshop,oracombinationofthesethings.
ExperimentalMedium:Createthreepiecesusingsomethingthatisnotnormallyusedfor
art.Itcanbeanythingthatwillcreateamark,orstainasurface.Whenyouaredone,
photographyourworkandmakeapredictionabouthowthematerialwillchangeoverthe
courseoftheyear.Ifchangesoccur,documentthem.Documentthestrengthsand
weaknessesofthemedium,suchasthetypesoflines,tones,andcolorsanartistcancreate.
StealLikeanArtist:Identifyhowthreeartistswhomyouadmireincorporatethree
differentelementsofartintotheirwork.Readbooksaboutyourartists.Viewtheirworkon
artor.org.Trytocopyallthreeartistsmethodsinthreepieces.Useallthreemethodsin
eachpiece.
EmphasisThroughFinish:Createthreepieceswherethefocalpointsoftheimagesare
highlyworkedorfinishedandtherestoftheimageislessworkedmovingoutfromthe
areasofemphasis.Theperipheryshouldbesimplesketchingorcompletelyunworked.
Youmaywanttoatleasttoneyoursurfaceorworkwithsomethingmiddletonedto
eliminateanyglaringwhite.Consideralsohowprincipleslikemovement,repetition,
pattern,andrhythmcancontrolthemovementoftheeyefromonefocalpointtoanother.
Synesthesia:Synesthesiaisaneurologicalphenomenoninwhichstimulationofone
sensoryorcognitivepathwayleadstoautomatic,involuntaryexperiencesinasecond
sensoryorcognitivepathway.Representanonvisualexperience,suchasmusic,orthe
tasteofafood,throughvisualmeans.Selectafocuselementofartordesignprincipletouse
asametaphor.Forinstanceexplorehowcolormightrelatetotasteorsmellorhow
repetitionorrhythmrelatetomusic.Theimagemaybeabstractormetaphorical.
SufferingArtist:Imposearestrainttomakeimagemakingmoredifficult.Useadifficult
material,removesightorfeeling,apartofyourbodybesidesyourdominanthand,drawin
themirror,putyourworkontheceiling,etc.
First,Then,Finally:Createasequenceof3piecesdepictingthebeginning,middle,and
endofanevent.Theycanillustrateastory,provideinstructions,orshowametamorphosis
orprocess.Youmayhavemorethanthreemoments,withmultiplepicturesineachpieceor
acomicbookstylelayout.

MoodLighting:Composeapiecethatusesthelightingtocreatemoodoremotion.Thiscan
bedoneusingeithercolorortone.Considerhowlevelsofcontrastintone,saturation,
and/orcoloraffectthepiece.Youmightbeginthisbytakingreferencephotos.Experiment
withlightingandfilterstoseewhatkindofeffectsyoucanachieve.
Propagandvertisng:Createaseriesofimagespromotinganimaginedproduct,idea,or
person.Presentavisualopinionofyoursubject.Chooseafocuselementandprincipleand
explainyourchoice.
Love,Sex,Gender,Marriage,Family:Examineanissueormultipleissuesaroundhuman
reproduction,gender,marriageorfamily.Explorehowideasarechangingorhavechanged.
Expressaviewonhowsocietyshouldtreattheseissues.Thiscanbeapproached
scientifically,philosophically,romantically,orsarcastically.Focusinthispieceon
figure/groundrelationshipsandhowfiguresrelatetoeachother.
FormandtheIllusionofForm:Createasculpturethatisinterestingwhenviewedfrom
multipleangles.Photographyoursculptureandusethephotographstocreatethree
twodimensionalimages.
Attheendofthesemester,studentswillpresentpossibleworkforinclusioninthebreadth
sectionoftheirportfolio.Studentsarerequiredtopresentatleasttwelvepieces,but
encouragedtobringmore.Studentswillcritiqueworkinsmallgroupsandtheinstructor
willgiveindividualstudentcritiqueswithgradesandwrittencomments.Thisgradewill
constitutethefirstsemesterfinalexaminationgrade.
ConcentrationAssignment:
Theconcentrationsectionofyourportfolioismeanttorepresentasustainedinvestigation
ofacentralthemeanddemonstrateyourabilitytocreateaseriesofconnectedwork.Itis
thestudentsjobtochoosehisorherownfocusforexploration.
Atthebeginningoftheyear,studentswillreviewtheconcentrationsectiondescriptionand
requirements.StudentwillalsoviewandevaluatepastconcentrationpiecesfromtheAP
Boardwebsiteanalyzingwhysubmissionsscoredastheydidandwhatcharacteristics
makeagoodconcentration.Throughouttheconcentration,studentswillconsiderpossible
concentrationideasthroughwriting,sketching,andidentifyingrecurringelements,themes,
andinterestsintheirbreadthwork.Whilenottheirprimaryfocus,studentsare
encouragedtoconsiderpossibleconcentrationsthroughoutthefirstsemester.
Atthebeginningofthesecondsemester,studentswillreviewtheconcentrationsectionof
thecourseguideandbrainstormideasforpossibleconcentrations.Theywillchooseat
leastfiveideasthattheybelievewouldbeinterestingcoursesofexploration.Fromthose
fiveaconcentrationwillbeselectedandstudentswillbeginproducingworkbasedontheir
concentration.Studentswillwriteoutacoherentplanofactionorinvestigation.Theywill
identifyanunderlyingvisualideaandexploreitthroughthematicand/technical
examination.Everythreeweeksstudentswillbringinworkforsmallgroupcritiquesand
instructorprogresschecks.Theinstructorwillhaveweeklyinstructionalconversations

withstudentsandgiveindividualstudentcritiqueseverythreeweekswithgradesand
writtencomments.Studentswillbeencouragedtodocumenttheirprocessthroughtheuse
oftheirsketchbook,photography,andwriting.Thiswillbecomparedtotheirinitialplan.
Studentswillevaluateemergingpossibilitiesandhowtheircourseofactionadheredtoor
deviatedfromtheirinitialplans.Studentsshouldkeepinmindthatnotallimagesinthe
concentrationsectionarenecessarilyfinishedpieces.Agoodsketchbookexcerptwould
likelybeanexcellentimagetohelpillustrateyourideationandexecutionprocesses.
Thefollowingaresomeverygeneralideasforpossibleconcentrations:
Createartaboutamajorlifeeventexperiencedbyyouoralovedone.
Createseriesofillustrationsforastory.
Makeanexplorationfocusingonaspecificelementofart.
Examineaspecificsocialgrouporculture.
Createaseriesfocusingonaspecificobjectortypeofobject.
Makeanindepthexplorationofaspecificelementofartorprincipleofdesign.
Explorehowartisusedinanonfineartfieldsuchaseducation,oradvertising.Imaginea
projectinthatfieldandcreateartworkforthatproject.
Identifyatraditionalarttheme,genre,orsubjectandupdateitforthemodernworld.
Createimagespromotingaproduct,person,oridea.
Createinformationalimagessuchasinstructionsorinfographics.
QualitySubmissionSelection:
Asthesubmissiondeadlineapproaches,studentswillpresenttheirworktotheclass.The
classwilldiscussthequalitysectionoftheportfolioandcritiqueeachothersworkinsmall
groupsandwiththeinstructor.Studentswillevaluatewhichpiecesarethebestcandidates
forsubmissioninthequalitysectionoftheirportfoliofromastandpointofdesign,
craftsmanship,andpracticality.Selectedpieceshouldbethebestrepresentationsofhigh
qualityworkdemonstratingthestudentsmasteryofmediaandtheelementsofartand
principlesofdesign.Bythistimestudentsshouldhaveastrongunderstandingofwhat
qualitiestolookforandalsoagoodideaofwhichpiecesaretheirstrongest.However,
studentsareexpectedtoweighandconsiderinstructorandpeerfeedback,whilestill
makingthefinaldecision.Studentswillmakeaselectionofthemostappropriatework,
makeadditionsorrevisionswhereappropriate,andprepareworkforshipping.
MaterialsandFees:
Thisclasshasa$50classfee.Yourclassfeesareessentialformetoprovidethematerials
weneedonadailybasis.Thisfeeshouldbepaidasexpedientlyaspossible.Iwouldliketo

havethefeebytheendofthefirst6weeksifatallpossible.Inadditiontothis,youare
askedtoobtainyourownsuppliestocompleteprojectsbothinandoutofclass.The
followingarematerialsthateverystudentshouldobtainwithinthefirsttwoweeks:
Apronoroldshirt:Someinclassactivitieswillgetalittlebitmessy.Studentsare
encouragedtomitigatethedamagetotheirclothingbyhavinganapronorsmockofsome
typetowearduringclass.
Sketchbook,Journal,orAlteredBook:Anysortofbookforgeneratingandstoringideas.
Youcanuseatraditionalsketchbook,arepurposedbook,ormakeyourown.
Brushes:Wewilldosomepaintinginclass.Evenyounonpainters.Itisreallygreatifyou
haveyourownbrushes.Mybrushesarentalwaysingreatcondition.Irecommend2setsof
#2&#4bristlefilberts,2#4roundsables,andeither1flat#14orjustacheapflatbrush
around1.
Pencils,Pens,andMarkers:Acollectionofpencil,pens,andmarkmakingtools.Nothing
fancynecessary.Justcleanoutyourdrawersandbackpacks.