College+Board+Drawing+Portfolio

== A brief description of the Drawing portfolio follows below. Complete descriptions of all the portfolios can be found in the Course Description for AP Studio Art (.pdf/391KB). The AP Studio Art poster also contains descriptions of all of the portfolios. For more information on the poster, click on the link above.

The Advanced Placement Program in Studio Art: Drawing is a performance-based visual exam. Each student develops and submits a portfolio that serves as a direct demonstration of achievement. The term "drawing" is used very broadly; all sorts of art that involves directly making marks on a surface can fit into this portfolio. This includes not only work in traditional drawing media -- such as pencils, ink, and pastels -- but also many kinds of painting, printmaking, and other forms of expression.

In the Drawing portfolio, mastery of drawing can be demonstrated through a wide range of approaches and media. Light and shade, line quality, rendering of form, composition, surface manipulation, and the illusion of depth are drawing issues that can be addressed through a variety of means, which could include painting, printmaking, mixed media, etc. Abstract, observational, and inventive works may be submitted. The range of marks used to make drawings, the arrangement of the marks, and the materials used to make the marks are endless.

Videotapes and three-dimensional work may NOT be submitted for the Drawing portfolio. Any work submitted in the Drawing portfolio that incorporates digital or photographic processes must address drawing issues such as those listed above, with emphasis on mark-making. Using computer programs merely to manipulate photographs through filters, adjustments, or special effects is not appropriate for the Drawing portfolio. Students' work (in either traditional or technologically manipulated media) that makes use of photographs, published images, and/or other artists' works or computer software must show development beyond duplication. This development may be demonstrated through the manipulation of the formal qualities, design, and/or concept of the original work.



The portfolio for Studio Art: Drawing requires submissions in three distinct sections.

Quality || Five actual drawings; maximum size is 18" x 24" || Concentration || 12 images; some may be details || Breadth || 12 images of 12 different works; one image of each is submitted ||
 * **SECTION I:**
 * **SECTION II:**
 * **SECTION III:**

There's nothing quite like looking at actual art work, so the first section of the portfolio consists of five works that are limited only by size -- they have to fit into the 18-by-24-inch portfolio envelope. On the other hand, there's a limit to how much actual work can be physically accommodated for scoring, so the other two sections of the portfolio are submitted as digital images. Although digital images provide a less direct view than looking at actual works, they also offer a tremendous advantage: documenting art work in this way means that students are free to work as large as they like for the rest of the portfolio.

 The Quality section promotes the development of a sense of excellence in art. For this section, students submit five works that best demonstrate excellence. There are no preconceptions about what the works will look like -- they may have been created quickly or over a long period of time; they may be drawn from observation, imagination, or a combination. The five works chosen for the Quality section may come from the student's Concentration section and/or Breadth section, but they don't have to. They may be a group of related works, unrelated works, or a combination of related and unrelated works.

 The Concentration section shows the student's in-depth exploration of a particular design concept. It is presented as 12 images, some of which may be details of works. The stress is on a coherent idea and development of the work, in addition to the artistic success of the work.

 The Breadth section shows the range of experimentation and experience in drawing. It is presented as 12 images, each of which shows a different work. In addition to its quality, each work is scored on the degree to which it actually shows a variety of approaches to drawing

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DRAWING PORTFOLIO
The Drawing Portfolio is designed to address a very broad interpretation of drawing issues and media. Light and shade, line quality, rendering of form, composition, surface manipulation, and illusion of depth are drawing issues that can be addressed through a variety of means, which could include painting, printmaking, mixed media, etc. Abstract and observational works may demonstrate drawing competence. The range of marks used to make drawings, the arrangement of those marks, and the materials used to make the marks are endless. Any work submitted in the Drawing Portfolio that incorporates digital or photographic processes must address issues such as those listed above, as well as mark-making. Using computer programs merely to manipulate photographs through ﬁ lters, adjustments, or special effects is not appropriate for the Drawing Portfolio.

Ethics, Artistic Integrity, and Plagiarism
Any work that makes use of (appropriates) other artists’ works (including photographs) and/or published images must show substantial and signiﬁ cant development beyond duplication. This is demonstrated through manipulation of the formal qualities, design, and/or concept of the source. The student’s individual “voice” should be clearly evident. It is unethical, constitutes plagiarism, and often violates copyright law simply to copy an image (even in another medium) that was made by someone else and represent it as one’s own. Digital images of student work that are submitted in the portfolios may be edited; however, the goals of image editing should be to present the clearest, most accurate representation of the student’s artwork, and to ensure that images meet the requirements of the Digital Submission Web application. When submitting their portfolios, students must indicate their acceptance of the following statement: “I hereby afﬁrm that all works in this portfolio were done by me and that these images accurately represent my actual work.”

Section I: Quality
Quality refers to the mastery of drawing that should be apparent in the composition, concept, and execution of the works, whether they are simple or complex. There is no preferred (or unacceptable) style or content. For this section, students are asked to submit ﬁ ve actual works in one or more media. Students should carefully select the works that demonstrate their highest level of accomplishment in drawing. The works should be on ﬂ at surfaces, such as paper, cardboard, canvas board, or unstretched canvas. Students receive all the portfolio materials for submission of the Quality section in May. Because of limitations imposed by the shipping and handling of the portfolios, work submitted for Section I, Quality, may not be larger than 18"x 24", including matting or mounting. Works for Quality that are smaller than 8" 􏰀 10" should be mounted on sheets that are 8" 􏰀 10" or larger. To protect the work, all work on paper should be backed or mounted. Mats are optional. Do not use reﬂ ective materials such as acetate or shrink-wrap because they cause glare that makes the work difﬁ cult to see. A sturdy, opaque overleaf that is hinged to ONE edge of the backing so that it may be easily lifted provides excellent protection and is highly recommended. Materials that may be smudged should be protected with ﬁ xative. If the work is matted, a neutral color for the mat is advisable. Works should not be rolled, framed, or covered with glass or Plexiglas. The works submitted may come from the Concentration and/or Breadth section, but they do not have to. They may be a group of related works, unrelated works, or a combination of related and unrelated works.
 * Rationale**
 * Requirements**

Rationale
A concentration is a body of related works describing an in-depth exploration of a particular artistic concern. It should reﬂ ect a process of investigation of a speciﬁ c visual idea. It is NOT a selection of a variety of works produced as solutions to class projects or a collection of works with differing intents. Students should be encouraged to explore a personal, central interest as intensively as possible; they are free to workwith any idea in any medium that addresses drawing issues. The concentration should grow out of the student’s idea and demonstrate growth and/or discovery through a number of conceptually related works. In this section, the evaluators are interested not only in the work presented but also in visual evidence of the student’s thinking, selected method of working, and development of the work over time.

Requirements
For this section, 12 digital images must be submitted, some of which may be details. All images should be labeled with dimensions (height 􏰀 width) and material. The Digital Submission Web application incorporates space to add this information. Regardless of the content of the concentration, the works should be uniﬁ ed by an underlying idea that has visual and/or conceptual coherence. The choices of technique, medium, style, form, subject, and content are made by the student, in consultation with the teacher. The Web application for development and submission of the Concentration and Breadth sections is available in late January. The Concentration section includes spaces for a written commentary describing what the concentration is and how it evolved, which must accompany the work in this section.

Students are asked to respond to the following questions:
1. What is the central idea of your concentration? 2. How does the work in your concentration demonstrate the exploration of your idea? You may refer to specific images as examples.

Although the responses themselves are not graded as pieces of writing, they provide critical information for evaluating the artwork. Thus, they should be well written. Students should be encouraged to formulate their responses to the ﬁ rst question early in the year, as they deﬁ ne the direction their concentration will take. Responses should be concise; the space available for them in the Web application is generous, but the number of characters that can be typed is limited to 500 characters for Question 1 and 1,350 characters for Question 2.

Examples of Concentrations
A concentration could consist of a group of works that share a single theme—for example, an in-depth study of a particular visual problem or a variety of ways of handling an interesting subject. Some concentrations involve sequential works, such as a series of studies that lead to, and are followed by, more ﬁ nished works. If a student uses subject matter as the basis of a concentration, the work should show the development of a visual language appropriate for that subject. The investigation of a medium in and of itself, without a strong underlying visual idea, generally does not constitute a successful concentration. Students should not submit group projects, collaborations, and/or documentation of projects that merely require an extended period of time to complete. The list of possible concentration topics is inﬁ nite.

Below are examples of concentrations that have been submitted in the past. They are intended only to provide a sense of range and should not necessarily be considered “better” ideas.
• A series of expressive landscapes based upon personal experience of a particular place • A personal or family history communicated through the content and style of still-life images • Abstractions from mechanical objects that explore mark-making • Interpretive self-portraiture and ﬁ gure studies that emphasize exaggeration and distortion • A project that explores interior or exterior architectural space, emphasizing principles of perspective, structure, ambiance created by light, etc. • A ﬁgurative project combining animal and human subjects—drawings, studies, and completed works • An interpretive study of literary characters in which mixed media, color, and form are explored • The use of multiple images to create works that reflect psychological or narrative events

Because the range of possible concentrations is so wide, the number of works the student creates should be dictated by the focus of the investigation. The chosen visual idea should be explored to the greatest possible extent. In most cases, students will produce more than 12 works and select from among them the works that best represent the process of investigation. If a student has works that are not as well resolved as others but that help show the evolution of thinking and of the work, the ect that explores interior or exterior architectural space, emphasizing principles of perspective, structure, ambiance created by light, etc.

• A ﬁgurative project combining animal and human subjects—drawings, studies, and completed works • An interpretive study of literary characters in which mixed media, color, and form are explored • The use of multiple images to create works that reflect psychological or narrative events Because the range of possible concentrations is so wide, the number of works the student creates should be dictated by the focus of the investigation. The chosen visual idea should be explored to the greatest possible extent. In most cases, students will produce more than 12 works and select from among them the works that best represent the process of investigation. If a student has works that are not as well resolved as others but that help show the evolution of thinking and of the work, the student should consider including them. The choice of works to submit should be made to present the concentration as clearly as possible.

When preparing to upload Section II, Concentration, images, the student should give some thought to the sequence of images on the Web page. There is no required order; rather, the images should be organized to best show the development of the concentration. In most cases, this would be chronological. Students may NOT submit images of the same work that they submit for Breadth. Submitting images of the same work for Section II, Concentration, and Section III, Breadth, may negatively affect a student’s score.

Section III: Breadth
The student’s work in this section should show evidence of conceptual, perceptual, expressive, and technical range; thus, the student’s work should demonstrate a variety of drawing skills and approaches.
 * Rationale**

Requirements
For this section, students must submit a total of 12 digital images of 12 different works. Details may NOT be included. All images should be labeled with dimensions (height x width) and material. The Digital Submission Web application incorporates space to add this information. In this section, students are asked to present evidence of drawing ability in response to a wide variety of problems. The work submitted should demonstrate understanding of fundamental drawing concepts, including drawing from observation, work with invented or nonobjective forms, effective use of light and shade, line quality, surface manipulation, composition, various spatial systems, and expressive mark-making. The best demonstrations of breadth clearly show experimentation and a range of conceptual approaches to the work. It is possible to do this in a single medium or in a variety of media. If the student chooses a single medium—for example, if the portfolio consists entirely of charcoal drawings—the work must show a range of approaches, techniques, compositions, and subjects. An enormous range of possibilities exists for this section.

Following is a list of possible approaches. It is not intended to exclude other ways of drawing. • The use of various spatial systems, such as linear perspective, the illusion of three- dimensional forms, aerial views, and other ways of creating and organizing space • The use of various subjects, such as the human ﬁ gure, landscape, and still-life objects • The use of various kinds of content, such as that derived from observation, an expressionistic viewpoint, imaginary or psychological imagery, social commentary, political statements; and other personal interests • Arrangement of forms in a complex visual space • The use of different approaches to represent form and space, such as rendered, gestural, painterly, expressionist, stylized, or abstract form • The investigation of expressive mark-making