Art Making: Process, Materials and Personal Style
The making cycle
Art Making in this study is assessed as a process, not just a finished object. Candidates must show they can move through exploration, development, refinement and resolution, and can explain the decisions taken at each stage. Understand the difference between exploration (playful trials, sampling media, testing ideas without commitment), development (building on a promising direction, resolving compositional problems) and resolution (the work is finished and the intentions are realised).
Materials and techniques
Know how to discuss media (what the work is made with), technique (how it is applied), surface/substrate and tools. Link choices to expressive effect: why charcoal rather than ink, why an impasto surface rather than a smooth glaze. Vocabulary such as wash, glaze, sgraffito, underpainting, maquette, armature, collage, drypoint, monoprint should be used accurately.
Traps in questions
- Confusing process with product: a question asking how the work was developed wants decisions and revisions, not a description of the final image.
- Describing a technique without stating its effect on meaning or mood.
- Claiming influence vaguely ("inspired by Picasso") without naming the specific formal device borrowed.
Worked example
If asked "how did the artist refine the work?", a weak answer says "they added more detail". A strong answer says: "The initial composition was tested in three tonal thumbnails; the artist then increased contrast at the focal point by darkening the underpainting and reducing detail in the periphery, directing the viewer's eye and tightening the focal hierarchy."
Rule of thumb
For every material or technique mentioned, attach a why: what it allowed the artist to do that another choice would not.