Andalusia PAU Artistic Drawing II exam-day guide
Andalusia PAU Artistic Drawing II · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Official ID document (DNI or passport)
Bring the original, valid photo ID you used at registration. The exact document accepted and whether a photocopy is allowed should be confirmed with your centre or the Consejería de Desarrollo Educativo y Formación Profesional before exam day.
Printed exam call/registration receipt
Print the official call document showing your assigned centre, classroom, and time. Confirm with the provider whether a printed copy is mandatory or whether a digital version is accepted.
Graphite pencils in several grades (HB, 2B, 4B, 6B)
Bring sharpened duplicates of each grade you use for value and line work. Carry a small sharpener and sandpaper block.
Erasers and kneaded putty eraser
A hard eraser for clean corrections and a kneaded eraser for lifting graphite without damaging paper texture.
Drawing supports you are allowed to use
Confirm with the provider which supports are permitted (paper size, board, easel). Do not assume the centre supplies paper; ask explicitly.
Dry media for colour work (coloured pencils, pastels, or graphite only, as the chosen option requires)
Check the official instructions for the specific option you registered for. Wet media and solvents may be restricted; confirm with the provider before packing.
Ruler, set square, and compass
Useful for geometric construction, perspective lines, and proportional grids. Check whether measuring tools are allowed in your specific exercise.
Fixative or protective spray (if permitted)
Many centres prohibit aerosols indoors. Confirm with the provider whether fixative may be used on site or must be applied at home.
Watch (non-smart) or small clock
Phones may be collected or switched off. A plain analogue watch lets you pace the timed sections without relying on the room clock.
Clear water bottle and a light snack
Drawing sessions are long. Confirm with the provider whether food and drink are allowed in the exam room.
Review the official instructions for the current year
Structure, duration, number of options, and scoring criteria can change. Read the current official call for your year and centre; do not rely on past papers alone.
Plan and confirm your transport
Rehearse the route to the assigned centre and arrive with margin. Confirm the exact reporting time with the provider, as it may differ from the published start time.
Plan the day
Re-read the current official instructions for the exam: duration, number of exercises, options offered, materials allowed, and the published scoring criteria. Write a one-page summary of what each exercise asks for and how it is marked, so you can allocate time inside the room.
Do one full timed simulation under exam conditions: same paper size, same media, same duration, no pauses. Afterwards, mark your own work against the published criteria and note the two weakest areas (for example, proportion, value structure, compositional balance, or speed).
Targeted practice on those two weak areas only. Do short 20-30 minute drills rather than full pieces. For proportion, practise quick block-ins from memory; for value, practise a five-step tonal scale and apply it to a simple still life.
Prepare and test your materials. Sharpen all pencils, cut paper to the required size, test your erasers and any fixative on a scrap sheet, and pack everything in one bag. Replace anything that fails now, not on the morning.
Light review only: look over your summary sheet and a few of your own strongest pieces to recall what good work looks like. Avoid learning new techniques at this stage; it tends to disrupt established habits.
Confirm logistics: centre address, room, reporting time, transport, and ID. Lay out clothes, ID, the call document, and the packed material bag by the door. Set two alarms.
Eat a normal breakfast and arrive at the centre with generous margin. Keep the pre-exam period quiet: no cramming of new material, no comparing materials with other candidates.
Before entering, check the bag against your checklist: ID, call document, pencils, erasers, sharpener, permitted supports, ruler and compass, watch, water. Leave prohibited items such as smart devices outside the room as instructed.
Read every exercise and option carefully before drawing anything. Note the marks available for each part and the suggested time. Decide your option deliberately, then write a short plan: composition, format, tonal key, and the order in which you will execute each stage.
Spend the first portion on the overall block-in: place the main masses, check proportion and the picture plane, and establish the composition. Resist detail. Step back physically from the work at regular intervals to check the whole.
Build value structure and form, working from large shapes to smaller ones. Keep the whole drawing progressing together rather than finishing one corner. Watch the clock at fixed checkpoints and adjust ambition to remaining time.
Reserve the last part of the session for resolution: strengthen focal contrast, clean edges, correct obvious proportion errors, and make sure the required elements of the brief are all present. Do not start new major changes late.
Note briefly what worked and what cost you time, while it is fresh. This record is more useful for a resit than any generic advice.
Rules to check
Bring the original valid ID you registered with and present it when requested. If you have any doubt about which document is accepted, confirm with the provider before exam day.
Follow the centre's instructions on prohibited items. Smartphones, smart watches, and unauthorised electronic devices are typically not allowed in the exam room; the exact policy, including whether devices are collected or must be left outside, should be confirmed with the provider.
Use only the materials and supports permitted for the option you are sitting. Do not assume that media allowed in one option are allowed in another; check the official instructions and, if unclear, confirm with the provider.
Do not communicate with other candidates during the test and do not bring prepared drawings, tracings, or reference images into the room unless the brief explicitly permits reference material. Confirm the rules on reference material with the provider.
Breaks, leaving the room, and access to water or toilets are set by the centre. Ask the invigilator at the start rather than assuming; confirm any specific entitlement with the provider in advance.
Work must be your own and produced during the session. Any suspicion of copied, pre-prepared, or third-party work is handled under the official procedure; the precise consequences should be confirmed with the provider.
Marking follows the published criteria for the exam, which weight aspects such as composition, proportion, representation of form and space, use of value and colour, technical control of the medium, and personal expression. Read the current criteria for your year rather than relying on memory.
Submit exactly the pieces the brief requires, labelled and oriented as instructed. Extra or unlabelled work may not be assessed; confirm the submission and labelling requirements with the provider.