Galicia PAU Graphic-Plastic Expression Techniques / Técnicas de Expresión Gráfico-Plástica CIUG common mistakes
Galicia PAU Graphic-Plastic Expression Techniques / Técnicas de Expresión Gráfico-Plástica CIUG · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Starting the drawing by outlining the silhouette of each object with a uniform contour line before establishing overall placement, so the composition drifts off-centre and objects end up the wrong size relative to each other.
Candidates default to the 'draw the thing' habit from earlier schooling and treat line as a copying tool rather than a structural one; they work detail-first because it feels productive and the blank page is intimidating.
What to do instead
Spend the first 5–8 minutes on a light structural laydown: bounding box of the format, main axis lines, and a few straight-line 'envelope' shapes locating masses and their relative proportions. Only after the whole layout reads correctly should the contour be reinforced. Keep the laydown lines visible but faint so the examiner can see the construction logic.
Producing a still life or figure with no clear focal point and evenly distributed interest, so the eye has nowhere to rest and the piece reads as a chart of objects rather than a composition.
Candidates equate 'including everything asked for' with 'good composition' and distribute objects evenly to be fair to each; they have not practised deciding what the picture is about.
What to do instead
Before drawing, state in one sentence what the viewer should look at first. Then build hierarchy: strongest value contrast, sharpest edge, most saturated colour and greatest detail at the focal area; reduce contrast, soften edges and simplify elsewhere. Use overlap and directional lines to lead toward that point, and check by squinting at the work from a distance.
Drawing proportions by measuring nothing - lengths of arms, width of a bottle, angles of a chair - and relying on memory of what the object 'should' look like.
Under time pressure, candidates skip measurement because it feels slow, and they trust symbol knowledge (the brain's stored schema for a hand or a vase) over observation.
What to do instead
Use a consistent unit method: pick one dimension on the model (e.g. the height of the bottle), then compare every other dimension against it by holding the pencil at arm's length with the elbow locked, or by sighting angles against vertical and horizontal references. Transfer those ratios to the page and cross-check with a plumb line dropped through key landmarks.
Describing a colour as simply 'red' or 'green' in the analysis, or matching a seen colour by grabbing the nearest tube colour without adjusting hue, value and chroma.
Candidates have vocabulary for hue names but not for the three dimensions of colour, and they judge colour on an isolated patch rather than in relation to neighbours.
What to do instead
Analyse every colour with three attributes: hue (where it sits on the wheel), value (lightness relative to a grey scale) and chroma (saturation). When mixing, start from the closest primary/secondary, then adjust value with white or a dark neutral and chroma by adding the complement. Always test the mixed colour as a small patch directly adjacent to the target area, never on a separate scrap.
Explaining a picture's colour scheme only as 'warm' or 'harmonious' with no identification of the actual relationship, and ignoring how simultaneous contrast changes the apparent colour of adjacent areas.
Candidates memorised a few scheme labels but never practised applying them to real images, and simultaneous contrast is counter-intuitive because it means colours cannot be judged in isolation.
What to do instead
Name the scheme precisely - complementary, analogous, triadic, split-complementary, monochromatic - and point to the specific areas that establish it. Then note at least one contrast effect: a grey that looks warm next to a cool colour, a mid-tone that looks darker against a light surround, a saturated accent that appears more intense beside a dull field. Support each claim by referring to a described area of the work, not to general impressions.
Mixing a mud colour by stirring three or more pigments together and then trying to rescue it by adding more paint, ending with a flat, dead area.
Candidates over-mix on the palette, use dirty water or a contaminated brush, and add pigment to a mix instead of remixing from clean components.
What to do instead
Limit mixes to two pigments plus white or a neutral where possible; when a third is needed, add it in tiny amounts. Keep the water clean and change it often, wipe the brush between colours, and mix on a clean area of the palette. If a mix goes muddy, discard it and remix from scratch rather than adding more pigment.
Using a wet medium (watercolour, ink wash, gouache) with the same layering logic as a dry one - applying opaque strokes over wet passages, or flooding an area without controlling the tilt and water load - producing blooms, runs and a patchy surface.
Candidates transfer habits from pencil or marker and underestimate how much water load, paper sizing, drying time and board angle govern the result; they also try to correct a wet area while it is still wet.
What to do instead
Plan the sequence: wet-in-wet for soft passages, wet-on-dry for crisp edges, and let each layer dry fully before the next. Control water with a test strip, keep the board at a slight tilt so washes flow evenly, and reserve opaque highlights for the end. Know the support: heavier, sized paper for washes, smoother stock for fine line.
Choosing a support and tool combination that fights the intended effect - thin paper for heavy washes, glossy or heavily textured stock for fine pen work, a soft brush where a crisp edge is needed - and then blaming technique for the poor result.
Candidates select materials by habit or availability and have not learned how grammage, sizing, tooth and absorbency interact with each medium.
What to do instead
Match materials to intent deliberately: heavier watercolour paper (roughly 200–300 gsm) for wet washes, hot-pressed or smooth stock for detailed pen and ink, toothed paper for dry media like charcoal and pastel, and appropriate brushes (firm synthetic for edges, soft natural hair for washes). State the choice and its reason in the process notes so it reads as a decision, not an accident.
Writing an image commentary as a plot summary or a list of everything visible, with no analysis of how visual elements and compositional devices produce meaning.
Candidates lack a repeatable structure for commentary and confuse description with analysis, so they fill space with what is obvious rather than how and why it works.
What to do instead
Use a fixed scaffold: identify the work and its likely context briefly; describe the dominant visual elements (line, shape, value, colour, texture, space); analyse composition (focal point, balance, rhythm, framing, viewpoint, scale); then interpret how those choices create an effect or communicate an idea; finish with a short evaluation. Every descriptive sentence should be followed by a 'so what' sentence linking it to effect.
Treating the applied creation exercise as a free illustration, ignoring the given technique, theme or format constraints, and leaving no evidence of process.
Candidates focus on making a 'nice picture' and run out of time, so they skip the planning stage and never document experimentation; they also misread the brief under exam pressure.
What to do instead
Read the brief twice and underline the constraints (technique, theme, format, time). Spend the first minutes on 2–3 small thumbnail sketches exploring composition, then choose one and annotate why. Keep colour or technique tests in a margin. Allocate time explicitly - planning, blocking in, developing, refining, final checks - and reserve the last minutes to verify that the finished piece visibly answers every stated requirement.