PAU Artistic Drawing II (Madrid)

You receive a written statement offering two options and choose one. Each option normally asks for a drawing made in the session from a described reference, a set of objects or a theme, often with requirements about format, technique or compositional approach. Read both options fully before starting: the criteria differ, and switching after twenty minutes is usually fatal.

The PAU subjects are single practical papers rather than a list of short questions. The exact duration, the number of options and the scoring breakdown for Dibujo Artístico II are fixed by the Comisión Organizadora of the Comunidad de Madrid for each session. Check its official website and your school's PAU coordination for the current figures.

It rewards trained observation more than natural talent. Candidates who have drawn regularly from life handle the time pressure; those who only copy photographs often freeze when asked to construct proportion or invent a composition. The technical demands are moderate, but the standard of finish expected is high, so steady weekly practice matters more than last-minute cramming.

Yes - PAU subjects can be resat in later calls, and the better grade is the one that counts for admission. Specific rules on how many times, which call, and how the improved mark combines with your other subjects are set by the Madrid access body and updated periodically. Confirm the current rules on its official site before planning a resit.

Start with proportion and encaje: measuring, checking axes, relating parts to the whole. Then tonal structure - separating light, halftone, core shadow, reflected light and cast shadow. Only after that push technique and expressive mark-making. Composition and interpretation sit on top of these foundations; skipping them leaves you with a well-shaded but badly placed drawing.

The statement specifies permitted media, so read it before the session. In practice, graphite pencils in a range of hardnesses, charcoal, kneaded eraser and a fixed support cover most options. Whatever you choose, rehearse with exactly those materials under timed conditions - unfamiliar paper or a new charcoal brand on exam day is a common and avoidable loss of marks.

The recurring failures are poor framing, so the subject floats or is cropped awkwardly; weak proportion, especially in the figure; flat, uniform shading with no clear light direction; and ignoring the specific requirements of the chosen option. Overworking is another: a drawing that is resolved and confident scores better than one pushed past its limits.

Divide the session into blocks: a short analysis and thumbnail phase, a longer encaje and block-in, then tonal development, then a final consolidation. Leave time to step back and correct. Decide your composition in the first minutes and commit; hesitation in the middle of a timed drawing is what produces unfinished work.

Dibujo Artístico II is an optional subject that can be used to weight your admission score for degrees such as Fine Arts, design and architecture, subject to the weighting tables in force for your year and university. Whether it is the best choice depends on your target degree and on how your other subjects weight. Check the current tables published by the Madrid universities.