Observation and Visual Research
Observation and visual research
This domain tests how you gather and transform evidence. Examiners value observed proportion, specific shapes and a visible development path from studies to final composition, not a single copied photograph.
Core rules
- Sketch from life in short gestures (30–120 seconds) to capture action, then longer studies for proportion and structure.
- Measure with a pencil or thumb at arm's length: compare head units, negative spaces, alignments and angles. Check the whole before detail.
- Make value thumbnails and colour notes on site; record light direction and time of day.
- Use several references rather than one. Change viewpoint, combine observed details and avoid copying lens distortion.
- Develop ideas through small thumbnails, select the clearest, then refine one with figures, setting and tonal plan.
Worked example
A bus queue: begin with two-minute gesture sketches of waiting postures, then a ten-minute proportion study of a seated passenger, then a three-value notan of the shelter's shadow. Reasoning: gestures supply varied poses, the proportion study fixes head units and contact points, and the notan establishes the light structure before the final composition. The final drawing combines observed poses with a deliberate viewpoint.
Traps
Copying a single photo including wide-angle distortion, inventing anatomy instead of observing, no studies between idea and final, inconsistent light between references, and cluttered reference material that never becomes a composition. Keep studies labelled and dated.