NCEA Level 2 Visual Arts flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Visual Arts Level 2 credits

The three Level 2 Visual Arts standards total 21 credits: 91310 (5, internal), 91315 (12, external portfolio), and 91316 (4, internal). All three are normally required for a full programme.

Standard 91310

Use drawing conventions and processes to develop ideas in response to a brief. It is a 5-credit internal standard assessed through a body of drawing evidence, not finished artworks.

Standard 91315

Produce a body of work within a visual arts discipline. It is a 12-credit external standard submitted as a portfolio in one discipline such as painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, design, or moving image.

Standard 91316

Research and analyse approaches to making art in Aotearoa New Zealand or the Pacific. It is a 4-credit internal standard requiring analysis of specific artists, artworks, and contexts.

Merit criterion

Merit requires sustained and controlled use of techniques, purposeful decision-making, and a clear relationship between idea development and resolved outcomes across the body of work.

Excellence criterion

Excellence requires perceptive, fluent, and original resolution: ideas are developed with insight, techniques are integrated, and the outcome communicates a coherent and personally driven visual position.

Drawing as thinking

In 91310, drawing is evidence of thinking: observational, analytical, and conceptual drawings show how ideas are tested, extended, and refined rather than illustrating a finished product.

Idea development sequence

Evidence must show initial responses, experimentation with media and processes, refinement, and resolution. Skipping stages limits the grade, regardless of the quality of the final work.

Annotation purpose

Annotation explains decisions - why a colour, crop, surface, or scale was chosen - and links to artist models. Description-only annotation does not meet Merit or Excellence criteria.

Body of work

A coherent series of related works in one discipline that develops a visual argument across the portfolio, with consistent stylistic and conceptual development rather than unrelated pieces.

Elements of art

Line, shape, form, tone, colour, texture, and space; some disciplines add time and motion. These are the building blocks analysed and manipulated in all Visual Arts standards.

Principles of art

Balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, scale, proportion, and unity. These describe how elements are organised to create visual effects and meaning.

Complementary colours

Pairs opposite each other on the colour wheel: red/green, blue/orange, yellow/violet. They produce maximum contrast and optical vibration when placed side by side.

Analogous colours

Colours adjacent on the colour wheel, such as blue, blue-green, and green. They produce harmonious, low-contrast relationships and are often used for atmospheric unity.

Hue, value, saturation

Hue is the colour family (red, blue); value is lightness or darkness; saturation is intensity or chroma. These three dimensions describe any colour precisely.

Contour and cross-contour

Contour lines describe edges and silhouettes; cross-contour lines wrap around a form to describe its three-dimensional volume. Both are core drawing conventions in 91310.

Gesture drawing

A rapid drawing capturing movement, pose, and energy rather than detail. Gesture drawings are used to record observed action and to loosen mark-making before refinement.

Foreshortening

A perspective technique that compresses forms along the line of sight so that objects pointing towards the viewer appear shorter, producing convincing depth in figure and object drawing.

One-point perspective

A perspective system with a single vanishing point on the horizon line, used when one face of a subject is parallel to the picture plane, such as a straight road or corridor.

Two-point perspective

A perspective system with two vanishing points on the horizon line, used when a corner of a subject faces the viewer, as with buildings seen at an angle.

Negative space

The space around and between subjects. Drawing negative space accurately is a standard method for correcting proportion and strengthening figure-ground relationships in composition.

Rule of thirds

A compositional guide dividing the frame into a three-by-three grid; placing key elements on the intersections or lines creates dynamic balance rather than central symmetry.

Relief printmaking

A process where ink sits on the uncarved surface of a block (linocut, woodcut) and recessed areas print white. It is a common discipline choice for 91315 portfolios.

Intaglio printmaking

A process where ink is held in incised lines below the plate surface (etching, drypoint) and transferred under pressure. It produces fine line and rich tonal effects.

Screenprint

A stencil process where ink is pushed through a mesh screen onto the substrate. It supports flat colour, layering, and photographic imagery, and is common in design and print portfolios.

Photography exposure triangle

Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO together determine exposure. Changing one requires compensating with another to maintain correct brightness and the intended depth of field or motion effect.

Depth of field

The zone of acceptable sharpness in a photograph. A wide aperture (small f-number) gives shallow depth of field; a narrow aperture (large f-number) gives deep focus.

Sculpture processes

Additive (modelling, assemblage), subtractive (carving), and casting processes, supported by armatures and maquettes. Each process carries distinct material qualities that must be evident in the work.

Maquette

A small-scale preliminary model of a sculpture or installation used to test form, proportion, structure, and siting before the full-scale work is constructed.

Whakapapa in art analysis

A Māori framework of genealogy and connection. In 91316 it can frame analysis of how an artist locates themselves, their whenua, and their tipuna within the work.

Kaitiakitanga

The Māori concept of guardianship and stewardship of people and place. It is used in 91316 to analyse artworks addressing land, water, and environmental responsibility.

Contextual analysis

Analysis that connects a work to its social, cultural, political, and material conditions, including the artist's position, audience, and the institutions that displayed or commissioned the work.

Resubmission rule

Internal standards allow one resubmission opportunity for a minor error or omission, within a set timeframe, before the grade is reported to NZQA. It is not a full reassessment.