Help in GCSE Art

Basically I am starting my GCSE Art and I want to know in advance how to get an A*. My board is WJEC and I was wandering what % = an A*. Also in order to get that WHAT DO I DO DO? Please right me a list of helpful things to include in annotation if that is vital and like let's say an example could include; draw little sketches on the next page of developing because ... ... That would be great, I really want to get an A* in art and I want my book to look AMAZING so any help to make it good or what can make the Examiners of the WJEC say WOW! !! Thanks, Sam.

Reply 1

Nirgilis

Moved to Arts Help forum :smile:

Reply 2

Ubergooose

Hi! I got an A in my GCSE art and i'm currently studying it for A Level so hopefully i make some sense x3

Right, I don't have experience with that exam board but I know that they all be expecting the same sort of thing from the sketchbook etc you create throughout the course

What you need to show through your folder is development from piece to piece, idea to idea. Make sure you experiment with materials and compositions. The examiner wants to see you being adventurous and wants to see something new and unexpected, i know its a cliche, but try to think outside the box! and for every idea you have in your pieces, such as a way to paint or a different material, try to experiment with it first. They want to see a journey in your work.

Also, for any artists you study, make sure you experiment with their style and try and combine it with your own. and when incorporating it into your pieces, try to make it clear you have been inspired by them but also make sure it doesn't look like you've just copied them.

oh! and if you make a piece or drawing which you think is unsuccessful, don't throw it away, keep it! and make sure to say why you don't like it and why you don't think it was a good idea, your folder doesn't need to be perfect, they'll like to see that you accept that not every piece will be a success, it's all about finding the correct way to do it :smile:

Hope this is of help, and I definitely wish that i figured all this out sooner haha

Good luck!

Reply 3

tryrevise

A lot of the important stuff has been mentioned in the post above, I'm currently in Year 10 and have finished my first coursework project. I'm on an A atm but I'm predicted to finish on an A*. You can get some really good sketchbook ideas and inspiration on Pinterest so it's worth having a look on there.

As said before, it's really important to show development of your ideas. For example, our first coursework project was on time, so we started off looking at how different artists had shown that theme. At the beginning, your teacher is likely to guide you a lot in what work you do in your sketchbook - it's when you start doing development towards your final piece that you become more independent and have to decide your own workload. You can do artist studies, try doing pastiches of their work, then having a go at doing your own pictures of similar subject matter or in the same media or style. When annotating an artist study, talk about the composition, use of colour and media, and mood of the work - do you like it and why? It's really important to say how this will influence your own work.

Once you have done this work looking at other artists and looking at your theme on a wide scale you are likely to start refining your ideas to start developing them for your final piece. Now it's really up to you what you want to do your sketchbook work on. Choose an aspect of your theme you want to explore in more detail - I looked at the effect of time on people so my project was focused on looking at old and young hands. Now you should do studies of this, I did loads of different drawings, paintings and photos simply exploring hands, some more refined and some expressive and quick in a lot of different media to show a range of skills. Look at how other artists have presented it and do more artist studies - and start experimenting with different media and compositions. Take your own photos and work from primary sources. Also, do larger pieces of work out of your sketchbook. After you've finished this stage, you need to start developing your final idea for your final piece. Think about what media you want to use and experiment. Take lots of photos and sketches trying out different compositions. It should be really clear how all of your work has led up to this idea. It's also a good idea to photograph your final piece as it develops, so you can stick these photos in your sketchbook and show the different stages of painting.

One thing I would stress about your annotation and writing throughout your sketchbook is quality over quantity. Not only do big blocks of text look unattractive, the examiner/teacher probably won't even read it. You don't need to be writing essays just a few points here and there explaining your work, and talking about important points - no one is that bothered about where your chosen artist met his second wife and how many children he had etc.

Good luck with art, I hope you do really well :smile:

Help in GCSE Art

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