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GCSE art topics, themes and grades.

I'm currently studying GCSE art, and I've chosen the theme of ' growth and decay.' I'm hoping for a A* by the end of the year. I work hard and put in the effort but I'm struggling for ideas. I'd absolutely love an A* but I'm just not sure how to get there. ive mostly kept with the medium of paint, should I use other mediums? I'm working at a grade B at the minute if that helps.
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Original post by JessWalsh16
I'm currently studying GCSE art, and I've chosen the theme of ' growth and decay.' I'm hoping for a A* by the end of the year. I work hard and put in the effort but I'm struggling for ideas. I'd absolutely love an A* but I'm just not sure how to get there. ive mostly kept with the medium of paint, should I use other mediums? I'm working at a grade B at the minute if that helps.


A lot of marks come down to ideas especially of youre on Edexcel I got an A and CANNOT draw well at all but I had ideas that were unusual and original, lots of different mediums and when things didn't go well I evaluated my work (if on Edexcel it's like 20 marks for literally making a comment on each of your pieces what you like what you could do better what you take from it in order to move on to the next piece)
My advice really would be don't be afraid to be wacky my final portfolio included painted bubble wrap( really effective actually) tin foil , shoe box 3D painting, t shirt printing, sewing, fabrics, acrylics, chalks, collage, wool, cocktail sticks and even the humble colouring pencil. My ideas and final pieces were always unique and different I played to my strengths which was away from the actual composition side of things. In many ways it's playing to the mark scheme - get hold of one and look at where you can pick up the EASY marks like commenting on your work and developing even the most basic of ideas. And include artists not just the ones that your teacher suggests. Hope that helps a bit :smile:


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I am also doing a GCSE in art and design at the moment and I am predicted to get an A*. My first project was gardens and I focused on textiles, resulting in creating a detailed dress with bouquets on for the design. My second project was contrast between Native American and Aboriginal art and I used clay media throughout, creating about five sculptures of various heads. The project I'm doing at the moment, and also my final one, is the journeys into fairytale worlds and I am focusing on my painting and drawing skills. It is important to experiment with different types of media throughout your upcoming project to show variation, which if you're doing the AQA qualification, will help you gain marks in the third assessment objective.

As for ideas, it takes a while to fully understand what you're going to focus on, but talking to friends or art teachers may guide you in the right direction.

Good luck :smile:
I am only joking really come to me of you need any help (great topic and I love Heikki Leis did a whole piece on him for coursework
amazing...thank you ;-)
I am doing faces and shoes and I need to do a composition with both and improve on my drawings because I am a D in and I am disappointed with myself any ideas please give pics and suggestions
I'm currently studying GCSE art and I have to choose a theme. I wanted to do India as my theme but my friends advised me not to do India as it isn't a broad enough subject so I need some new ideas and was wondering if anyone could help me out?
Original post by lollypop456
I'm currently studying GCSE art and I have to choose a theme. I wanted to do India as my theme but my friends advised me not to do India as it isn't a broad enough subject so I need some new ideas and was wondering if anyone could help me out?


as your exam board doesn't set themes, you could research themes provided by some exam boards that do and use one either as your theme or as inspiration? some examples that i can think of off the top of my head are past, present and future, identity, apart and together, order and disorder and force, but there are probably plenty of examples on google. good luck!
Original post by lollypop456
I'm currently studying GCSE art and I have to choose a theme. I wanted to do India as my theme but my friends advised me not to do India as it isn't a broad enough subject so I need some new ideas and was wondering if anyone could help me out?


I did art GCSE couple years back (got a B), but doing GCSE art put me off drawing as we couldn't pick are own themes and due to stress. The theme we were given was called "Everything Changes", hope this helps give you an idea.
Original post by MissMittens100
I am only joking really come to me of you need any help (great topic and I love Heikki Leis did a whole piece on him for coursework


can you help me choose AS art topics?
I'm currently studying art GCSE and my topic is "Over, Under, Through" It's actually a much harder topic than I thought and I'm struggling with ideas. If anyone has any, or any advice on how to get the highest mark possible, please let me know :smile:
Original post by JessSum711
I'm currently studying art GCSE and my topic is "Over, Under, Through" It's actually a much harder topic than I thought and I'm struggling with ideas. If anyone has any, or any advice on how to get the highest mark possible, please let me know :smile:


Hey, I got full marks in my GCSE Art coursework and exam last year and am now in Year 12!

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to ideas–“over under through” is only a starting point to help you think!
For some starting inspiration for your topic, you could consider things like bridges/tunnels, where insects/animals live in relation to nature (many use leaves as shelter etc.) or anything else that might spring to mind! Maybe draw out a mindmap of anything you can think of relating to any part of over, up then through?

As for getting the highest mark possible, honestly just keep on top of the workload. As some people above have said over the years, your art isn’t the only thing that contributes towards your end mark (artist research and development is really important in a project, plus a variety of practice and media at the start)
I always like to link to my art gallery just to get a taste at what sort of art I was producing during my GCSE years; some work is from my GCSE Art course but most is at A* standard (the painting of purple, orange and white flowers was my GCSE Final Exam Project piece):

http://wp.me/P87TEV-1l

Good luck with your GCSE Art and this project!
Perhaps you could use the fact that plants grow through and around objects like walls and concrete. I’m doing my gcse exams this year and I’m not sure what topic i should choose. I’m thinking natural forms, considering how broad the topic is, but I’m not sure. Any suggestions?
Im going on a bear hunt.... 😂
Im doing gcse art atm and was made to do natural forms along with the rest of the gcse art doers and its a great topic as everyone sees natural forms differently so you can be very broad and creative and achieve high marks. I've yet to move on from the topic but I'm dreading picking my own as I don't feel my idea of 'when films lose their colour' is going to be accepted. Any help is appreciated!
hi, im currently doing an at gcse and they gave me the topic
You could use other mediums such as ink or pen as this can create a feeling of shade and tone to develop the topic of growth or decay. You can also add water to make your lines softer and not as sharp try and mix up your mediums in one piece as that can get you more marks good luck hope this helps
Hi I'm am going into year 11 this year. For GCSEs I want to focus on various surfaces such as windows, wood, foil, fruit textures zoomed up e.c.t. However I also wanted to incorporate portraiture in my work too and I can't figure a theme that could link both of those ideas. Any suggestions?
(edited 5 years ago)
I got full marks in my art GCSE and I would like to help :smile:

The main things that you must include are:

-observational drawings (drawings copying close up photos in relative detail, trying to make them realistic)
-artist references (do not include any info on the actual artist just on how they have created their artwork, the effect it has, your opinions of it and how it will influence your work. For some of your artists, you must create a piece in their style showing how you have responded to their work)
-photography (it is important to include multiple photoshoots throughout your project as well as smaller groups of photos where appropriate)
-pieces using paint (it is important to show that you are confident with the use of colour)
-annotations (keep all of your annotations neat and write them as if writing a diary - what you like/dislike, what is effective, what has an impact)
-development (each page should link to another page but note that it does not have to directly link to the pages immediately before and after, in fact you can get extra points for "imaginative leaps in ideas")

Remember DO NOT:

-include overly large titles or writing of any kind, if it is too big, bright or obvious, points will be deducted because it distracts from the work
-forget to include any of the criteria listed above
-leave large empty spaces or purposely try to fill spaces with anything useless, even if it means your project will be shorter
-include information about an artist, like where they were born, grew up, worked or age
-have a really short project (for example 10 A3 pages or less) because this is not enough to demonstrate a consistent ability

I hope this was helpful :smile:

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