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should i do art a level

dee_10101

iv'e always been a creative person and since i do art in my spare time as a de stress activity, my friends and family keep suggesting to do art a level. i've looked into it and i'm interested but i've heard that art a level is very demanding and requires a lot of skill. it scares me a little and im constantly wondering if its for me :/
another problem is that i'm not doing art gcse so i don't really have that experience of coursework..

Reply 1

baekie

speaking as a gcse art student, it is rly demanding and a-level is a huge step up too. i used to do art in my spare time too as a hobby and to de-stress but i lost that interest after struggling with gcse art. so i suggest you speak to some teachers at school and do research on the art course and what it consists of. also, if you're going into an art related career then you probably should take it. if not then don't bother as it will most likely stress you out as you didn't do gcse art and it's gonna be hard.

Reply 2

dee_10101

Original post by baekie

thank you for the reply :smile:

, are you going into an art career?

Reply 3

spicy_ipad

Original post by dee_10101

Maybe talk to your teachers to see what they think. GCSE art defo has a lot of coursework so be prepared to spend a longggg time on artist research and experimenting with new media and styles. You'll also have to analyse pieces of artwork so don't expect it to all be practical. How come you didn't take it for GCSE by the way?

Have a look at what careers you'd be interested in and also if there's any other A level you'd rather take (if there isn't, then art sounds like a good idea). Not taking it at GCSE isn't essential as there's not really any subject knowledge you have to learn, just be aware that it's a bit different to doing it in year 8 and 9.

Reply 4

Molly reid 03

Original post by dee_10101

I’m currently in year 12 doing A-Level fine art and I’m really enjoying it! Compared to GCSE there is a lot more freedom as to what you can do/what materials you can use (at least at my sixth form). My current project is aspects of nature and I’ve taken the route of animals, but other people in my class are doing flowers, portraits etc so there is lots of variety.
After originally experimenting with sketching with graphite, coloured pencil, watercolour, acrylic, I finally decided on Lino printing with stitching and I’ve now expanded on this to include a lot of textiles, but other people in my class are using different mediums so it’s completely up to you. If your not good at a particular medium then that’s fine, you just use something else.
It is important to also consider that with AQA there is an essay element to the course where you talk about the artists you have studied and what led you to make the different decisions that resulted in the pieces of work in your sketchbook/portfolio, but this is only one essay and the rest is completely practical.
yes it does take a lot of time, but it’s perfectly possible to effectively balance this with your other subjects and at the end of year 13 you will end up with significantly less revision to complete. Not only this, but the art exams are much earlier than the other subjects so during exam time you will have less exams to worry about and more time to revise.
The main things to consider (IMO) are:
Will you enjoy it?
Can you take criticism from teachers regarding your work and use this to improve?
Will you be able to manage the workload?
Does it assist you in getting the career you want in the future?
Obviously you will never quite know whether it’s right for you until you do it, but I really enjoy it and I think that if you think you’ll enjoy it, why not?
hope this is helpful x

should i do art a level

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