A-level Art advice

Hi! I'm starting a-levels this september and when I did the GCSE I found that my teachers didn't really help on telling me what to do to improve my work... I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on doing well in art A-level since this is something I think I need to do from the very begining, Thanks

hi! i've got an A* prediction for alevel art (currently now y13) and i would say my best advice is to keep finding inspiration and not be scared to experiment a lot! if something doesn't go well or like u planned then don't throw it away, keep it in your book as a stage of process and development. i would advise carrying a small sketchbook and pencil/pen with u to different places and record/sketch anything u find interesting at anytime for inspo so ur constantly prompted for new ideas, or if that can be hard to keep up with then i recommend scrolling pinterest for inspiration! however i do recommend starting with frequent observational sketches or live drawings - honestly great life hack too if youre behind on work deadline and desperately need some filler works for your coursework pages! doesn't have to be specifically art related, u can use anything u find interesting as artistic inspiration! design books are also a good idea if u like to read or look at images and defo explore new mediums and ways of making art, the more the better definitely stay true to yourself, make art for yourself, personal experiences and links of this in your work can get u good marks (easier on research too if it comes from yourself). try and show a big range of different skills - if your school has printmaking, clay or other 3D resources I suggest trying them out, if u don't like working with them in the end that is completely fine, just having a record of ur attempt can get u quite far. with themes and concepts, don't overthink it too much, u will get more marks producing good pieces of artwork u like and are able to relate to rather than trying to write loads about your ideas. overall try and have fun with it and stay true to yourself in ur art <3 hope this helped!!

Hi! I'm starting a-levels this september and when I did the GCSE I found that my teachers didn't really help on telling me what to do to improve my work... I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on doing well in art A-level since this is something I think I need to do from the very begining, Thanks

hi! i've got an A* prediction for alevel art (currently now y13) and i would say my best advice is to keep finding inspiration and not be scared to experiment a lot! if something doesn't go well or like u planned then don't throw it away, keep it in your book as a stage of process and development. i would advise carrying a small sketchbook and pencil/pen with u to different places and record/sketch anything u find interesting at anytime for inspo so ur constantly prompted for new ideas, or if that can be hard to keep up with then i recommend scrolling pinterest for inspiration! however i do recommend starting with frequent observational sketches or live drawings - honestly great life hack too if youre behind on work deadline and desperately need some filler works for your coursework pages! doesn't have to be specifically art related, u can use anything u find interesting as artistic inspiration! design books are also a good idea if u like to read or look at images and defo explore new mediums and ways of making art, the more the better definitely stay true to yourself, make art for yourself, personal experiences and links of this in your work can get u good marks (easier on research too if it comes from yourself). try and show a big range of different skills - if your school has printmaking, clay or other 3D resources I suggest trying them out, if u don't like working with them in the end that is completely fine, just having a record of ur attempt can get u quite far. with themes and concepts, don't overthink it too much, u will get more marks producing good pieces of artwork u like and are able to relate to rather than trying to write loads about your ideas. overall try and have fun with it and stay true to yourself in ur art <3 hope this helped!!

Hey @exemplary-conga,
I always found looking at other people's A-Level Art sketchbooks - whether that was old examples my teacher had sitting about the class or sketchbook tours on YT - to be a really useful source of improvement. Even if your work is a completely different theme or style, it gives you new ideas on how to lay out your sketchbook pages and mediums you could include. Look up how to make good notes about your work as well - what inspired you to make this piece, what mediums could you use, what would you do differently next time, what elements were the most challenging, etc.
Hope this was helpful, and good luck with A-Level Art!
Eve (Kingston Rep).

also last thing is to always record your planning and thinking processes - it might look silly sometimes but i promise it makes it easier for u when u come back to it later and for when a teacher or examiner has to mark your work. try and find a copy of the spec for your exam board and find examples online so u have an idea of which aspects of your project are more important and considered in terms of gaining marks. naturally flowing projects will get u further than a project that seems way too planned out and over-thought, keep ur projects clearly laid out and expressed ! ik deadlines can be seriously annoying and unreasonably timed esp in creative subjects like art, but have a rough idea of how you like to work and communicate with your teachers if you think a certain deadline doesn't work for u or if u would like to work in a slightly different order etc xx

Thank you so much!! Just reading through this is making me excited for creating more art with this advice (: and congratulations on your A* prediction!!

Hi! I'm starting a-levels this september and when I did the GCSE I found that my teachers didn't really help on telling me what to do to improve my work... I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on doing well in art A-level since this is something I think I need to do from the very begining, Thanks

hey, you're probably at the end of y12 now but here's a few specific things that i feel is pretty important but i dont always see mentioned:
1) make sure u cite every single secondary image you use in your sketchbook. imo this is pretty important so that u can get awarded for the images that u did take yourself, im pretty sure documentation is part of the assesment objective chart thing so make sure you outline which images are yours / which ones aren't, and write down (just a small size will do) the website it is from. same goes for artworks, if u have space / are struggling to fill up space be sure to write down the medium, date etc because then you get marks for exploring a wide range of both historical and contemporary artists, and exploring mediums outside your comfort zone
2) change your mediums every outcome or so - my teacher used this structure called 'idea 1, idea 2 etc' for each piece of work we did but you can adapt this to your structure as well. i made it a point to change my medium every time - this was really important to me because you want to show that you're moving beyond what you are comfortable with. i usually will list out (every now and then) which mediums i have used, which ones i have not. i'd ask myself stuff like 'did i "over-rely" on wet mediums and avoid exploring dry mediums, have i only limited myself to 2d work
or could i be using more unconventional materials like found objects", etc
3) i kind of alrdy mentioned this above but make sure you explore a range of artists from historical to contemporary, even exploring super conceptual artists work as well, as long as you are genuinely inspired by the context behind their work
and you can apply all the other general bits of advice as well! all the best!