← Visual Arts syllabus

EnglandVisual Arts

Drawing and recording

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you draw accurately and expressively from direct observation?

Observational drawing from life: measuring and sighting, looking more than drawing, capturing proportion, structure and light, and why first-hand drawing is the strongest recording.
How to draw from direct observation for Edexcel GCSE Art and Design: sighting and measuring, looking more than drawing, capturing proportion, structure and light, and why first-hand observational drawing is the strongest evidence for AO3 recording.
12 min answer →

How do you draw convincing space and accurate proportion?

Perspective and proportion: one and two-point perspective, the horizon and vanishing points, foreshortening, and proportion systems for objects and the figure.
How to draw convincing space and accurate proportion for Edexcel GCSE Art and Design: one and two-point linear perspective, horizon line and vanishing points, foreshortening and overlapping, and proportion systems for objects and the human figure.
12 min answer →

How do you gather and record from primary sources to build a personal project?

Recording from primary sources: gathering first-hand material through your own photography, location studies, collected objects and notes, and why primary sources outweigh secondary.
How to gather and record from primary sources for Edexcel GCSE Art and Design: your own photography, location studies, collected objects and observational notes, and why first-hand primary sources are valued above secondary ones for AO1 and AO3.
12 min answer →

How do you build tone and choose marks to describe surface and form in a drawing?

Tone and mark-making in drawing: hatching, cross-hatching, blending, stippling and scumbling; drawing media and grounds; matching the mark to the surface.
How to build tone and choose marks in drawing for Edexcel GCSE Art and Design: hatching, cross-hatching, blending, stippling and scumbling, drawing media from graphite to charcoal and ink, and matching the mark to the surface for AO2 and AO3.
12 min answer →