Visual ArtsQ&A by dot point

Analysing an artwork: reading a work through its formal qualities, subject and content, process, and context, moving from description to analysis, and drawing a decision for your own work.

Art movements and periods: what an art movement is, a working map of major movements (Impressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, Pop Art, Expressionism and others), and using a movement to inform your own line of enquiry.

Gathering contextual sources: what counts as a contextual source (artists, movements, cultures, places, objects, exhibitions), gathering a range, primary versus secondary engagement, and selecting with judgement rather than accumulating.

Studying named artists: choosing relevant artists, studying their work analytically rather than copying, making artist studies that respond to the work, and connecting an artist to your own line of enquiry.

Writing critically about art: using accurate art vocabulary, structuring written analysis, writing about your own and others' work analytically rather than descriptively, and supporting judgements with evidence from the work.

Digital and mixed media: digital image-making and editing, combining traditional and digital processes, collage and layering, and combining media deliberately so the combination serves the idea.

Drawing and painting media: the qualities of pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, and of paint (watercolour, acrylic, gouache), how each behaves, and choosing and handling them to suit an idea.

Photography and lens-based media: framing, viewpoint, light and focus as compositional choices, the difference between recording and making images, and using photography as a deliberate art process.

Printmaking techniques: relief printing (lino and block), monoprinting, and intaglio (drypoint), how each transfers an image, and the qualities and editioning each offers.

Textiles and surface techniques: constructed and decorated textiles, stitch and applique, dyeing and resist methods, fabric printing, and using surface, texture and colour in fabric as a medium.

Working in three dimensions: additive and subtractive processes, modelling, construction and casting, working with clay, card, wire and found materials, and thinking in form, space and material.

Evaluating and annotating your work: reflecting critically on your own progress, judging what works against your intention, and writing annotation that records decisions and next steps rather than describing the obvious.

Generating and developing ideas: working from a starting point or theme, generating ideas through investigation and experiment, and developing the strongest into a sustained line of enquiry rather than stalling after the opening.

Selecting and presenting the portfolio: curating the strongest work, presenting sketchbooks and sheets so the journey reads clearly, and using mounting, layout and annotation to make the development and outcomes legible to a moderator.

Structuring a sustained project: organising a project so it moves from starting point through investigation, experiment and recording to a resolved outcome, covering all four objectives, and keeping the development legible to a moderator.

Component 01 the Portfolio: what it is, that it is worth 60 percent and 120 marks, that it is non-exam assessment marked across all four objectives at 30 marks each, and what a portfolio submission contains.

Connecting the outcome to preparatory work: the requirement that the final piece grows from and connects to the preparatory work, why the outcome is marked together with the preparation, and how to make the line from preparation to outcome visible.

Planning and pacing the final piece: entering the supervised time with a worked-out plan, staging the making across the sessions, and reserving time to resolve so the outcome is finished rather than rushed or abandoned.

The question paper and preparatory period: how OCR releases broad starting points from 1 January, how to choose and interpret one, and how to use the unsupervised preparatory time to investigate, experiment, record and plan the final piece.

The 10-hour supervised exam: the rules of the supervised period, that preparatory work cannot be altered during it, that the outcome must be made unaided, and how this timed final piece differs from the unsupervised preparatory work.

Component 02 the Externally Set Task: what it is, that it is worth 40 percent and 80 marks marked across all four objectives at 20 marks each, the OCR-set question paper, the preparatory period, and the 10-hour supervised final piece.

AO1: develop ideas through investigations, demonstrating critical understanding of sources, across both the Portfolio and the Externally Set Task, worth a quarter of the marks in each.

AO2: refine work by exploring ideas, selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes, worth a quarter of the marks in each component.

AO3: record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions as work progresses, through first-hand recording and reflection, worth a quarter of the marks in each component.

AO4: present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language, worth a quarter of the marks in each component.

How the marks and grades work: the 120 plus 80 mark total, the equal split across the four objectives, marking against banded criteria, internal marking and external moderation, and how marks become a 9 to 1 grade.

Colour and its effects: the colour wheel (primary, secondary, complementary), hue, saturation and value, warm and cool colour, and using harmony, contrast and a deliberate palette to create mood and effect.

Composition and visual language: arranging the formal elements within a format, using focal points, the rule of thirds, balance, leading lines, framing and negative space to direct the eye and communicate meaning.

Line and mark-making: the qualities of line (weight, speed, continuity), the range of marks media can make, and using line and mark deliberately to describe form and carry feeling.

Shape, form, texture and pattern: two-dimensional shape versus three-dimensional form, geometric and organic, real and implied texture, and pattern and repetition used deliberately in visual language.

Tone and form: the tonal scale from light to dark, how light falling on an object creates highlights, mid-tones, core shadow and reflected light, and how to use a full tonal range to model three-dimensional form.