National Year 12 Art and Design
Chapters: 2
1. 3.2 Overarching knowledge, understanding and skills
Contexts and purposes of art, craft and design · Visual language and formal elements · Media, materials and processes (traditional and new) · Drawing for different purposes · Critical and contextual analysis
- Art History: From Cave Walls to Today – People have made art for at least 40,000 years. Prehistoric art shows animals and hands on cave walls. Ancient civilisations made art for rulers, gods and the afterlife. Classical traditions arose in Greece and Rome, India, China, Africa and the Americas. The Renaissance brought perspective and realism; modern art (from about 1860) broke those rules; contemporary art uses any material. To appreciate any artwork, describe it, analyse its elements, interpret its meaning in its context, and judge why it works.
- Elements of Art and Principles of Design – The elements of art are the building blocks an artist uses: line, shape, form, colour, value, texture and space (many teachers also add the point). The principles of design are the rules for arranging those blocks: balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, rhythm and pattern, proportion and scale, and unity with variety. Knowing both helps you make art on purpose and talk about any artwork clearly.
- Art Materials and Techniques: Choosing the Right Media – Artists choose materials (media) for the look they want. Every paint is pigment (coloured powder) mixed with a binder that sticks it to the surface: oil for oil paint, gum arabic for watercolour, acrylic resin for acrylic, egg for tempera. Dry media include graphite pencils (H = hard and light, B = soft and dark), charcoal, pastels and coloured pencils. Wet media include ink, watercolour, gouache, acrylic and oil. Transparent media let light and lower layers show through; opaque media cover them. The support is the surface: paper (with different weights and textures), canvas, wood panel, walls. 3D processes include modelling clay, carving, construction and casting; printmaking makes many copies from one block, plate or screen. Digital media add tablets, photo and video. Good artists test materials, refine work by experimenting, and use them safely and sustainably.
- Drawing and Painting – Drawing is a way of seeing and thinking: we use it to record what we observe, to remember, to plan designs and to express ideas. A good drawing starts by blocking in: seeing objects as simple shapes (sphere, box, cylinder) and checking proportions with light lines. Line then defines edges, and line weight (heavy or light) shows what is near or far. Light gives form: on a lit object we see the highlight, mid-tone, core shadow, reflected light and cast shadow. Tonal value runs from white to black; strong contrast of light and dark is called chiaroscuro, and a picture can be in a high key (mostly light) or low key (mostly dark). Dry media (graphite, charcoal, pastels, coloured pencils) build tone with hatching, cross-hatching, stippling and blending; wet media (ink, watercolour, gouache, acrylic, oil) build it with washes, layers (glazes) and mixing colours. Linear and atmospheric perspective show space, and figure drawing uses proportion, gesture and foreshortening. Artists record ideas in sketchbooks and use traditional, alternative and digital tools safely and sustainably.
2. 3.3-3.8 Titles and areas of study
7201 Art, craft and design · 7202 Fine art · 7203 Graphic communication · 7204 Textile design · 7205 Three-dimensional design · 7206 Photography
- Visual Arts: Elements, Principles and the Creative Process – Every artwork, from a pencil sketch to a sculpture or a poster, is built from the same seven elements: line, shape, form, colour, texture, value (tone) and space. Artists arrange these with principles of design: balance, contrast, emphasis, rhythm and pattern, proportion and unity. Colour theory (primary, secondary, tertiary, complementary, warm and cool) and perspective help you make pictures look real or feel a certain way. In school art courses you also learn a process: research artists, develop ideas, experiment with media, record observations, and present a final personal response in a portfolio.
- Fine Art: The Main Areas and How Artists Work in Them – Fine art is art made mainly to express ideas, feelings and ways of seeing, rather than to do a practical job. Its main areas are drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, lens- and light-based media (photography and moving image), installation, land art and mixed media (collage and assemblage). In every area the artist researches, experiments with materials, develops ideas, records them in a sketchbook and presents a final response. Art courses usually ask students to work in one or more of these areas and to show how sources and artists influenced them.
- Graphic Design – Graphic design is planning pictures, words and shapes so that a message is clear, useful and attractive. Designers use elements (line, shape, colour, type, image, space) and principles (alignment and grid, hierarchy, contrast, proximity, repetition, balance and white space). They follow a process: brief, research, ideas, sketches, digital drafts, feedback and final artwork. Graphic design is used in posters, logos, book covers, packaging, signs, websites and apps.
- Textile Design: From Fibre to Patterned Fabric – Textile design is planning how a fabric is built and how it looks and feels. Fibres are spun into yarn; yarn is woven, knitted or bonded into fabric; then colour and pattern are added by dyeing, printing or stitching; and finishes give the fabric extra powers like water-repellence or crease-resistance.
- Three-Dimensional Design: Making Forms That Look Good and Work Well – Three-dimensional (3D) design shapes real objects that have length, width and depth: sculptures, products, furniture, packaging, jewellery, set and spatial design. Artists build forms by carving away (subtractive), building up (additive), joining parts (constructive) or casting in moulds. Good 3D design also fits the human body (ergonomics, using body measurements called anthropometrics), learns from nature (bionics), protects and sells products (packaging), works for people with different abilities (universal design) and cares for the planet.
- Photography: Light, Exposure and Composition – A camera is a dark box that catches light. The lens bends light to make a sharp, upside-down image on a sensor (or film). Three settings control how much light makes the picture: the aperture (size of the lens opening, written as f-numbers), the shutter speed (how long light falls on the sensor) and the ISO (how sensitive the sensor is). Together they form the exposure triangle. Composition — where you place things in the frame — and the quality of light turn a correct photo into a good one. Photographers also tell stories with pictures, edit them and learn to read and critique images.