AP Studio Art is about doing the work that artists actually do:
Making.
Revising.
Reflecting.
Experimenting.
Trying again.
Artists rarely create their strongest work on the first attempt. They explore ideas, take creative risks, learn from challenges, and refine their vision through continued practice. In AP Studio Art, students are evaluated not only on the artwork they create, but also on their commitment to the creative process.
Your grade reflects both what you make and how seriously you engage in the process — your experimentation, problem-solving, craftsmanship, reflection, and growth as an artist.
This category measures the strength of your artworks and how clearly they develop your Sustained Investigation.
You are graded on:
Idea development and conceptual depth
Visual coherence and cohesion across your body of work
Risk-taking, experimentation, and revision
Craft, technique, and intentional decision-making
A series of compositions exploring a central idea using strong design principles
Revised color studies or layout experiments that clearly improve earlier work
Intentional typography, pattern, or mixed-media exploration tied to your concept
Observational and expressive drawings that show depth, accuracy, and intention
Emphasis on mark making techniques
Multiple studies leading to a resolved drawing
Exploration of line, value, texture, and space connected to your investigation
Evidence that all images were planned, shot, evaluated, and re-shot if needed
Digital: A cohesive photo series with intentional shooting, re-shooting, and meaningful edits (not filters only)
Darkroom: Contact sheets, test prints, and final prints that show exposure control, contrast decisions, and printing revisions
This category measures the quality of your engagement in the creative process and how effectively you use studio time to develop your work.
You are assessed on:
Using studio time productively — staying focused, prepared, and actively engaged in your creative process
Physical engagement in making art — drawing, cutting, printing, photographing, editing, building, experimenting, and refining
Meeting checkpoints and deadlines — maintaining consistent progress and managing your time as an artist
Participating in critiques and conferences — sharing ideas, receiving feedback, and using reflection to improve your work
Awareness of your actions — paying attention to decisions, techniques, and problem-solving while creating
Respect for the Space--straightforward- clean your work area and store your work properly.
Being "at work" as an artist includes more than a finished product. Setting up a photograph, loading film, preparing materials, printing, mixing media, editing images, sketching ideas, and revising work are all essential parts of the creative process.
Important: If you are using a device, you should be actively creating, editing, researching, documenting, or revising your artwork. Passive screen time does not count as studio practice.
AP 2-D Design / Drawing Example
Actively drawing, revising, or building compositions during class
Working through multiple drafts or studies
AP Photography (2-d) Example
Digital: Shooting during assigned time, importing files, actively editing and re-editing
Darkroom: Loading film, making test strips, adjusting exposure, printing, and washing prints
This category measures your understanding of how your artwork connects to the larger world of art, including historical movements, contemporary artists, cultural experiences, and personal influences.
You are assessed on:
Research and references — exploring connections to artists, artworks, movements, cultures, and ideas that inform your own creative practice
Use of visual references — studying and applying inspiration from artists, photographers, designers, and other visual sources
Explaining influences — communicating how research and references shape your artistic choices through written reflections, process documentation, and visual analysis
Artists do not create in isolation. Understanding the work of others helps you develop ideas, make informed decisions, and recognize how your own artwork contributes to a larger creative conversation.
Important: Research is not about copying another artist’s style. It is about understanding influences, identifying connections, and using those discoveries to strengthen your own artistic voice.
Researching designers or artists who use similar structures, symbols, or themes and
Studying historical or contemporary drawing practices that influence your technique or subject matter
Referencing photographers whose work relates to your subject, style, or process (digital or analog)
This category measures your ability to analyze, discuss, and make thoughtful decisions about artwork — both your own and the work of others.
You are assessed on:
Participation in critiques — contributing ideas, asking questions, and engaging in meaningful conversations about artwork
Written reflections — explaining your creative choices, challenges, discoveries, and growth as an artist
Self-evaluation — identifying what is successful in your work and what areas need further development
Responding to feedback — using critique and conversation to improve, revise, and strengthen your artwork
Artistic decision-making — explaining why you kept, changed, or rejected an idea during the creative process
Artists continually evaluate their work. Reflection is not about finding mistakes — it is about understanding your choices, recognizing possibilities, and making intentional decisions that move your work forward.
Important: A strong artist is not only someone who makes artwork, but someone who can explain their thinking, respond to feedback, and use reflection to guide future creative decisions.
All classes will be assigned journal activities and group in class assignments for this category
This category measures how clearly your artwork communicates ideas, experiences, questions, or perspectives and how effectively your work connects to a larger context.
You are assessed on:
Personal meaning and artistic voice — developing work that reflects your experiences, interests, observations, and unique perspective
Cohesion and connections — creating relationships between artworks through recurring ideas, themes, processes, or visual choices, even as your work evolves and changes
Conceptual clarity — communicating ideas with intention and making artistic choices that support your meaning
Connections beyond the artwork — relating your work to real-world issues, cultural ideas, personal experiences, or other disciplines
Artists often explore ideas that are complex, evolving, and open to interpretation. A strong body of work does not need to look the same from piece to piece — it needs to show thoughtful connections and a clear sense of purpose.
Important: Your portfolio should reveal not only what you can create, but also what you are trying to communicate and why your ideas matter.
2-D Design
Visual systems that communicate identity, place, or belief
Drawing
Subject matter tied to personal experience, observation, or emotion
Photography
Series that explore identity, environment, time, memory, or social themes
This category measures your ability to observe, analyze, and translate what you see into meaningful artwork.
You are assessed on:
Attention to detail — noticing visual qualities, relationships, patterns, and details that strengthen your work
Composition and framing — making intentional decisions about arrangement, balance, emphasis, and visual impact
Material awareness — understanding how tools, techniques, and materials influence the way ideas are communicated
Important: Observation is not passive. Artists actively observe throughout the creative process. This includes studying your subject, noticing how your choices affect the outcome, paying attention to how your hands and materials interact, recognizing what is and is not working, and making thoughtful adjustments to improve your work.
Strong artists learn to see beyond the obvious — they observe carefully, question their decisions, and use what they notice to guide their creative choices.
2-D Design / Drawing
Careful attention to proportion, spacing, value, and detail
Visual studies before final work
Photography
Digital: Adjusting framing, exposure, and focus intentionally
Darkroom: Noticing how changes in exposure and contrast affect the image