Materials, Techniques

and Working Methods

You might think that materials, techniques, and working methods are basically the same thing, but how you explain them in the exam is what really matters. While they all deal with how the artwork was made, there are key differences in how you talk about them in your answers. Understanding this will make handling these topics much easier.

Materials are what the artwork is made from and the qualities of those materials that affect the final piece.
Techniques are the specific ways the artist used tools or materials to create the work and how that influences the outcome.
Working methods refer to how the artist sets up their workspace, the processes they use to create the art, and how that impacts the final piece.

Painting

Brush Techniques

This video demonstrates some of the brush techniques that you may see within paintings you are analysing. While the artist uses acrylic here these techniques can also be used with Oil Paint.

Watercolour

This video outlines the basics of watercolour.

Printmaking

What Is Printmaking?

Printmaking is an artistic process based on the principle of transferring images from a Plate (Normaly a block of wood, metal or lino) onto another surface, most often paper or fabric. Traditional printmaking techniques include woodcut, etching, engraving, and lithography. Modern artists have also expanded available techniques to include screenprinting.

A Plate is essentially a template, and can be made of wood, metal, or glass. The design is created on the Plate by working its flat surface with either tools or chemicals. The plate is then inked in order to transfer it onto the desired surface. To print from a plate requires the application of controlled pressure, most often achieved by using a printing press, which creates an even impression of the design when it is printed onto the paper or fabric. (More modern printmaking techniques, such as screenprinting, do not require a press.) The resulting print is often the mirror image of the original design on the plate. One of the great benefits of printmaking (save for monotype) is that multiple impressions of the same design can be printed from a single plate.

Lithography is a printmaking process where an image is drawn onto a flat stone or metal plate using a greasy substance like crayon or ink. Once the drawing is finished, the surface is treated with chemicals so that the greasy parts hold ink, while the rest repels it. Then, when paper is pressed onto the surface, the inked areas transfer the image onto the paper, creating a print. This technique is often used for making multiple copies of the same artwork.

Woodcut printing is one of the oldest forms of printmaking. In this process, an artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood, leaving the raised parts to hold the ink. Once the design is carved, ink is rolled over the raised areas, and then paper is pressed onto the block. The inked areas transfer onto the paper, creating the image. Each print made from the same block is called an edition, and you can make several prints from a single block.

EtchingEtching is an intaglio printmaking process in which lines or areas are incised using acid into a metal plate in order to hold the ink.

EngravingEngraving is an intaglio printmaking process in which lines are cut into a metal plate in order to hold the ink.

Drawing

How Is a Drawing Made?

Drawings are two-dimensional works of art made on receptive surfaces such as paper, parchment (prepared animal skin), canvas, or a plastered wall. A diverse array of materials can be used alone or in combination to make drawings. A few media—such as chalks and pure graphite—occur naturally and need only to be mined and shaped to use. Most others require preparation: charcoal sticks come from baked twigs or vines, and modern pencils cores are made from powdered graphite mixed with clay. Multi-hued pastel sticks are formed from ground pigments mixed with white filler and a binder. Metalpoint drawings require a specially-coated surface in order for gold, silver, or copper wires to leave a mark. Finally, liquid media—inks and watercolors—are formulated from natural and manmade materials then usually applied with tools, such as pens and brushes, whose different sizes and materials produce a wide variety of effects.

Higher Exam - Materials

In the Higher art and Design exam you could be asked to discuss Materials in the following ways:

type of material
dry media — charcoal, pencil, pen, oil pastel, and chalk pastel
wet media — oil paint, acrylic, watercolour, ink, pen and ink, gouache, and tempera paste
mixed media
3D media — plaster, clay, bronze, resin, and found objects
properties of the material

When answering a question it's good practice to have structure for each point you make.

What - Name the visual element/expressive effect or specific thing you wish to discuss

Where - Describe exactly where in the Artwork it is

Why - Analyse what the impact of the element used has on the overall visual impact or mood and atmosphere of the piece.

Key - What - Blue, Where - Red, Why - Purple

5 Umezebi St., New Haven, Enugu (2012) by Njideka Akunyili Crosby

acrylic, charcoal, pastel, coloured pencil and Xerox transfers on paper (213 x 267 cm)

Xerox transfers ― transfer prints from coloured photocopies

The artist has used Xerox transfers along with solid areas of acrylic to create contrast. Xerox transfers in the foreground and man’s shirt are very busy, in contrast to the blocked acrylic paint used to paint the trousers. This ensures all details of the figure can be clearly seen.

The artist used coloured pencil and charcoal to create refined detail within the work. This can be seen in the faces of the man and woman and outlines in the clothing. This creates definition and stops the figures blending into one another.

The artist has possibly used pastel to create softer blocks of tone, as seen in the boy with the blue trousers. This helps to give further detail to the form of the figure and reinforce the soft texture of the fabric.

The artist has collaged Xerox transfers of historical and cultural imagery to create surface detail within the work. This can be seen in the wallpaper and floor, which reflects the cultural identity of the family.

Higher Exam Techniques

In the Higher Art exam you can gain marks by discussing the following aspects of Techniques:

paintbrush, palette knife, and modelling tools
printmaking — for example etching, intaglio, screen-printing, collagraphy, woodblock, lino
brushstrokes and application of media — for example blended, visible, painterly, expressive, energetic, directional
painting techniques — for example impasto, scumbling, dry brush, wet on wet, chiaroscuro, sgraffito, glazing, pointillism, broken colour
sculpture — for example carving, moulding, casting, bas-relief

Still Life with Bowl of Citrons (late 1640s) by Giovanna Garzoni

tempera paint on vellum (28 x 36 cm)

vellum ― prepared animal skin

The artist has used pointillism throughout the artwork. This can be seen through the use of dots to create dimples on the citrus fruits and on the surface of the shelf, reinforcing the texture of the subject matter.

The artist has used a a small brush to create soft, blended tones as seen in the floral buds. This helps to suggest the delicacy of the petals and create realism within the piece.

The artist has used a linear mark making technique on the outside of the ceramic bowl. The use of small directional lines help to create the illusion of circular form in the bowl.

The artist has used the tonal technique of chiaroscuro to create contrast and form, as seen in the dark background and tonal gradients in the citrus bowl. This effectively creates a sense of depth and realism.

Higher Exam - Working Methods

working methods—how an artist sets up their process and space to create their work. Did they sketch first, or go straight to painting? Did they work slowly over weeks or quickly in one sitting? Maybe they used technology, like a digital tablet, or worked traditionally with a canvas and easel. These working methods influence how the final artwork looks and feels. In your exam, describe not just what the artist did, but how their methods impacted the final result. Think about the artist whose work you’re studying: what do their working methods reveal about their process?

In the Higher Art and Design Exam you can discus the following Working Methods to gain marks:

way of working
creative process followed
preparatory work — for example preliminary sketches, photography
working from life, photographs, memory, imagination
individual or collaborative
commissioned or speculative
materials and techniques used
scale of work

Ralph Goings, Double Ketchup, oil on canvas 2006.

In his studio, Ralph Goings arranges various set ups of typical diner objects to photograph them from different angles. Keen to capture the play of light and reflective qualities of items, Goings works from the two-dimensional photographs to create rich artwork that has the illusion of three dimensions. This can be seen in his photorealistic oil painting, ‘Double Ketchup’.

Goings often sets up a canvas on the wall of his studio to let him project the photograph. He then traces the photograph onto the canvas ensuring he takes in all of the detail. This type of working allows him to ensure all of the shape, scale, perspective and depth is realistic this adds to the hyper realistic feel of the works.

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