AP Art & Design

Develop your skills in art and design as you explore different media and approaches. You will be creating a college-level art portfolio comprised of 15 works that demonstrate a synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas while exploring a sustained investigation.

Skills You’ll Learn

• Investigating materials, processes, and ideas for your portfolio
• Interpreting works of art and design
• Practicing, experimenting, and revising your own work
• Communicating your ideas about works of art and design.

(Add 2D Design image)

The 2-D Art and Design portfolio is designated for work that focuses on the use of two-dimensional elements and principles which are which are point, line shape, plane, layer, form, space, texture, color, value, opacity, transparency, time, unity, variety, rhythm, movement, proportion, scale valance, emphasis, contrast, repetition, figure/ground relationship, connection, juxtaposition, hierarchy.

(Add Drawing image)

The AP Drawing portfolio is designated for work that focuses on the use of mark making, line, surface, space, light and shade, and composition.

(Add 3D Design image)

The AP 3-D Art and Design portfolio is designated for work that focuses on the use of three-dimensional elements and principles which are point, line shape, plane, layer, form, space, texture, color, value, opacity, transparency, time, unity, variety, rhythm, movement, proportion, scale valance, emphasis, contrast, repetition, figure/ground relationship, connection, juxtaposition, hierarchy.

AP Art and Design Exam Requirements and Prompts

For the Selected Works (40% of score) section in the Art and Design Portfolio Exam, students must submit five works that demonstrate:

• 2-D skills
• Synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas.

For each work, students must state the following in writing:

• Idea(s) visually evident (100 characters maximum, including spaces)
• Materials used (100 characters maximum, including spaces)
• Processes used (100 characters maximum, including spaces).

For the Sustained Investigation (60% of score) section of the Art and Design Portfolio Exam, students must submit 15 digital images that demonstrate:

• Sustained investigation through practice, experimentation, and revision
• Sustained investigation of materials, processes, and ideas
• Synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas
• 2-D skills.

Students must state the following in writing:

• Identify the questions that guided your sustained investigation
• Describe how your sustained investigation shows evidence of practice, experimentation, and revision guided by your questions (1200 characters maximum, including spaces, for response to both prompt.

Identify the following for each image:

• Materials used (100 characters maximum, including spaces)
• Processes used (100 characters maximum, including spaces)
• Size (height × width × depth, in inches)
• For images that document process or show detail, students should enter “N/A” for size
• For digital and virtual work, students should enter the size of the intended visual display.

(Add a Sustained Investigation portfolio of work here)

Additional Information About the Sustained Investigation Section

• Throughout their sustained investigation, students need to document their work using sketchbooks, etc. From their documentation of thinking and making, students select images and writing to include in their portfolio that most effectively demonstrate sustained investigation.
• Process documentation images included in the portfolio should show evidence of practice, experimentation, and revision using materials, processes, and ideas and/ or of skillful synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas, providing insight on students’ inquiry, thinking, and making.
• Detail images should be submitted only when it is important to see a close-up view of a work
• For the Investigation section carefully consider the sequence of their images. There is no required order; images should be presented to best demonstrate sustained investigation through practice, experimentation, and revision using materials, processes, and ideas.
• Students should also consider the relationship of their images with the written information they submit.

 Samples of student work for the AP 2-D Art and Design Portfolio Exam can be found on AP Central at apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-2-d-art-and -design.